Muscle outlines from Body Muscles by Ivan Vulović, Apache 2.0 — regrouped and recoloured for Muscle Train.
Unrack the bar and stand upright, extending your arms and bracing your core. Elevate your shoulders straight up, squeezing your traps. Pause briefly at the top, then slowly lower the bar back to the starting position, feeling a stretch. Rerack the bar.
To ensure proper form, focus on elevating your shoulders directly upward toward your ears, avoiding any tilting forward or backward, which can shift the focus away from your traps. Maintain straight arms throughout the entire movement to isolate the trapezius muscles and prevent shoulder joint stress; avoid bending at the elbows. Actively squeeze your traps hard at the top of the movement to maximize muscle contraction and engagement, visualizing the muscles drawing together. Avoid using momentum to lift the weight, as this reduces the effectiveness of the exercise and increases the risk of injury; focus on controlled movements. Engage your core muscles throughout the exercise to stabilize your spine and maintain a neutral posture, preventing lower back strain.
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