The trapezius muscle is the most eye-catching muscle on the back, and it can be divided into three parts! Upper, middle and lower parts. The functions of each part will also be different!

Many people only see the upper part of the trapezius muscle and do too many shrug exercises, often neglecting the middle and lower parts. This is a very bad situation!

The lower trapezius muscle is often in a stretched, weak state due to problems with thoracic spine mobility (hunched round shoulders) or overactivity of the upper trapezius muscle. This can lead to instability of the scapula.

At first glance, instability may not seem like a big deal; but that changes when we think about heavy bench presses. We know that bench pressing requires maximum scapula stability.

For optimal performance, we need to retract and depress the shoulder blades. What happens if we don’t have this stability? The best outcome is weight loss, the worst outcome is injury.

Good lower trapezius muscle strength can help better stabilize the scapula and adjust the shoulder posture, making you more secure during exercise!

Today I would like to recommend a very simple and effective action to exercise our lower trapezius muscles:

A brief introduction to the main functions of the lower part of the trapezius muscle: sinking and upward rotation of the scapula

Using the function of the trapezius muscle to sink the scapula, we can use a stool (reverse shrug) ) scapula depression movement to exercise it

Action demonstration

1. As shown in the picture: starting position and bench arm flexion and extension The action is the same! Straighten your hands to support the edge of the stool, and rest your legs on the ground or another stool. Then keep your body stable and your upper body straight!

2. Then sink the shoulder blades, feeling that the shoulders are about to touch the ears

3. Start pressing down on the shoulders and lift the shoulder blades. Use the movement of your shoulder blades to feel the sensation of your body being lifted upward. Return to the starting position

This action is a good way to "exercise your ability to retract your shoulder blades." Performing this exercise regularly will develop better kinesthetic awareness of your scapula position and strengthen your weak lower trapezius

Remember to keep your arms straight at all times, this is just a scapula movement!