very strange trap problem

[gza]

DB and BB shrugs are my best friend.
so today, i figured, since i do OH squats, i might as well do OH shrugs
i was in for quite a surprise
i tried it first with DBs
my left side was fine, perfect ROM, i could elevate and descend normally
but my right side...get this: i couldn't even "reach" or extend my arm. its as if it wouldn't move or i had no muscle/nerve endings/whateverthefuck there whatsoever.

what the hell is going on? is it a muscle imbalance? weakness? flexibility issue?

 

[hunto]

DB and BB shrugs are my best friend.
so today, i figured, since i do OH squats, i might as well do OH shrugs
i was in for quite a surprise
i tried it first with DBs
my left side was fine, perfect ROM, i could elevate and descend normally
but my right side...get this: i couldn't even "reach" or extend my arm. its as if it wouldn't move or i had no muscle/nerve endings/whateverthefuck there whatsoever.

what the hell is going on? is it a muscle imbalance? weakness? flexibility issue?

In my n00b opinion, its merely a recruitment issue. You'll be fine after a few workouts.

 

[TrinitronMaximu]

I don't remember where I read this - but if it is a recruitment problem, a good exercise would be doing bodyweight shrugs all day. Think about touching your traps to your ears (even though this won't be possible) and hold it at the top for a second.

 

[gza]

word to the BW shrugs

this kinda worries me though
last thing i want is a fucked up back

 

[TheCuttlefish]

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I'm not being very helpful.

 

[KazenoYojimbo]

What about the Lesson of Keith Wassung on the Heise shrug... talks a lot about flexibility work for the traps, might help with recruitment. Just a thought, I'm certainly no expert.

 

[gza]

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I'm not being very helpful.

its ok, i laughed.

i got the correct term for it from another forum:

i can elevate the scapula with my arm at my side (a shrug) but cannot elevate it when my arm is straight up

 

[Keith Wassung]

its a recruitment issue for the most part. You can do shrugs in many, many ways, do a kelso shrug, where you get into a bent over row starting position and then while keeping the arms straight, you "shrug" the bar and attempt to squeeze the upper back together. Do a pull-up/chin-up lat pulldown and keep the arms straight and "shrug" the bar up and down. Dips, same thing, Bench press, overhead press, the list goes on and when you hit these from different angles, you will build and upper back that will make a bull gorilla green with envy.

keith

 

[gza]

thanks a lot keith, i appreciate it

 

[Keith Wassung]

cut and pasted from elsewhere in the net galaxy

Let me add something about shrugs and trap work in general. The vast majority of people, including athletes and people who lift, have a VERY restricted range of motion in their trapezius. I have been doing clinical exams for nearly 19 years now and literally everybody I have ever examined has a VERY restricted ROM in the traps. Some exceptions would be Olympic lifters, some field athletes and or guys who have worked in the gym to improve their ROM. If you are tight and or have restricted ROM in the traps-and I bet that is 80-90% of you, then you will have to spend some time working to improve it. The best way that I know is do do a bunch of no weight shrugs throughout the day-do it in the car, in the bathroom, in the empty hallway, standing in line at the restaurant or gas station, you do a quick shrug to the ears-get up as high as you can, hold the contraction for 2-3 sections and then go even higher. Aim to touch your shoulders to your ears. Do it over and over and over-a little tip in weight training-repetition will fix just about anything. Do this in the morning when you wake up, do it in the shower, as you brush your teeth. Do this for 2-3 weeks and then start doing it with a broomstick-learn to do full rom shrugs with an empty bar, then do shrugs with an empty bar and gradually add weight. Once you improve the trapezius ROM, you will see INCREDIBLE results when you train them-contraction is one of the key elements and I dont care how much weight you use, if you are not getting the proper muscular contraction, you are selling yourself short in terms of reaching your own potential.

As is true with life and in the gym-if you are willing to pay the price that others will not-you will reap the benefits that others will not"

Keith Wassung

 

[hunto]

gza,

I defer to KW and all the others that are mroe experienced. But the other night I was shrugging and found a good trap isolation exercise that may help you- it may not. I shrugged with the barbell behind my back. I could feel my traps working in a more pronounced way than with the bar in front of me. But again, I'm new to all this, so take it fwiw.

 

[gza]

gza,

I defer to KW and all the others that are mroe experienced. But the other night I was shrugging and found a good trap isolation exercise that may help you- it may not. I shrugged with the barbell behind my back. I could feel my traps working in a more pronounced way than with the bar in front of me. But again, I'm new to all this, so take it fwiw.

i do those sometimes, i believe theyre called haney shrugs
ive been really concerned about my traps lately after discovering i have very little mobility on my right side