How many sets and reps of the Kelso shrug should you do when you are new to the exercise?

Two to three sets of 12 to 15 reps with a light pair of dumbbells is enough to start, since the short retraction range is easy to overload with even a modest weight. Add weight in small steps and only once the elbows stay locked straight for every rep.

What can you do instead of the Kelso shrug without an incline bench?

Lying face down on a sturdy table or high bed with the arms hanging off the edge, or even standing and hinging forward at the hips, can recreate the same shoulder-blade retraction; a band pull-apart with the arms extended low is another way to target the same mid and lower trap fibers.

What is the Kelso shrug good for, and when is a standard shrug a better choice?

Because it isolates the shoulder blades without any elbow bend, it targets the middle and lower traps that vertical shrugs largely skip, which makes it useful for fixing rounded-shoulder posture and building upper-back thickness. It will not build the same raw upper-trap size or let you handle heavy weight the way a vertical barbell or trap-bar shrug does, so use it alongside one of those rather than as your only trap exercise.

Intermediate

Kelso Shrug

Named after coach Paul Kelso, this is a horizontal shrug: lying face down on an incline bench, you pull the shoulder blades back and together without bending the elbows. That scapular retraction hits the middle and lower traps that vertical shrugs largely miss, making it a targeted fix for rounded-shoulder posture and upper-back thickness. Keep the loads honest and the reps deliberate.

Equipment: Bench, Dumbbell
Body part: Traps
Type: Strength
Browse by muscle: Trapezius Middle
Browse by movement: Horizontal Pull

How to do it

1
Set an incline bench to about 30 to 45 degrees and lie face down with your chest supported.
2
Let a dumbbell hang from each hand straight below the shoulders, arms long.
3
Keep the arms straight throughout; this is a shoulder-blade movement, not a row.
4
Retract and squeeze the shoulder blades back and together, raising the weights slightly.
5
Pause and feel the mid-back and traps contract at the top.
6
Lower under control until the shoulder blades fully protract and the traps stretch.

Tips

Do not bend the elbows; if you pull with the arms it becomes a row, not a shrug.
Think about pinching a pencil between your shoulder blades at the top.
Use light weight at first; the retraction range is short and easy to overload.
Excellent paired with vertical shrugs for complete top-to-bottom trap development.

Variations

Common mistakes

The chest lifts off the bench pad to add range, disguising body English as shoulder-blade movement when the pad is there to remove exactly that kind of assistance.
Raising the dumbbells well past the shoulder blades' natural retraction turns the short, deliberate movement into a wide reverse fly that no longer isolates the mid-back.
The elbows bend under a weight that is too heavy for a pure retraction, and the moment they bend, the lats and rear delts take over from the mid-traps.
Once fatigue sets in, the pause at the top gets skipped, and the reps turn into a quick bounce between full stretch and a token squeeze.

Frequently asked

How many sets and reps of the Kelso shrug should you do when you are new to the exercise?: Two to three sets of 12 to 15 reps with a light pair of dumbbells is enough to start, since the short retraction range is easy to overload with even a modest weight. Add weight in small steps and only once the elbows stay locked straight for every rep.
What can you do instead of the Kelso shrug without an incline bench?: Lying face down on a sturdy table or high bed with the arms hanging off the edge, or even standing and hinging forward at the hips, can recreate the same shoulder-blade retraction; a band pull-apart with the arms extended low is another way to target the same mid and lower trap fibers.
What is the Kelso shrug good for, and when is a standard shrug a better choice?: Because it isolates the shoulder blades without any elbow bend, it targets the middle and lower traps that vertical shrugs largely skip, which makes it useful for fixing rounded-shoulder posture and building upper-back thickness. It will not build the same raw upper-trap size or let you handle heavy weight the way a vertical barbell or trap-bar shrug does, so use it alongside one of those rather than as your only trap exercise.

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