Muscles worked
The Smith shrug trains the upper part of your trapezius, helped by the levator scapulae, just as with a free bar. The difference is that the rails guide the bar straight up and down. You do not have to balance the weight, so you can focus fully on your shoulders, and the hooks let you rack the bar at any point. The path is fixed, so your body has to fit the machine, not the other way round.
Common mistakes
- The safety stops are not set. If your grip goes, the bar should not be able to drop towards your feet. Set the stops a little below the bar's lowest point.
- Losing tension as you unrack. Twisting the bar free with loose arms and a slack trunk jolts your shoulders before the first rep. Grip hard and brace first, then release the bar, and hook it back on before you let go.
- Your hands are too wide. Your arms should hang straight down from your shoulders. With a very wide grip they hang at an angle and lifting your shoulders straight up gets harder. Grip at about shoulder width or slightly wider.
Variations and alternatives
- The barbell shrug with a free bar, when you want your body to handle the balance too.
- The machine shrug has handles instead of a bar and often spares your grip.
- The upright row also trains the traps but puts more work on the side of your shoulders, when you want them involved too.
Sets and reps
Loading heavy and racking the bar is easy here, so both 6 to 10 reps and longer sets of 12 to 15 work. For building muscle, 8 to 12 reps over three or four sets, with a short pause at the top, is a good starting point. The guide to sets and reps explains how to choose a range.
Plates let you add 2.5 kg or less at a time, which suits a short movement. Add reps before you add weight, and use lifting straps if your grip gives out before your traps. That way you follow progressive overload without the movement shrinking. If your neck or shoulders start to hurt, not just feel loaded, stop and get a doctor or physiotherapist to check it.