How to build shoulders without overly developing your traps???

[bunduush]

Hello everyone,
I really need your advices and insights on training shoulders to really build them without making my traps bigger. I am training to compete in a figure division in the future. I really want to concentrate on making my shoulders wider, but keep them nice and square at the same time. I've seen lots of people with overly developed traps that their shoulders don't look nice and wide (square if you know what I mean). As a woman, I wanna avoid it as much as possible. When I try to train my shoulders as heavy as I can I am noticing that I am really working my traps and they are starting to get bigger??

[gbnpc]

If you feel your traps getting involved too much, I'd lessen the weight so that your delts will do more of the work and not have to employ the help of the traps to help lift that heavy weight. As your shoulders become stronger over time, you can gradually increase weight without having to use the traps so much. Luckily as a female, you won't automatically build huge traps just by genetic make-up, but because the shoulder muscle are all so close together in proximity, there will usually be some involvement of each regardless. But I'd see how lowering the weight feels.

[yettiatcpg]

best thing I found so far to get wider and not more on traps is a over head rows. my armpits eat shirts a day or two after doing my sets. go medium weight for extended reps. (12-15). make sure you get the full range of motion with seat position(low as possible)

[Veznor]

best thing I found so far to get wider and not more on traps is a over head rows. my armpits eat shirts a day or two after doing my sets. go medium weight for extended reps. (12-15). make sure you get the full range of motion with seat position(low as possible)

Overhead rows???

[LiftingZing]

Not quite sure what an overhead row is; to add, rows are back exercises.
My recommendations are:
Standing Dumbbell press
Lateral raises
Behind the head military press

[reemslaw]

best thing I found so far to get wider and not more on traps is a over head rows. my armpits eat shirts a day or two after doing my sets. go medium weight for extended reps. (12-15). make sure you get the full range of motion with seat position(low as possible)

What is an overhead row? My armpits are hungryyyyy

[chazzy1864]

If you feel your traps getting involved too much, I'd lessen the weight so that your delts will do more of the work and not have to employ the help of the traps to help lift that heavy weight. As your shoulders become stronger over time, you can gradually increase weight without having to use the traps so much. Luckily as a female, you won't automatically build huge traps just by genetic make-up, but because the shoulder muscle are all so close together in proximity, there will usually be some involvement of each regardless. But I'd see how lowering the weight feels.

^ This.

It is when people go too heavy on shoulder exercises (the various raises, in particular) that the traps start taking over. Keep the weight low and focus on the delts and you should be fine.

Not quite sure what an overhead row is; to add, rows are back exercises.
My recommendations are:
Standing Dumbbell press
Lateral raises
Behind the head military press

Not every row is a back exercise.

[dimassive]

pre exhaust side delts before doing any shoulder pressing.

[yettiatcpg]

if you have one of these available by all means use it. if not you can do the same movement with cable pull downs. myself I can barely fit in most machines so I only use a few. this one I have to use the with the seat full down. the hardest part is keeping form with over head rows. if you go to heavy you have to throw the weight around. stay with a heavy weight but not so much your pulling yourself off balance or having to throw your own weight into the cable to get the weight down. form is everything in this one

[HY45]

Hello everyone,
I really need your advices and insights on training shoulders to really build them without making my traps bigger. I am training to compete in a figure division in the future. I really want to concentrate on making my shoulders wider, but keep them nice and square at the same time. I've seen lots of people with overly developed traps that their shoulders don't look nice and wide (square if you know what I mean). As a woman, I wanna avoid it as much as possible. When I try to train my shoulders as heavy as I can I am noticing that I am really working my traps and they are starting to get bigger??

I do side lateral raises, with palms facing forward. This way u can't cheat on forearms, or traps. U will lift a lot lighter, at first because it's all side head of shoulder. Hope this helps....

[Engineer_Guy]

You won't overdevelop traps doing shoulder exercises....

[IDrinkBloodLOL]

How can you "overdevelop" your traps? I don't understand.

[MaxPlank]

If you feel your traps getting involved too much, I'd lessen the weight so that your delts will do more of the work and not have to employ the help of the traps to help lift that heavy weight. As your shoulders become stronger over time, you can gradually increase weight without having to use the traps so much. Luckily as a female, you won't automatically build huge traps just by genetic make-up, but because the shoulder muscle are all so close together in proximity, there will usually be some involvement of each regardless. But I'd see how lowering the weight feels.

Best advice.

You won't overdevelop traps doing shoulder exercises....

If one uses too much weight and forces other muscles groups to either assist or take over, it's very possible. Using too much resistance often leads to bad form habits and the actual muscle you intended to target , in the beginning, gets less than emphasized.

How can you "overdevelop" your traps? I don't understand.

I think she's referring to the proportion of an individual's shoulder development to their particular upper trap development. She doesn't want her traps to look out of proportion to her shoulders.

[2200rms]

Not quite sure what an overhead row is; to add, rows are back exercises.
My recommendations are:
Standing Dumbbell press
Lateral raises
Behind the head military press

What he said. Standing overhead presses always work well for me. Some people advise not to go behind your back but doing that with a barbell really isolates the front of your shoulder, especiall if you do not use any leg drive and keep the muscle contracted the whole time. The front of my shoulder looks like a huge as$ bicep popping up from a back view.

[Veznor]

What he said. Standing overhead presses always work well for me. Some people advise not to go behind your back but doing that with a barbell really isolates the front of your shoulder, especiall if you do not use any leg drive and keep the muscle contracted the whole time. The front of my shoulder looks like a huge as$ bicep popping up from a back view.

Actually, behind the neck press put a little less emphasis on the front delt and more on the side and rear delt, as opposed to front ohp.

[2200rms]

Actually, behind the neck press put a little less emphasis on the front delt and more on the side and rear delt, as opposed to front ohp.

Lol, I must be doing it wrong because it is deffinately making the front grow on me. I do kind of raise my shoulder up and over when doing it though. Kind of like focusing on pointing my shoulder forward while lifting up

[KDG730]

Hello everyone,
I really need your advices and insights on training shoulders to really build them without making my traps bigger. I am training to compete in a figure division in the future. I really want to concentrate on making my shoulders wider, but keep them nice and square at the same time. I've seen lots of people with overly developed traps that their shoulders don't look nice and wide (square if you know what I mean). As a woman, I wanna avoid it as much as possible. When I try to train my shoulders as heavy as I can I am noticing that I am really working my traps and they are starting to get bigger??

DB Presses and Side laterals are the best exercises that should not use much trap involvement at all

If you feel your traps a lot doing side raises you are doing them wrong

[KDG730]

if you have one of these available by all means use it. if not you can do the same movement with cable pull downs. myself I can barely fit in most machines so I only use a few. this one I have to use the with the seat full down. the hardest part is keeping form with over head rows. if you go to heavy you have to throw the weight around. stay with a heavy weight but not so much your pulling yourself off balance or having to throw your own weight into the cable to get the weight down. form is everything in this one

Thats a back exercise man...

[ironwill2008]

Hello everyone,
I really need your advices and insights on training shoulders to really build them without making my traps bigger. I am training to compete in a figure division in the future. I really want to concentrate on making my shoulders wider, but keep them nice and square at the same time. I've seen lots of people with overly developed traps that their shoulders don't look nice and wide (square if you know what I mean). As a woman, I wanna avoid it as much as possible. When I try to train my shoulders as heavy as I can I am noticing that I am really working my traps and they are starting to get bigger??

Agreed; for your intended goal, trap development should be avoided as much as possible.


Generally, when doing exercises such as Lateral Raises, if you use moderate weight (what you can lift for no less than 12-15 reps), and raise your arms no higher than parallel to the floor, trap involvement will be minimized.





ETA:

If you're really serious about competing, I strongly suggest you contact forum member kimm4. You can find her in the 'female bodybuilding' forum as well as in the O35 'workout journals' forum.


GL.

[RikAmirnov]

lateral raises ; try not to bend over so much , 3 heavy sets and a couple drop sets you"ll see shoulder development and V-taper in no time

[yettiatcpg]

Thats a back exercise man...

agreed. its main focus is Lats. you still have to use your arms to get the movement. your shoulders work hard with a couple plates. I do sets of 30 x 5 with 2 plates and can do 5 plates for 8. its just to hard with that much and keep your chest planted on the pad

[SmokeMore]

Do overhead barbell or db press. never behind the neck. lots of db and cable raises. do not forget to do bent over db/cable raises.

pressing in front uses the Delts. when pressing behind head, it also uses TRAPS. Use good form on raises (pinkies up). when bent over if you feel your traps involved, you are not doing the form right and the weight is not correct.