Behind-The-Back Barbell Shrugs

Stand in front of a loaded barbell racked low or place a barbell on the floor behind you. Grip the bar with a pronated grip at shoulder width with the bar hanging behind your glutes. Stand tall and shrug your shoulders straight up, pause briefly, and lower under control. The bar position behind the body biases the lower traps and back.

BACK · PULL

Behind-The-Back Barbell Shrugs: how the movement is executed

How it is executed

Stand in front of a loaded barbell racked low or place a barbell on the floor behind you.
Grip the bar with a pronated grip at shoulder width with the bar hanging behind your glutes.
Stand tall and shrug your shoulders straight up, pause briefly, and lower under control.
The bar position behind the body biases the lower traps and back.

Muscles worked: Back
Primary muscle: Trapezius
Equipment: Barbell
Movement pattern: Pull
Difficulty: Intermediate
What it is for: StrengthHypertrophy

Variations and substitutions

Trap Bar ShrugsTrap bar Smith Machine ShrugsSmith machine Cable ShrugsCable · Straight bar attachment Barbell ShrugsBarbell Wide-Grip Barbell ShrugsBarbell Incline Dumbbell ShrugsDumbbell

Back exercises Barbell exercises Estimated 1RM calculator Barbell plate calculator Back to the library

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Glossary and calculators

1RM (one-rep max)The 1RM is the heaviest load a person can lift once in a given exercise with correct technique.Minimum effective volume (MEV)Minimum effective volume is the smallest number of weekly sets near failure that still produces adaptation in a muscle.Barbell plate calculatorWhat plates to load on the bar

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Behind-The-Back Barbell Shrugs

Program your clients' routines from these exercises, without the spreadsheet.

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