Tight Neck and Shoulders? Resting the Trapezius Might Help

It may help to rethink your upper-body workouts if your overly developed trapezius muscle causes you trouble. You could change your workouts to focus on the surrounding muscles rather than the trapezius (also called the traps), helping to bring your body back into balance.

Why Your Trapezius May Be Tight

“All three of these muscle groups have a slightly different role and function,” Becourtney says. “But most commonly, the upper traps are likely to develop to become the largest and be the most visible based on their attachment points and positions that require their engagement.”

Why Are My Traps So Big?

For some, larger traps are a part of their strength or physique goals, Becourtney says. But for others, it may be unintentional. Shoulder shrugs, rows, and Y lifts will all target your traps, whether you intend to grow this muscle group or not.

Traps that become too strong — even if you didn’t train for that purpose — can end up taking on most of the work during other moves, Becourtney says. Lateral raises are a common example. Although lateral raises are meant to target your shoulders, the trapezius can take over if your form is off; be sure to keep your shoulder blades down and back.

“To be clear, this does not mean that you should never use your upper trap muscle, because it certainly is required to lift your arm overhead,” Becourtney says. “Rather, you should just be careful not to overuse this muscle group when that is not the intent of the exercise.”

Risks of Overactive Traps

When it comes to the trapezius, many people have larger upper traps. That can hinder their ability to do day-to-day activities, such as reaching for a glass on the top kitchen shelf, Becourtney says.

“This can be problematic, because the upper and lower trap muscles are designed to [work together] with a third muscle (serratus anterior) to rotate [the shoulder blade], which is necessary to lift the arms overhead,” he says. “If there is an imbalance here, it can lead to potential shoulder or neck pain as well as impaired function when attempting to perform activities overhead.”

How to Rebalance Your Upper Body Muscles

If you’re beginning to feel an ache in your neck and shoulders, start by eliminating trap-dominant exercises from your usual routine, Becourtney says. Avoid exercises like shoulder shrugs or farmers’ walks, which are aimed to increase trap muscle size and strength.

As you exercise, Becourtney advises maintaining a good posture, which is a constantly changing posture. Also, be sure to move around as much as you can throughout the day. You could set reminders on your phone or computer to encourage you to get up.

“We want to avoid being stuck in the same position for excessive periods,” he says. “More specifically, if possible, we want to avoid positions where our head is forward and our shoulders are shrugged up to our ears, because this can overwork the upper trapezius muscle.”

Whether you’re feeling pain or not, you can help balance out the appearance of your upper body if you like. Focus on exercises that develop the surrounding muscles — including those in your shoulders, chest, and middle back — with moves such as lateral raises, bench presses, and rows, Becourtney says.

If you can grow the muscles around your traps, you’ll help your traps stand out less compared with the rest of your body. Here are a few movements that can help you build up the supporting muscles.

1. Lateral Raise

Region Upper Body

1. Stand with a slight bend in the knees, core engaged.
2. Holding a dumbbell in each hand, let your arms hang extended at your sides with a slight bend in your elbows, palms facing toward you.
3. Raise your arms out to the side of your body to about shoulder level. Keep your elbows slightly bent throughout the movement. Focus on keeping your shoulders down and back to prevent them from rising toward your ears.
4. With control, lower the weights back down to the starting position.

2. Bench Press

Region Upper Body

1. Lie on a flat bench, facing upward and gripping the barbell slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
2. Press your feet into the ground and your hips into the bench as you lift the barbell off the rack.
3. Slowly lower the barbell to your chest, bending at the elbows.
4. Once the barbell reaches chest height and your elbows dip slightly below the bench, press your heels into the ground and raise the barbell back up to chest height.
5. Return the barbell to the starting position, elbows extended but not locked.

3. Bent-Over Row

1. Grip a barbell with palms facing down so that your wrists, elbows, and shoulders are in a straight line.
2. Lift the bar from the rack or the floor, bend forward at the hips, and keep your back straight with a slight bend in your knees.
3. Lower the bar toward the floor until your elbows are completely straight, then pull it toward your sternum while keeping a flat back.
4. Slowly lower the bar to the starting position.

The Takeaway

• You might want big traps for aesthetic reasons, but it might mean that your upper body has imbalanced muscles.
• This can cause pain and tightness, as well as reduced function when performing overhead movements such as reaching for higher-up objects.
• Some tips that may help you rebalance the appearance of your upper-body muscles and relieve tension in your traps include: Stay mobile. Plan movement breaks whenever you’re likely to be stuck in a chair for a long time. And prioritize exercises that work the muscles in the chest and back.