60 Minutes Advanced Traps Workout with Smith Machine
A 60 minutes muscle building workout targeting your traps using smith machine equipment. 3 exercises, 10 total sets, designed for advanced lifters.
60 Minutes
Duration
10
Total Sets
8-12 reps
Rep Range
~700
Est. Calories
The Workout
Start with this as your primary movement. Warm up with 2 lighter sets first.
Form cues
- Set the bar at glute height and stand facing away from it.
- Grip the bar behind you with a shoulder-width overhand grip.
- Shrug your shoulders straight up toward your ears while pulling slightly back.
Stand in the center of the Smith machine, grab the bar with a shoulder-width overhand grip.
Form cues
- Stand in the center of the Smith machine, grab the bar with a shoulder-width overhand grip.
- Unrack the bar and let it hang at full arm extension in front of your thighs.
- Shrug straight up as high as possible, squeezing the upper traps for a two-count.
Finish strong — take the last set close to failure.
Form cues
- Stand with the bar at arm length, gripping slightly narrower than shoulder-width.
- Pull the bar straight up along your body, leading with the elbows.
- Raise until elbows are at or above shoulder height.
Why This Workout Works
This workout is built around the principles of muscle building training. Use moderate loads (65-80% of your 1RM) with controlled eccentrics and full range of motion. Prioritize progressive overload by adding reps before adding weight. Train each muscle group 2x per week with 10-20 hard sets per muscle per week.
Training Parameters
- Rep Range: 8-12 reps — the hypertrophy sweet spot for maximum muscle growth
- Rest Periods: 60-90 seconds — long enough for quality reps, short enough for metabolic stress
- Sets Per Exercise: 3-4 sets — optimized for muscle building
Traps Training Tips
- *Heavy shrugs build the upper traps but neglect the mid and lower traps — add face pulls and prone Y-raises.
- *Hold the peak contraction for 1-2 seconds on shrugs instead of bouncing the weight.
- *Deadlifts and rack pulls are underrated trap builders — heavy isometric loading is very effective.
Get this traps workout personalized for you
Revy's AI will analyze your training history, recovery status, and strength levels to customize every set, rep, and weight for maximum muscle building results.