Your lower traps might not be the flashiest muscles, but they’re essential for posture, strength, and injury prevention. Located along the middle of your back, these stabilizing muscles support shoulder movement and help keep your upper body aligned during lifts. Yet, they’re often neglected in traditional workouts. Strengthening them can dramatically improve mobility, balance, and overall upper-body function. In this guide, we’ll break down seven of the most effective trap exercises to help you build strength, stability, and a more balanced physique.
Lower Trapezius Anatomy Explained
Understanding basic muscle anatomy is crucial for learning how to fire specific muscles to address imbalances, build a strong mind-muscle connection, and develop a ripped physique.
The trapezius is a large muscle that spans the upper back and neck and is composed of three distinct regions: the upper, middle, and lower. Each area plays a role in different upper-body movements, all with a focus on shoulder movement and stability.
The lower traps are the lowest part of the muscle that extends down the spine from the lower scapula to the middle of the back. This plays a role in scapular depression, the pulling of the shoulder blades downward, like when taking something off a shelf.
Lower traps also work with the middle traps to retract the shoulder blades, drawing them toward the midline of the body, as during rowing movements. Additionally, they engage the upper traps to rotate the scapula upward when lifting your arms overhead. Finally, all parts of the trapezius play an essential role in maintaining correct posture by supporting the shoulder blades.
How Do You Work Your Lower Traps?
In order to work your lower trapezius, you need to perform exercises that focus on scapular depression and retraction, which are the primary functions of this vital muscle.
This means using exercises that involve pulling your shoulder blades down and back, especially those that focus on pulling your arms toward the ground behind you, such as during rowing motions, which help isolate and target the lower trapezius.
7 Most Effective Lower Trap Workouts
Now, let’s look at some of the best trap exercises that will help you isolate and fire up those lower trapezius muscles.
Y Press
The Y-Press is arguably one of the best workouts for engaging the lower traps, since their job is to provide depression and stability when the shoulder blade is rotated as we raise our arms overhead. Going up at a 45-degree angle makes this the perfect routine for targeting this region.
How To Do It
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Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, hands holding lightweight dumbbells or weight plates with a pronated grip (palms down).
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Engage your core, bend your knees, and hinge at your hips so you are bent over with a straight back.
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Keep your elbows back so your upper body makes a “W” shape with your hands shoulder-width apart.
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Push the weights forward and slightly outward with a wide grip and a slight bend of the elbows, forming a “Y” shape with your arms parallel to the ground. Ensure you keep your spine and head neutral.
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Pause and squeeze the lower trapezius, then slowly lower to the starting position. Focusing on proper form and a solid contraction, rather than heavy weights or speed, is what will target this region best.
Chin Ups
While chin-ups are typically used to work the back and biceps, they also strengthen the lower traps, especially when you focus on proper form and intentionally engage the scapula throughout the range of motion. This helps strengthen and stabilize the scapula, balance the muscles around the shoulder blade, and help prevent injuries.
How To Do It
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With palms facing in, slightly closer than shoulder-width apart, grab a pull-up bar.
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Cross your feet behind you, bend your knees to 90 degrees, and fully extend your arms, keeping your torso as straight as possible while pushing your chest out.
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To better engage the lower traps, initiate each rep with a scapular depression.
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Exhale, then pull your head above the bar, keeping your elbows close to your body and your back muscles engaged.
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Pause and hold, then inhale and slowly lower yourself back to the starting position until your arms are fully extended.
Face Pull Press
Face pulls are not only one of the best upper trap exercises, but they can also be used to target the lower traps, especially when you focus on proper form and use this small variation that adds a lift over your head at the end. Using a cable machine like the Speediance Gym Monster 2 makes it easy to fire up the lower traps while providing the stability and resistance needed to make it really effective.
How To Do It
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Set the rope attachment high on the cable machine.
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Pull the rope towards your face using your hands and not your elbows to avoid twisting your shoulder inwards.
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Instead, twist your shoulder outwards to get your shoulder and mid-back muscles working together for external rotation.
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When the rope is next to your ears, push it up over your head like you would with shoulder presses.
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When your arms are fully extended overhead, completing the full range of movement, pause, then slowly reverse the motion while keeping your head neutral and maintaining scapular stability throughout the exercise.
Plate Raise
While plate raises primarily target the shoulders, they also engage the lower trapezius because they help stabilize the scapula. Focus on the eccentric portion of this exercise by moving slowly as you lower the weight to ensure you engage the lower trap muscles.
How To Do It
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Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a weight plate with a neutral grip at hip level.
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Raise your arms overhead, engaging the lower traps while keeping your head neutral and maintaining scapular stability. Focus on your mind-muscle connection to achieve an intense contraction in the lower traps, ensuring they stabilize your arm in the overhead position.
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Now, focus on slowly lowering your arms back down to work the eccentric component of that muscle, completing the entire range of motion before repeating.
Cable Overhead Trap Raise
The cable overhead trap raise is another highly effective lower trapezius exercise that uses a cable machine like the Speediance Gym Monster 2. Using the machine and getting onto your knees eliminates that lower-body momentum and targets each side individually. This makes it particularly good for targeting the traps and preventing imbalances when you use proper form.
How To Do It
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Set the cable handles to a low position and start with light weights.
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Kneel in front of the machine, reaching across to grab the right cable with the left hand and the left cable with the right hand.
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Lift straight up and overhead, completing the full range of motion, getting all the way up and engaging those lower traps.
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Pause at the top, squeezing the traps, then slowly make your way down in a very controlled manner, keeping your head and spine neutral.
Seated Barbell Shoulder Rows
Seated shoulder rows on a cable machine with a barbell attachment are an excellent exercise for targeting the middle traps, while also strengthening the upper and lower trapezius. The controlled resistance helps improve posture, balance, and shoulder strength, while gently stretching the chest muscles.
How To Do It
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Attach the straight bar to the cable at chest height and sit facing the machine with your feet flat and arms extended.
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Grip the bar with both hands, palms facing down, and keep your torso upright with a slight bend in your knees.
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Pull the bar toward your chest, keeping your elbows close to your body and squeezing your shoulder blades together.
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Pause briefly, then slowly return to the starting position and repeat for 10–15 reps.
High Pulley Cable Row
Here is another great cable machine exercise that benefits the lower trapezius by placing them under more tension, effectively targeting them better than a horizontal row. The high pulley position and a downward pull angle target the weaker lower traps, stabilize the shoulder, and can help correct imbalances.
How To Do It
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Set the pulleys to the highest height on the machine and attach two handles, using light weights at first.
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Sit on a bench with one hand grasping each handle and palms facing each other. Feet should be flat on the floor, shoulder-width apart.
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Engage your core, extend your arms, and stretch your shoulders forward as you sit up tall.
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Exhale, then pull the handles toward you in a rowing motion until the handles reach the outside of your chest.
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Keep your elbows tucked tight to your sides and squeeze your shoulder blades together.
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Inhale and slowly retract the cables back to start, stretching your shoulders forward.
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Repeat, increasing the weight after each set if you’re able.
The Benefits of Incorporating Lower Trap Exercises
Incorporating lower-trap exercises into your back day offers numerous benefits. Let’s take a look.
Improves Posture
One of the primary benefits of lower trap exercises is improving posture in and out of the gym. It helps stabilize the shoulder blades and support the neck, pulling the shoulders back and down into proper form.
Injury Prevention
Shoulder impingements are a serious concern, especially for those with prior injuries or an imbalance that favors the upper traps. Targeting the lower traps can help prevent impingement and other shoulder-related injuries.
Pain Reduction
By balancing the entire trapezius muscle, targeting the lower traps can help minimize general aches and pains in the upper back and neck.
Functional Fitness and Strength
Strengthening the lower traps improves functional fitness, stability, and strength. In turn, this creates a stable foundation for the upper body and improves your ability to perform daily activities like lifting and carrying, as well as exercises that involve lifting the arms with proper form.
Balanced Physique
The lower traps are often overlooked and underdeveloped, so incorporating lower trap exercises can lead to a more balanced upper back.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Causes Weak Lower Traps?
Weak lower traps are generally caused by poor posture, lack of exercise, injuries, or overuse. This creates a posture imbalance, stretching and underutilizing them, leading to weakness. Focusing on proper posture and targeted resistance training will strengthen them.
Can You Isolate Lower Traps?
Yes, it’s easy to isolate the lower trap muscles with exercises like Y-raises, face pulls, cable overhead trap raises, chin-ups, and plate raises. The key is to focus on the motion of your shoulder blades throughout the exercises rather than just lifting with your arms.
Do Y Raises Work Lower Traps?
Yes, Y-raises are a highly effective exercise for working the lower traps. The key is to focus on shoulder blade depression and retraction throughout the range of motion. Concentrating on proper form will stabilize the shoulder blade, improve posture, and effectively target the lower trapezius.
Lower Trap Strength Enhances Posture, Stability, and Shoulder Health
The lower traps are small but mighty muscles that play a significant role in shoulder health, stability, and posture. By incorporating targeted lower trap exercises like Y presses, face pulls, and cable trap raises into your routine, you’ll improve functional strength and reduce the risk of shoulder pain or imbalance. Consistency and proper form are key to seeing results, so focus on control and a full range of motion. And, if you want to train smarter at home, consider using the Speediance Gym Monster 2 to help you achieve even greater gains.
