Kirk Shrug
The Kirk shrug is done standing tall with a wide grip, well outside shoulder width: instead of lifting the bar straight up in front of the thighs, you drag it up the front of your body as you shrug, letting the elbows bend slightly and travel out to the sides. That path keeps the bar close and brings the upper traps and the muscles between the shoulder blades into the lift together. It builds serious trap thickness and carries over to deadlift lockout, and the unusual bar path takes practice, so it earns its advanced rating. Treat it as a strength move, not a pump finisher.
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Body part
- Traps
- Type
- Strength
- Browse by muscle
- Trapezius Upper
- Browse by movement
- Shoulder Raise
- Target
- Trapezius Upper
- Secondary
- Trapezius Middle
- Tertiary
- Erector Spinae, Brachioradialis
How to do it
- 1
Deadlift a barbell from the floor or lift it from a rack set at mid-thigh height, using a wide overhand grip well outside shoulder width, and stand tall with the bar against your thighs.
- 2
Set your feet hip-width apart, brace your core, and keep your chest up and your back flat.
- 3
Shrug your shoulders straight up toward your ears while dragging the bar up the front of your body.
- 4
Let the elbows bend slightly and point out to the sides so the bar slides up over your hips toward your belly button.
- 5
Squeeze hard at the top for a beat without leaning back or rising onto your toes.
- 6
Lower under control along your body until the arms hang straight and the traps stretch fully, then repeat.
Tips
- Keep the elbow bend small and the elbows pointing out; once they bend enough to lift the bar to the chest, it has turned into an upright row.
- Maintain a flat, braced back the entire set; never let the spine round under the load.
- Use straps so grip does not cut the set short before the traps are worked.
- Start conservatively; the wide grip and the bar's path up your body take a few sessions to groove.
Variations
Common mistakes
- Leaning back and thrusting the hips forward to get the bar moving hands the work to the hips and lower back instead of the traps; stay tall and let the shoulders do the lifting.
- The chin pokes forward as the shoulders rise, so the neck takes a strain the traps should be carrying; keep the head neutral and the eyes forward.
- The elbows bend hard to muscle the bar up to the chest, and the instant they do, the movement turns into an upright row instead of a shrug; a small bend with the elbows out is all the bar path needs.
- Once straps take grip out of the equation, the bar is allowed to drift away from the body, and a bar that floats out in front stops dragging up the torso and pulls on the lower back instead.
Frequently asked
- How many sets and reps of the Kirk shrug should you do when you are new to the exercise?
- A true beginner should first get comfortable with a standard barbell or trap-bar shrug before attempting it. Once ready, 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps with a conservative weight is the right place to start, dragging the bar up the body on every rep. Add weight only once every rep reaches the belly button without a lean back or a hip thrust.
- What can you do instead of the Kirk shrug without a loaded barbell?
- A trap-bar shrug or a standard barbell shrug builds similar upper-trap strength with a simpler straight-up bar path, and a Kelso shrug on an incline bench targets the mid and lower traps this movement also reaches from a chest-supported position.
- What is the Kirk shrug good for, and when should you avoid it?
- It builds serious trap and upper-back thickness under heavy load and carries over well to deadlift lockout strength, which suits experienced lifters who already shrug well. Skip it if the wide grip bothers your wrists or shoulders, or if pulling the elbows out pinches the front of the shoulder; a standard barbell shrug is the easier option then.
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