17 Best Bodyweight Traps Exercises That Can Be Done Anywhere

ByJoanna Shinault Updated on

As a personal trainer, I understand the challenges busy individuals face when trying to stay consistent with their fitness goals. Time constraints, hectic schedules, frequent travels, and lack of equipment can make it difficult to prioritize strength training.

However, when it comes to building stronger traps, you don’t need a gym full of weights to see real results. Bodyweight traps exercises are highly effective and can be performed almost anywhere, making them perfect for those with demanding routines.

By incorporating the right movements into your day, you can develop powerful, defined trapezius muscles while maximizing your time and staying on track with your fitness goals. Let’s explore the best bodyweight exercises to get you there!

Heads up: this post contains affiliate links to things I personally love and recommend. If you purchase through a link, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Read disclosure here. Thanks for your support!

A picture of the muscular anatomy of a human with the trapezious muscles highlighted in teal.

What Are The Trapezius Muscles And Where Are They?

The trapezius muscles, also known as traps, are a triangular-shaped muscle group located in the upper back and neck area. They play an essential role in shoulder movement and posture, making them crucial for everyday activities like carrying heavy objects or maintaining proper form during exercises.

Upper Traps

Located at the top part of the back and neck, the upper traps are responsible for elevating the shoulders and helping with neck movements.

Middle Traps

Situated in the middle of the back, these muscles help retract the shoulder blades, pulling them together.

Lower Traps

Found in the lower part of the traps, these muscles assist in depressing the shoulder blades and stabilizing the spine.

What Causes Weak Traps?

Weak traps can be the result of various factors including poor posture and incorrect sleeping positions. Let’s explore these causes in more detail.

Forward Head Posture

One common cause of weak traps is forward head posture. This occurs when the head is positioned forward relative to the spine, causing strain on the cervical spine and the upper traps. Over time, this can lead to muscle imbalances and weakness.

Poor Sleeping Position

Sleeping in awkward positions can also contribute to weak traps. For example, sleeping on your stomach with your head turned to one side can place undue stress on the neck and trapezius muscles. It’s important to maintain a neutral spine position while sleeping to prevent muscle strain.

Sedentary Lifestyle

A sedentary lifestyle, characterized by prolonged periods of sitting and lack of physical activity, can lead to muscle atrophy and weakness. Incorporating regular movement and exercises targeting the traps can help combat this issue.

How to Maintain Proper Form When Standing

Maintaining proper form when standing is essential for preventing trapezius strain and promoting muscle strength. Follow these tips to ensure good posture and form.

Align Your Spine

Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart. Make sure your ears are aligned with your shoulders, hips, and ankles. This helps maintain a neutral spine position.

Engage Your Core

Activate your core muscles by gently pulling your belly button towards your spine. This provides stability to your torso and reduces the risk of slouching.

Relax Your Shoulders

Keep your shoulders relaxed and avoid shrugging them up towards your ears. Maintaining a relaxed shoulder position helps reduce tension in the traps.

A woman performing childs pose stretch at home with white walls around her.

Stretches for Traps

Stretching is an important aspect of maintaining trapezius health and flexibility. Here are some effective stretches to incorporate into your routine.

Child’s Pose

Begin on your hands and knees, then sit back on your heels while extending your arms forward on the floor. This gentle stretch helps release tension in the upper and middle traps.

Cat/Cow Stretch

Start on all fours with your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Alternate between arching your back (cat pose) and dropping your belly towards the floor (cow pose) to stretch and mobilize the entire spine and traps.

Upper Trap Stretch

Sit or stand with your back straight. Tilt your head to one side, bringing your ear towards your shoulder, and gently press down on your head with your hand to deepen the stretch. Hold for 20-30 seconds and repeat on the other side.

Middle Trap Stretch

Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Interlace your fingers, extend your arms forward, and lower your chin to your chest to stretch your upper back and neck. Adjust the angle or height of your hands to target different fibers of the trapezius muscle. Hold the stretch for 20-30 seconds, then switch sides.

created just for you

Grab my Best Resources – FREE!

Grab my 5 Day Wellness Challenge, Top 15 Healthy Travel Tips download, and more!

check them out!

17 Bodyweight Traps Exercises

Now that you understand the importance of strong traps and how to stretch them, let’s explore various traps bodyweight exercises to target these muscles. Each exercise includes a description of what it targets, how to perform it, and an example rep/set range.

1. Shoulder Blade Squeeze

Targets: Middle Traps

How to Do It: Sit or stand with your back straight. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and hold for 5 seconds before releasing.

Reps/Sets: 3 sets of 12-15 reps

2. Shrug / Overhead Shrug / Inverted Shrugs

Targets: Upper Traps

How to Do It: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Lift your shoulders towards your ears in a shrugging motion and hold for 2-3 seconds. For an overhead shrug, extend your arms overhead and perform the same shrugging motion. Inverted shrugs are advanced and involve hanging from a bar and shrugging your shoulders upwards.

Reps/Sets: 3 sets of 10-12 reps

3. Bodyweight Upright Row

Targets: Upper and Middle Traps

How to Do It: Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Lift your elbows high while keeping your hands close to your body, raising them to shoulder height.

Reps/Sets: 3 sets of 10-12 reps

A woman wearing all black with neon orange shoes doing pushups on the park track.

4. Pushup

Targets: Upper and Middle Traps

How to Do It: Perform a standard pushup with your hands shoulder-width apart and your body in a straight line. Lower your body until your chest nearly touches the ground and push back up.

Reps/Sets: 3 sets of 10-15 reps

5. Pike Pushup

Targets: Upper Traps

How to Do It: Begin in a downward dog position. Lower your head towards the ground by bending your elbows, then push back up.

Reps/Sets: 3 sets of 8-10 reps

6. Hand Walk

Targets: Upper and Middle Traps

How to Do It: Start in a plank position and walk your hands towards your feet, lifting your hips towards the sky. Walk back to the plank position and repeat.

Reps/Sets: 3 sets of 8-10 reps

7. Lying or Bent-over Y / Bent-over L

Targets: Lower Traps

How to Do It: Lie face down on a bench or bend over with a flat back. Extend your arms overhead in a “Y” shape, then bring them down to a “T” position.

Reps/Sets: 3 sets of 10-12 reps

8. Pullup

Targets: Upper and Middle Traps

How to Do It: Hang from a pull-up bar with your palms facing away from you. Pull yourself up until your chin is above the bar, then lower yourself back down.

Reps/Sets: 3 sets of 6-8 reps

9. Plank

Targets: Entire Trapezius

How to Do It: Hold a plank position with your forearms on the ground, maintaining a straight line from head to heels.

Reps/Sets: Hold for 30-60 seconds, 3 times

A woman performing side planks on a gray yoga mat at the park lawn.

10. Side Plank

Targets: Entire Trapezius

How to Do It: Lie on your side with your legs straight. Lift your hips off the ground, supporting your body on one forearm and the side of your foot.

Reps/Sets: Hold for 20-30 seconds on each side, 3 times

11. Feet Elevated Pushup

Targets: Upper and Middle Traps

How to Do It: Place your feet on an elevated surface and perform a pushup.

Reps/Sets: 3 sets of 10-12 reps

12. Wall Handstand

Targets: Upper Traps

How to Do It: Kick up into a handstand against a wall and hold the position.

Reps/Sets: Hold for 20-30 seconds, 3 times

13. Bridge Support Holds

Targets: Entire Trapezius

How to Do It: Lie on your back with your feet flat on the ground. Lift your hips towards the sky, creating a bridge position.

Reps/Sets: Hold for 20-30 seconds, 3 times

14. Arm Circles

Targets: Upper Traps

How to Do It: Stand with your arms extended to the sides. Make small circles with your arms, gradually increasing the size of the circles.

Reps/Sets: 3 sets of 20-30 seconds

A woman doing dips on a teal and wood park bench.

15. Dips

Targets: Lower Traps

How to Do It: Support yourself on parallel bars with your arms straight. Lower your body by bending your elbows and then push back up.

Reps/Sets: 3 sets of 8-10 reps

16. Superman

Targets: Entire Trapezius

How to Do It: Lie face down on the floor with your arms extended in front of you. Lift your arms and legs off the ground simultaneously, holding the position for a few seconds before lowering them back down.

Reps/Sets: 3 sets of 10-12 reps

17. Wall Slide

Targets: Upper and Middle Traps

How to Do It: Stand with your back against a wall and your arms bent at a 90-degree angle. Slide your arms up and down the wall while maintaining contact with the wall.

Reps/Sets: 3 sets of 10-12 reps

Can You Injure Your Trapezius?

Yes, the trapezius can be injured, especially if exercises are performed with improper form or excessive weight. Common injuries include strains, sprains, and muscle spasms. It’s important to warm up your traps properly, use correct form, and listen to your body to avoid overexertion.

Conclusion: Bodyweight Traps Exercises

Maintaining the health and strength of your trapezius muscles is essential, especially in today’s fast-paced world where travel and busy schedules can take a toll on your body.

Whether you’re lugging suitcases through airports or spending long hours at a desk, your trapezius plays a crucial role in supporting your neck and upper back.

By incorporating proper exercises, being mindful of your posture, and allowing adequate time for rest and recovery, you can prevent injuries and stay healthy no matter how hectic life gets.

Taking care of your body empowers you to fully enjoy both your work and adventures on the go! Are you ready?

A woman in black leggings and a mint green top performing wall stand up in a white studio.

FAQs

Can you work traps with bodyweight?

Yes, you can absolutely work your traps with bodyweight exercises! Movements like push-up variations, scapular retractions, and plank to downward dog transitions effectively engage and strengthen your trapezius muscles without the need for additional equipment.

How can I build my trapezius without weights?

Yes, you can build traps without weights. Bodyweight exercises for traps such as handstand holds, pike push-ups, and prone Y-raises are excellent for targeting and building your trapezius muscles. Consistency with these movements, along with proper form, can help develop strength and definition over time.

Can you build traps with calisthenics?

Yes, you can build your traps with calisthenics! Exercises like pull-ups, muscle-ups, and scapular shrugs are highly effective for engaging and developing the trapezius muscles using only your body weight.

Do push ups build traps?

Yes, push-ups can help engage the trapezius muscles, particularly during variations like pike push-ups or push-ups with scapular protraction. While they primarily target the chest, shoulders, and triceps, incorporating these variations can effectively activate and strengthen the traps.

What bodyweight exercises work traps?

Bodyweight exercises that work the traps include scapular shrugs, prone Y-raises, and handstand pushups and holds. These movements effectively target the trapezius by emphasizing scapular control, shoulder stability, and upper back engagement.

How do I build traps with bodyweight exercises?

To build traps with bodyweight workouts and exercises, focus on movements that target the upper back and shoulders such as scapular shrugs, pike push-ups, and prone Y-raises. Consistency, proper form, and progressive overload are key to effectively strengthening and developing the trapezius muscles over time.

What are some calisthenics upper trap exercises?

Some effective calisthenics bodyweight exercises for the upper traps include wall walks, handstand shrugs, and scapular pull-ups. These exercises emphasize shoulder stability and upper back strength, making them excellent for trapezius development.

Read More on All-Things Fitness Anywhere Tips:

My Wellness Anywhere Toolkit

  • Rocky Mountain Oils – essential oils for energy, stress-relief, immunity, first aid, natural cleaning, better sleep, pain relief, & more!
  • Femme Royale – the most comfortable fitness outfits & my all-time favorite backpack-turns-weightlifting bag, the Empack, perfect at home & anywhere!
  • Trulean – the best travel packets of clean protein powder & wellness-boosting drink mixes.
  • Suspension trainer – a fun & portable piece of workout equipment that enables you to workout in your hotel room or outside in nature!
  • Loop bands & tube bands – super lightweight strength-training bands that can be brought anywhere without taking up much space or weight.
  • Pure Wave percussion massager – best percussion massager for releasing trigger points & relaxing muscles, including all the hard-to-reach areas!
  • IntelliRoll foam rollers – favorite foam rollers for daily use that hits all the right spots with their one-of-a-kind design.
  • Thrive Market – amazing online grocer for stocking up on all your healthy & travelable snacks at a discount!
  • Prep Dish – nutritious meal-planning service that saves you stress, time, & energy and guides you on prepping your entire week in just a couple hours.
  • Cook Once, Eat All Week – all-time favorite cookbook that provides 26 weeks of healthy meal plans that can be prepped & cooked in bulk each week.
  • Just Thrive – the best spore probiotic for keeping your gut health in-check no matter where you are in the world.
  • Expedia – great place to book your wellness travels & accommodations.
  • Viator – best place for booking experiences that compliment your travels.

Want to learn more simple & sustainable wellness tips? Check out My Resources page where you can grab all my best guides & trainings created just for you!

Pin this for later!

A pinnable image of 17 Best Bodyweight Traps Exercises That Can Be Done Anywhere with a woman doing a handstand against a white wall.

Joanna Shinault is the founder of The Wellness Adventurer. She's a Certified Personal Trainer, Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, and Certified Travel Advisor on a mission to simplify wellness from anywhere in the world. She's committed to sharing her knowledge and helping busy women achieve their personal health and fitness goals in a fun, maintainable, and balanced way.