Top Priority for Lower Traps
Training the Bodypart You Forgot Was There
by Mike Robertson


Developing your lower traps is a guaranteed way to turn yourself
into one sexy beast. Okay... maybe not... but they're damn
important, whether you know it or not. My interest in the lower
traps developed from a discussion I had with Bill Hartman. We were
discussing the need for better mobility and stability at the
scapulae.
When I really started analyzing my programs, I noticed that many
were seriously lacking in the lower trap development department.
What's worse... if I did anything, it was just a few prone Y's
(described below), and then on with the workout!
Quite simply, the lower traps are another one of those little
muscle groups that no one cares about until they're injured. It's
only then that they realize how important these muscles
are.

Functional Anatomy
Before we get into specific activation and strengthening drills,
let's first understand the roles of the lower traps in promoting
and resisting movement. And yes, this is the part where I go all
"anatomy geek" on you, but it's for your own good.
Really.
The lower traps are often forgotten for several
reasons:

• You can't see them in the mirror

• Chicks can't see them even if you're in a freshly ironed
tank top

• You simply don't understand their
importance
The trapezius is generally broken down into three sections
— the upper, middle, and lower — depending on their
degree of pennation. The lower trapezius is very important for
several reasons.
If we follow the logic of the joint-by-joint approach, we know that
the scapulae typically needs more stability. This ensures a stable
base, which allows the gleno-humeral joint to move freely and
effectively. As well, the lower trapezius promotes scapular
depression.


In case you forgot, the entire red section is the trapezius,
not just the chunk of meat between your skull and
delts.
Due to faulty thoracic spine extensibility or overactive upper
traps, our lower trapezius are often lengthened and weak. This will
inherently leave us unstable around the scapulae.
This next part is the proverbial kick in the pants — this
instability doesn't sound bad, until we start to think about
our set-up for a big bench press. We know that since the bench
press is an open chain movement, we want maximal stability at our
scapulae.
For maximal performance, we want to retract and depress the scapulae. What happens if we don't have this stability? The
best-case scenario is that we leave pounds on the bar. Worst case
scenario? We get injured! Neither of those options sound appealing
to me.
However, as I pointed out in my Mobility-Stability Continuum
article,
we also need to focus on the ability to upwardly rotate the
scapulae as well. Upward rotation is imperative if we ever get the
silly urge to put our hands over our heads. For strength athletes,
this would allow pain-free overhead pressing.
The lower traps, upper traps, and serratus anterior all work
synergistically to promote upward rotation of the scapulae. Bill
Hartman and I discussed the need for better serratus function in
our article, Push-Ups, Face Pulls, and Shrugs.
We also covered some ways to isolate the upper traps, although
poor upper trap strength is rarely the cause of poor upward
rotation. That leaves us with the lower traps, and figuring out
ways to improve their strength.


Strong lower traps need more than just
shrugs.

The Conundrum: Mobility or Strength?
So, now we know that the lower traps need the strength to
actively stabilize the scapulae. But what about their role in the
upward rotation process?
I think in this case, "mobility" is synonymous with strength;
there needs to be a balance of strength between the upper traps,
lower traps, and serratus to upwardly rotate the scapulae.
However, the biggest issue is that most people don't even know
where their lower traps are, let alone how to activate and
strengthen them. Lucky for you, I'm going to explain a host of
exercises to get those lower traps up to par.

Activation Drills
When we talk about activation drills for the lower traps, most
often we think of the prone Y. However, this exercise is sometimes
too advanced, especially with beginners or people with active
shoulder pain. The long lever and overhead position can cause a lot
of issues. For that reason, I prefer to start with a scapular wall
slide.



Scapular wall slide, start



Scapular wall slide, finish



Try to pull your elbows further down and actively depress the
scapulae down at the end range.
Once the scapular wall slide becomes easy, it's time to move on
to the prone Y.

The prone Y is a simple exercise. Lay face down on the floor,
with the arms extended straight out at the 10 and 2 positions. The
thumbs should be pointing straight up throughout.
From the starting position, drive through the scapulae and allow
them to actively depress down. If you're having issues keeping the
arms straight, you can bend the elbows slightly and perform the
movement in this fashion. The key is not to move from the elbows
and shoulders — think solely about moving from the
scapulae.
A common issue we have with the prone Y is that the long lever
position makes it difficult to progressively load the exercise. We
can alter the exercise slightly, and do it on an incline bench with
dumbbells, but chances are we're never going to be performing this
exercise with heavy iron!
But that's okay. Don't get too sexy with the activation drills
— all we're looking for here is to develop better recruitment
patterns, and create a mind-muscle link (yes, I just said that).
Once we've improved motor control, it's time to start getting those
low traps strong.

Strength Progressions
Once we've mastered the activation drills and motor control
exercises, and we're ready to start getting the lower traps
stronger. But where do we start?
Before we get into that, let me get something off my chest... I
used to be petrified of chin-ups and pull-ups. I always knew they
were a great compound exercise, but I was so focused on the fact
that they trained the lats (an internal rotator of the
gleno-humeral joint), that I never thought about the big
picture.
In reality, a well performed chin-up or pull-up, where you
actively depress the scapulae at the top, may be one of the best
shoulder stability exercises you can perform.
Unfortunately, this leads us to another issue. Performing a
chin-up or pull-up with full scapular depression at the top is damn
hard! So how do we get there? As much as I hate to admit it, it's
time to get reacquainted with the lat pulldown
machine.
Lat Pulldown Isometric to Full Pulldown
Progression
We've developed motor control in our lower traps earlier in the
workout, so now it's time to take that control to real-world
movements.
To begin with, put an appropriate weight on the lat pulldown
machine, and go through a full range of motion (ROM).
However, instead of performing reps, all I want you to do for now
is to hold the bar in the bottom position near your
collarbone.
The key here is to focus on actively depressing the scapulae and
holding it in this position. Don't be surprised if it's actually
difficult at first!

Once you've got the feel, start going through a full ROM for a
specific amount of reps (whatever fits in to your current training
regimen). Again, focus on using a full ROM and actively depressing
at the mid-point of the movement.
Over the next several weeks or months, you'll slowly build your
strength to a point where you're using close to bodyweight. When
you get to this point, it's time to switch things up to chin-up or
pull-up progressions.
Chin-up Isometric to Chin-up Progression
We're going to follow a very similar progression in the chin-up
progression as we did in the lat pulldown progression. The starting
point is a basic isometric in the midpoint position.
Essentially, what you're going to do here is to get yourself up
into the top position of a chin-up, where your upper chest should
be adjacent to the bar, and you're actively depressing the scapulae
throughout.
The goal here should be to perform 3 sets of one 20-second hold.
I need to give Bill Hartman credit here, as he's the one who came
up with the guideline. Regardless, the carryover of a 20-second
hold is quite effective, since most sets of bench presses don't
last any longer than this.
Once we've mastered the isometric hold, it's time to start
moving through a full ROM. Again, however, jumping right into a
full ROM bodyweight chin-up may be too much, and you'll be
prevented from achieving a full scapular depression at the midpoint
of the exercise. If this is the case, band-assisted chin-ups are
going to be your new best friend.
Band-assisted chins are great for several
reasons:

• You don't have to haul your entire bodyweight
up

• They're great for accommodating resistance; they
give you the most assistance at the bottom (where you're weakest),
and the least assistance at the top (where you're
strongest)

• They look more like real chin-ups than hanging out on the
assisted chin/dip machine


Band-assisted chin-up, bottom



Band-assisted chin-up, near top.
The progression from here is simple. Use progressively smaller
and smaller bands, until you can remove the bands altogether. Once
you can get 3 sets of 5-6 reps with your bodyweight and include a full scapular depression, it's time to get rid of the
bands all together.
The final progression has been known for ages: Start with
chin-ups, move to a neutral-grip chin-up, and then finish with
pull-ups.

Summary
I hope this article has shown you how important the lower traps
are for proper movement and overall health. More importantly, I
hope the progressions I've outlined will take you to all new levels
of health and performance.



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