Lifting Straps for Shrugs: Should You Use Them and How

Shrugs are one of the simplest exercises in the gym, but they have a common problem: your traps can handle far more weight than your hands can hold. If your grip gives out after a few reps while your traps barely feel worked, lifting straps are the easy fix. Here is how to use them for barbell, dumbbell and trap bar shrugs.

Why Grip Limits Shrugs

The upper traps are a large, strong muscle group. To challenge them, you often need heavy weights for 10 to 20 reps. Holding that much weight for that long is very demanding on the forearms. If your grip fails first, your traps never get the work they need. Straps transfer much of the load from your fingers to your wrists, so you can hold the bar long enough to train the target muscle.

Should You Use Straps for Shrugs?

For most lifters, yes, at least on heavy sets. Shrugs are a trap exercise, not a grip exercise. You can still train grip separately with holds, farmer's walks and deadlifts without straps. Read are lifting straps cheating for a deeper discussion.

How to Use Lifting Straps for Barbell Shrugs

1. Slide your hand through the loop so the strap tail runs along your palm toward your thumb.
2. Grip the bar with an overhand grip at about shoulder width.
3. Wrap the tail under and around the bar, away from you.
4. Twist your hand to tighten the strap around the bar.
5. Repeat with the other hand.
6. Deadlift the bar from a rack set around mid-thigh height.

Full instructions in how to use lifting straps.

How to Use Straps for Dumbbell Shrugs

Loop the strap around the dumbbell handle the same way. Dumbbells let your arms hang naturally at your sides and allow a slightly longer range of motion. Straps are especially handy here because heavy dumbbells are awkward to hold.

Shrug Technique Tips

• Stand tall with a neutral spine.
• Lift your shoulders straight up toward your ears.
• Pause for one second at the top.
• Lower slowly until your shoulders are fully down.
• Avoid rolling your shoulders forward or backward.
• Keep your arms straight; do not turn it into an upright row.

Our full guide: how to do shrugs.

Sets and Reps

• Heavy: 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 10.
• Moderate: 3 sets of 12 to 15.
• Pump finisher: 2 sets of 20 with a pause at the top.

Barbell vs Dumbbell vs Trap Bar Shrugs

• Barbell: easy to load heavy; the bar sits in front of your body.
• Dumbbell: natural arm path, great for focusing on each side.
• Trap bar: weight at your sides with a neutral grip, very comfortable for heavy loads.

Straps work with all three.

Choosing Straps for Shrugs

Look for straps long enough to wrap around a thick bar or trap bar handle, with comfortable padding where the strap sits on your wrist. Bay Gear Co. lifting straps are 24" long and $19.99. That length wraps easily around barbells, dumbbells and trap bars. See the lifting straps collection.

Other Exercises Where Straps Help

• Heavy rows and lifting straps for pull-ups and rows
• Romanian deadlifts: see lifting straps for RDL
• Rack pulls and deadlift back-off sets
• Lat pulldowns: see lifting straps for lat pulldowns

Common Shrug Mistakes

Shrugs are simple, but a few mistakes are common. The biggest is using so much weight that the range of motion shrinks to a tiny bounce. Your shoulders should travel all the way up toward your ears and all the way down at the bottom. Another mistake is rolling the shoulders in circles, which adds nothing for the traps. Lift straight up and lower straight down. Finally, many lifters bend their elbows and pull with their arms. Keep the arms straight and let the traps do the work. Straps help by removing the grip limit, so you can focus fully on technique.

Shrugs for Powerlifters and Strength Athletes

Strong traps are useful for more than looks. Heavy deadlifts and rows depend on a solid upper back. Many powerlifters include heavy shrugs or rack pulls as accessory work. Straps make these accessories practical without wearing out the grip needed for competition-style deadlifts. Read how to do rack pulls.

Pairing Shrugs With Other Upper Back Exercises

For a balanced upper back, combine shrugs with face pulls, upright rows and rows. Shrugs build the upper traps, while face pulls and rows work the mid and lower traps and rear delts. A complete upper back session might include two to three of these exercises.

How Often to Train Shrugs

Two sessions per week with three to four sets each is plenty for most lifters. Because traps also work during deadlifts and rows, you may not need much extra volume. Track your weights and reps over time to make steady progress.

FAQ

Are straps good for shrugs?

Yes. They let you train the traps with loads your grip could not otherwise hold.

Will straps weaken my grip?

Not if you also train your grip on other exercises.

Can I shrug without straps?

Yes, with lighter weights or if building grip is part of your goal.

Shop Lifting Straps

Grab Bay Gear Co. lifting straps for your next upper back day. Free shipping on orders over $49 and a 30-day return policy.