Without the right genetics, huge trapezoids may be a fantasy

What are some good growth-producing exercises for my trapezoids?

Everyone has seen him in one form or another: a guy in your gym who has traps that are so well-developed and massive that they seem to connect to his ears. How do people get traps like that? Well, unless you're blessed with perfect genetics, it's pretty unlikely you'll develop those kind of traps. However, try these few simple exercises, and you can help realize your full genetic potential for building up those shrugging muscles.

The typical exercise for traps is the upright row. It can be performed with either cables or free weights. Cables can help emphasize the burn, thereby helping to form and shape the muscle. Using free weights for this exercise helps add height to the muscle. Begin by standing with your feet shoulder width apart (or slightly wider). Grasp the bar with a pronated grip (palms facing you), and slowly pull the bar to the top of your chest. Concentrate on keeping your elbows slightly higher than your wrists, if possible. Squeeze at the top, and focus on feeling the muscle contract as you reach the top of the movement.

Another exercise that hits the traps hard are dumbbell or barbell shrugs. If you choose to use dumbbells, stand with the weights in either hand. Slowly bring your shoulders up as high as you can ("shrug" them; that's where the name of the exercise comes from). For a good squeeze, visualize touching the tops of your shoulders to your ears. Lower the weight slowly, and do not roll your shoulders during the exercise _ the motion is straight up and straight down. If you choose to use a barbell, the motion is pretty much the same, but you can alternate holding the bar in front of your legs and behind your legs to hit the muscle from different angles.



Should I wear a belt while I do squats? My friend says that it's really dangerous not to wear one, but I have been doing squats for a while and haven't had any problems without one.

After consulting a few local squatting experts, the consensus seems to be that you are both right. Doing squats is an exercise that brings into play lots of muscles in the body, both lower and upper. The lower back plays an important role in stabilization throughout the movement. Therefore, doing squats is a way to help strengthen your lower back. On really heavy squats, however, using a belt is the safest way to go about doing them. It gives your lower back more support, and helps protect it from strain and possible injury. Therefore, I would recommend that you use the belt only on your heaviest sets (in the 6-10 rep range).



Do I need "straps"?

One of the most obvious mistakes I see in the gym are people who spend five or six bucks on a pair of lifting straps, only to use them constantly, on exercises ranging from bicep curls to shoulder presses to deadlifts.

While I do not advising against getting the most use for your money, lifting straps should be used sparingly, like a spotter. Think about it: when bench pressing, do you ask your spotter to assist you on every rep, from warm up to working? Of course not _ you only use your spotter's help when you absolutely need it, or to help you through a lift you might otherwise not be able to complete. The same rule goes for using straps. Using them when doing exercises that are anything less than totally intense and heavy will be short-changing your forearm development. For example, using straps on most dumbbell exercises would be a waste, because most people can easily handle the weight they need to fatigue their biceps with just their hands. But, if you're doing 400 pound deadlifts, the straps should come into play because there aren't many people who could hold onto the bar by virtue of sheer forearm strength. That said, equipment in the gym that is meant to make things easier is a necessary part to any effective training regimen. In other words, straps should be used sparingly