4 Mid Trap Exercises for a Strong, Pain-Free Back

If you’re locked in on growing your back in time for summer, you’ve probably done a bit of investigating on the trapezius muscles.

These large muscles span across your neck and upper back.

They break down into three sections: upper, middle and lower. Today, we’ll focus on mid trap exercises. Let’s see what moves are absolute powerhouses when it comes to crushing the middle part of your trapezius muscles.

We’ll examine what the traps are and how they work. Next up, we’ll see some benefits of mid-trap training. And finally (the moment you’re waiting for!) we’ll unpack 4 simple mid trap exercises you can do to grow your upper back.

What Are the Trapezius Muscles?

They’re named for their shape. Your trapezius muscles (aka “traps”) are technically part of your upper back. That being said they span the sides of your neck, shoulders and upper back.

The upper traps sit on top of your shoulders and ride up the sides of your neck. let you lift and rotate your shoulder blades up. They also help you extend your neck.

Your lower traps sit from about the middle to the lower part of your shoulder blades down to your mid-spine. The mid traps sit between the upper and lower traps, covering your shoulders.

The mid traps serve a similar function to the lower: helping you retract your scapula. This means pulling your shoulder blades together.

Why is scapular retraction important? Understanding how your shoulder blades move and engage can save your joints. It’s useful for many exercises and sports.

Getting your shoulder blades in place can protect the shoulder joints from injuries like strain or impingement.

Research on trapezius muscle strength and scapular kinematics indicates that strong traps can even influence how your shoulder blades sit in your body.

You need healthy and functional scapulae for a variety of movements. You’ve probably heard “glue your shoulder blades together!” from one fitness instructor or another.

They’re not saying this to sound crazy (we promise). Using your traps and pulling your shoulder blades in keeps the delicate joints safe. Strong traps make this easier.

You can learn more about the mid-trapezius muscle structure and function here: Anatomy, Back, Trapezius.

Benefits of Training Your Mid Traps

Confidence

The traps are postural muscles. Their purpose is to keep you standing straight up. Want to know the best way to project confidence? Hint: standing up straight is a big help!

In Body Posture Effects on Self‐Evaluation researchers found that subjects recorded more positive self-affirmations when seated in a proud posture vs. a slouched one.

Not only can good posture help the way you feel about yourself. It may also help you project a more confident image to others. This is useful everywhere from work to social events.

It’s all trapped in your traps!

Bigger Shoulders and Back

Getting big shoulders and a strong back can help you work around aesthetic negatives. Do you have bad shoulder genetics or narrow clavicles?

Mid-trap exercises that grow your muscles can impact the look and position of your shoulders. Size matters (shoulder size! Get your mind out of the gutter) to both men and women.

Many weightlifters of all genders cite shoulder and back growth as a key fitness goal.

Why?

Broader shoulders can make you look bigger overall and give you a more proportionate frame.

If you’re a skinny dude, of course, you’re probably looking to get buff. Wider, developed shoulders are one of the first things other people will notice when you start packing on weight.

For women, the shoulders and upper back will help give you the hourglass shape. If you’re blessed with a shelf butt, but small on top, training your shoulders will help give you more balance between your upper and lower halves. Sculpted shoulders are sexy. So don’t worry about “getting bulky.”

Chances are, this won’t happen unless you’re overeating or a lean bulk look is your goal.

Aesthetics

Do you prioritize aesthetic workouts? Many people neglect training their backs. But muscle definition here makes all the difference.

Don’t be embarrassed if you train to look good. Mid-trap exercises should be one of the first items on your list.

Neck and Back Pain Relief

The traps extend up your neck to your occipital bone (the base of your skull). That means strengthening these muscles can help to give you a stronger neck.

The upper traps hit your neck, but your mid- and lower-trap strength will affect how the upper portion moves too.

Do you train your neck? It’s okay to admit it’s a no. Most of us don’t pay as much attention to our necks as we should.

But stronger traps may help your neck feel more supported with less daily strain on the muscles.

If you spend a little too much time on your phone scrolling TikTok, your traps are probably tight like most people’s. Letting your traps go untrained is associated with increased stiffness in people with chronic neck pain.

For more info, see:

• Neck/Shoulder Pain and Trapezius Muscle Tenderness in Office Workers

Reduce and Prevent Injuries

Finally, let’s go back to the shoulders.

As we mentioned, traps connect to many parts of your upper body at once. This makes them important to train to stop injuries in several areas.

Being able to effectively retract your scapulae (pulling your shoulder blades back and down) can save you from some brutal shoulder injuries. If you don’t work your traps, your shoulder blades don’t get the chance to move.

This can make them feel “stuck” or sticky. They probably won’t glide comfortably across your back easily, causing uncooperative joints that hurt when you move them or lead to injuries.

Best Mid Trap Exercises

Upright Row

This move is great for traps and deltoids. Sounds like a no-brainer double-duty move! Want to make this move mid-trap focused? Use a wider grip on your barbell.

The upright row can easily be made into a mid trap exercise if you use a wide grip.

• Set-Up: Grab a medium-weight straight barbell or EZ bar with an overhand, shoulder-width grip. Pick it up and let the bar hang in front of you, touching your thighs.
• Body Position: Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Roll your shoulders back to help engage the back muscles and create a proud position with your chest. This will allow you to maintain a neutral spine and hold onto your posture during this exercise.
• Lift: Start to bend your elbows and lift your arms. Slowly start to slide your barbell up your front body with control, bringing the weight up to just under chin or shoulder height. Your barbell should slide along your body as you lead with your elbows to lift and the elbows should bend past 90 degrees. Think about making the motion of peeling off your T-shirt.
• Reverse: Pause briefly at the top, then resist your weight as you slide your barbell back down, bringing yourself back to the starting position.
• Reps: Continue for 3 sets of 10-12 reps.

Pro-Tip: Think about sending your elbows out wide and using them to drive this movement.

Barbell Shrug

You can use it as an upper trap exercise or reverse the shrug for a lower trap exercise. No matter how you slice it, there’s little better than a shrug to hit your traps.

• Set-Up: Grab a barbell with both hands, bringing it to the front of your body.
• Body Position: Keep your feet and hands shoulder-width apart. Your barbell should hang down at arms-length, at the height of your mid-thighs.
• Shrug: With straight arms, lift your barbell by shrugging your shoulders. Hold for a moment.
• Reverse: With control, lower your barbell back down to the starting position.
• Reps: Aim for 3-4 sets of 10-15 reps.

Pull-Ups

Pull-ups are a total body workout that you can use to target the mid-traps.

• Set-Up & Grip: Find a pull-up bar. Lift your arms. Face your palms away from you and grab the bar firmly. Brace your core muscles with your arms extended.
• Activation: Drive out of your back and shoulders. Bend your elbows and activate your forearms to lift your body up and off the ground.
• Elevation: Keep your chest proud. Continue to follow through the movement until your chin lines up with your fists. Pull up slightly further through the chest. Aim to touch your chest to the bar.
• Descent: Hold this position for a moment at the top. Next, slowly extend your elbows and lower your body back to the starting position. Be careful here not to drop or dump into your shoulders. If you don't control the movement here, you risk shoulder injuries on the eccentric (the “down”) part of the move.

Learn more about concentric and eccentric movement and how it can benefit your training:

• Concentric and Eccentric: Muscle Contraction or Exercise?

Face Pulls

Face pulls are another all-around beast of a move for your traps. Upper, lower, and mid traps will all be feeling the effects of this exercise.

• Set-Up: Start by attaching a rope or handle to a cable machine. Your attachment should sit at face height.
• Adjust the pulley to this level. Step back to stand a few feet away from your machine. You can also choose to kneel at the same distance away if it’s more comfortable, although you’ll need to adjust your pulley height accordingly.
• Grip and Position: Grab your rope or handle with an overhand grip. Keep your hands around shoulder-width apart. Step far enough back to put some tension in your cable. If you’re standing up, keep a slight bend in your knees.
• Movement: Extend your arms all the way. Pull the rope or handle towards your face by bending your elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades together. Your upper arms should stay parallel to the ground. Make sure you’re pulling directly towards your face (this can feel strange at first!). Think about externally rotating your shoulders.
• Return: Slowly reverse your movement. Extend your arms and slowly let the weight pull you back to the starting position. Work against the resistance to control the weight.
• Your cables should never be jerking your shoulders into position. Focus on engaging your rear delts and upper back muscles the whole time.
• Reps: Keep going for as many reps as you’d like. We’d recommend 3-4 reps of 8-12 reps for new lifters.

It’s Not a Trap!

We promise. Though these shoulder-builders can feel tough at times, training your traps is one of the best ways to get results if you struggle with weak or scrawny shoulders.

Refuel after your mid-trap workouts with enough protein and solid sleep.

For more information on how to grow your shoulders, check out these articles:

• Arnold Press vs. Shoulder Press
• Shoulder Cable Workouts
• Sloped Shoulders

Toning your mid traps can make you look good and feel better.

The trapezius muscles mostly assist your posture. Mid-trap exercises that push these muscles towards strength and hypertrophy (muscle growth) can help you stand more upright and project an aura of confidence..

Strengthening these muscles is a good way to make sure your back doesn’t hurt all day. What’s more, it may ward off shoulder issues like impingement.

Try out rows, shrugs, face pulls and pull-ups. Stick to it for at least a few months, and you should be able to notice the difference if you stay consistent.

References

Padulo, J., Laffaye, G., Chamari, K., & Concu, A. (2013). Concentric and eccentric: muscle contraction or exercise?. Sports health, 5(4), 306. https://doi.org/10.1177/1941738113491386

Turgut, E., Duzgun, I., & Baltaci, G. (2016). Effect of trapezius muscle strength on three-dimensional scapular kinematics. Journal of physical therapy science, 28(6), 1864–1867. https://doi.org/10.1589/jpts.28.1864