The Year of The Monster Is Coming

This time we explore the trapezius or "traps". That muscle that protrudes off of the shoulders at the neck. The traps help give that powerfull look that makes the shoulder area look more massive and impressive.

 Trapezius gets its name from its trapezium-like shape when looking at both muscles at once: the corners being the neck, the two shoulders, and the thoracic vertebra.

The trapezius has 3 functional regions: The superior region (descending part) supports the weight of the upper limb. The intermediate region (transverse part) retracts the scapulae. The inferior region (ascending part) medially rotates and depresses the scapulae. 

Because the fibers in the traps run in different directions, it has a variety of actions, including:

• scapular elevation (shrugging up or lifting the shoulders)
• scapular retraction (drawing the shoulder blades toward the midline)
• scapular depression (pulling the shoulder blades down

Well developed traps help greatly in improving upper body strength. Traps not only help with pulling and or lifting but also help in opening up the upper chest for better breathing.

There are not a wide variety of exercises used to develope the traps but hitting them from different angles can vastly improve your trap developement.

Shrugs are probably the best known and most direct way to hit the traps. Different ways of shrugging however developes different parts of the traps.

Barbell Shrug Behind The Back
These focus mainly on part of your upper traps and the center of your traps. Hold a barbell behind your back with your palms facing backwards. “Shrug” your shoulders upward as high as you can and squeeze it for a second. Then lower the bar all the way down as far as you can. To get the barbell into position, you can rest it on a power rack or bench and then pick it up from there. You can also do these with dumbbells or the smith machine. The Smith machine can allow you to lean forward a little more for a longer range of motion. Do 4 sets of 8-12 reps.

Barbell Shrug
These hit mainly the front part of your traps and the upper part of your traps. Hold a barbell with both hands in front of you with your hands a little wider than shoulder width apart. Keep your feet at shoulder width. Stand straight up with the bar hanging at arms length. Droop shoulders down as much as possible to start. Raise your shoulders up as far as you can go. All movements should act directly against the force of gravity and therefore any semicircular motion of the shoulders (a common error) is wasted effort since there is no resistance in the horizontal movement. This also places unnecessary stress on the rotator cuffs and shoulder girdle. Can also be done with dumbbells. Do 4 sets of 8-12 reps.

Behind the Back Upright Barbell Row

These hit your traps in the center and lower parts. Standing upright, grasp a barbell with your hands about shoulder width apart. Let the bar hang straight down behind you. Keep your body and wrists straight. Pull the bar straight up towards your back, keeping it close to your body. Concentrate on either pulling with your traps or the back of your shoulders, depending on what you want to work most. Lower slowly to the starting position. If you use a smith machine you can lean forward a little for better range of motion.   The targeted muscles are Traps, Biceps, and Shoulders. Do 4 sets of 8-12 reps.

You may not need a wide range of exercises to develope great traps just learning how to hit them from different angles for better results.

taylorednutrition.tripod.com

Just like the title says it’s been a tough few days for me. I have had some major external stresses and it has taken somewhat of a toll on me. A relationship that is very important to me is in a state of limbo. It’s really hard when you have the perfect person but external forces keeps you apart. No matter what happens from here on out, she will always be someone I love and will always care deeply about and will always be there for her if she calls.

Last week one of my friends commited suicide. A tragic shock to everyone in our circle. I just was with him a week before and he didn’t seem depressed or stressed or unhappy. Life is just funny sometimes. His funeral is friday so that probably is going to be a shitty day.

Needless to say I have been off my game these past few days. I basically slept for two days,ate little if anything, and basically shut my phone off. I did go back to the gym yesterday just to get my spirit working again.  I think it helped somewhat I actually felt a little better. It’s funny cause instead of going to the gym to beat the shit out of myself, I went for therapy. I went again today (my usual day off) but I needed the therapy again.  I did a little training but mostly cardio to let my mind wander.

It’s been a tough few days and I’m sure I’ll have  few more tough ones to come. All I can do is take things day by day and say vigilant.