WhatWorksWhat.
Traps

Rack Pull

Insane trap and upper-back loading you can't get any other way.

Complexity · Mediumstrengthintermediate+BarbellSquat rack
Check Your Form
  • Forearms
  • Glutes
  • Hamstrings
  • Lats
  • Lower back
  • Traps
  • Traps - Middle traps
  • Traps - Upper traps
  • Upper traps
  • Middle traps
  • Lower traps

PrimarySecondary

What it hits

Parts of the target muscle.

  • Upper traps

    Hit

    Shrugs, elevates scapula.

  • Middle traps

    Hit

    Retracts scapula - rows.

  • Lower traps

    Not hit

    Depresses scapula - Y-raises, overhead work.

The movement

Get it right, not roughly right.

Optimal form

8:55· Jeff Nippard

Build A Bigger Deadlift With Perfect Technique (Conventional Form)

Hinge bottom

Lockout

Set the bar on safety pins at knee height. Set up like a deadlift: hips back, chest up, lats tight. Drive up to a full lockout - squeeze traps and glutes hard.

Common mistakes

  • Setting the bar too high (above knee) - turns into a glorified shrug.
  • Rounding the upper back to break the bar off the pins.
  • Hyperextending the lower back at lockout.

Where you should feel it

Insane trap and upper-back loading you can't get any other way.

Injury risk · 4/10

Variations

Same movement, moved emphasis.

Ranked by how directly each variation still trains traps. 80%+ means the target barely changes. Below 60%, the emphasis has meaningfully shifted — useful for variety, but less precise for the specific part. The label calls it at a glance.

  • Below-knee rack pull

    Pins set 1–2 inches below the knee.

    100% on target

    On target

    More hamstring + back.

  • Snatch-grip rack pull

    Wide grip.

    95% on target

    On target

    Same target, minor adjustment.

Compare with another exercise

Cool-down

Worked it. Walk it back down.

A couple of minutes here pays back in soreness avoided tomorrow. Browse the full library.

  • Couch Stretch

    Rear foot up on a bench, front leg in a 90/90 lunge. Squeeze the glute of the rear leg, tall torso. 60s per side.

    QuadsGlutes

  • Lat Hang

    Dead hang from a bar, fully relaxed shoulders. 30–60s. Decompresses everything pulling-related.

    LatsRhomboids

  • Child's Pose

    Knees wide, big toes together. Sit hips back to the heels, arms long overhead, forehead to the floor. 60s. Walk the hands one direction to bias one side.

    LatsLower backRhomboids

Coach note

If your deadlift lockout is weak, this is the fix. Don't go heavier than your full deadlift - defeats the purpose.