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

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

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Behind-The-Back Barbell Shrugs

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

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