Traps & Delts Workout

Your traps and delts, short for trapezius and deltoids respectively, are collectively referred to as the shoulder muscles. The traps, particularly the upper portion, are located at the sides of your neck. The delts are located over your shoulder sockets, which you may know as the glenohumeral joint. An effective workout for your traps and delts should incorporate exercises that specifically target each muscle. Each exercise should consist of three sets of eight to 12 repetitions. An effective workout should also begin with a 5 to 10-minute dynamic warm-up and a 5 to 10-minute cooldown to maximize performance and minimize injury. This can be, for example, a walk or jog on a treadmill or a light ride on a stationary bike.

  1. Front Delts

    • The front-most portion of your delts, called your anterior deltoid, or simply front delts, allows you to raise your arms forward. To work your front delts, you can perform a front raise. You can do this exercise standing, seated or lying face-down on an incline bench. To begin, hold a weight, such as a pair of dumbbells or a barbell, in your hands. Keep your arms straight and raise your arms forward to shoulder height.

    Side Delts

    • The side delts are known as the lateral delts. Lateral means away from the midline of your body, and the muscle allows you to move your arms away from your body. To work your lateral delts, you can perform the side lateral raise. Begin by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart or sitting on a bench. Take a dumbbell or other weighted apparatus in each hand. Keeping your arms straight, raise your arms to your sides until your arms are parallel to the ground. Then, slowly bring your arms back down. Continue this movement until you start to feel a burn in your side delts.

    Rear Delts

    • The rear delts are an often overlooked part of the delts, because they are difficult to see. The rear delts work opposite to the front delts. In other words, they allow you to raise your arms towards the back. The best exercises are those in which you do this move while bent-over, because this allows you rear delts to work against the resistance. To work the rear delts, you can perform the dumbbell rear lateral raise. To begin, stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Grip a weight in each hand and lean forward until your back is parallel to the ground, bending your knees slightly. Position the weights under your chest with your arms straight and then raise your arms up to your sides until they are parallel with your back. Then, slowly bring your arms down to the starting position.

    Traps

    • And that leaves the traps. The traps are the muscles that allow you to shrug. To work your traps, you can perform the barbell or dumbbell shrug. Before you begin the exercise, place one hand over each trap and shrug. You should feel the muscle getting harder due to the contraction. To perform the barbell shrug, grip your barbell with your hands shoulder-width apart. Lift the bar and come to a standing position with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms straight. Then shrug your shoulders. Hold for a second and then lower your shoulders. For the dumbbell shrug, you can either stand with feet shoulder-width apart or sit on a bench. Grab a weight in each hand with your arms straight and then shrug your shoulders. Hold for a second and then lower your shoulders.