Trap Workout

SORE IN 6 MINUTES What's up, guys?

The Sore in Six Minutes series continues, and this time we're hitting the traps.

It's a six minute sequence that you're going to do.

Again, simple in terms of how we structure it, but the effort is going to be something

that you're probably not accustomed to, and that's great because this is what we're going

to use.

The overload, the uncomfortability here to demand a change, and to demand that soreness

the next day.

Now, how are we going to do it?

We're going to go with the old classic, the barbell shrug.

We're going to load it up to – not your max weight here, guys, because when you see

what we have to do you're going to understand that the volume is going to impact that ability

to use that.

But you're going to use a heavy weight.

For me, here, it's 245.

So again, we're not breaking records, but it's something I'm going to have to sustain

for a long period of time.

I'm going to start the clock, and I'm going to let it run for six minutes.

So it's just a running clock for six minutes, and I'm going to start with the barbell shrug.

What I want to do is be able to do 10 shrugs, and then hold for 10 seconds.

Then nine shrugs, and hole for nine seconds.

Then eight shrugs, and hold for eight seconds.

Realizing that even if your traps give out – or don’t give out – your grip is probably

going to.

So at some point you're likely going to stop.

When you do, you're going to work on another exercise.

I'll show you in a second, but when we do this shrug here's one key thing I want you

to focus on: you load the bar up, you shrug up here, and then when you come down allow

your shoulders to protract.

Allow them to come down at that angle, okay?

So when they're here they're up, and then allow them to protract.

Why are we doing that?

Because the traps insert here, on the lateral portion of the clavicle and the acromion.

So when this part moves forward we're getting a greater stretch on the trap.

So if we can let that protraction occur, we're not talking about doing rolling of the shoulders.

We're talking about just allowing them to protract.

Then when I come back up I'm not just lifting, but I'm retracting at the same time.

The key is, we're getting more of that eccentric overload and tension with every rep.

up, and then eccentrically overload down.

That's going to help us to create that damage leading to soreness later on.

Now, I mentioned if I had to stop at some point.

Well, if I do then I come over here and grab a plate.

For me, I'm using 25lbs.

the 25lbs will do an overhead trap raise.

So we'd basically hold the plate here, like this, and then basically hands down, thumbs

pointing down.

I'm going to then go thumbs pointing up at the top, okay?

Then down, under control here, and then up.

What you want to do is squeeze your traps to do the raise.

So I'm squeezing my mid-back to raise the plate up, and then come down.

This is actually working the lower traps.

The upper traps are being worked this way.

Up on the shrug, the lower traps are being worked here to stabilize the scapula as we

lift up overhead.

You do 10 reps of the overhead raise, go back in here and resume wherever you left off.

So if I did 10 and I held for 10 in a contracted position, nine, held for nine, eight, held

for eight, couldn't get to seven; I go over here, knock out 10, come back in here, seven

reps, hold for seven.

Now, I'm going to play it all out for you as I did it, which is a lot of where it left

me – out of breath, as you can see – and I'll show you exactly how we execute it and

how it looks in real time.

There you go.

So there you have it, guys.

There is your Sore in Six Minutes trap workout – trap sequence, really – and people are

already asking "Where do I fit these in?"

I'd like to think of them as plateau busters.

If you're someone that can't get a muscle to respond and you don’t feel that you're

getting any response from that muscle because you never get sore in it; these are guaranteed

to induce that soreness.

Is this the only way you could do soreness and induce soreness?

No.

Does soreness equate, all the time, to new growth?

No, but because we're overloading, and because we're putting the science back in what we

do when we do this exercise, and we get that eccentric stretch, we are adding the elements

to grow.

At the same time, when these are intense you don’t want to start mixing multiple Sore

in Six Minutes together.

You're going to be biting off more than you can chew, okay?

So make sure, again, you're using this spark and get yourself out of that rut, instead

of using them as your workout all the time.

Guys, if you're looking for a program that lays out exactly what to do step by step,

We manipulate the volumes, we issue you the workouts as we know you can handle them, and

not just throw it all out there at random.

In the meantime, I know you like the Sore in Six Minutes series.

Continue to let me know what other things you like to see and I'll do my best to cover

All right, guys.

See you soon.