Dumbbell Shrugs Workout & Muscles Worked - Video & Exercise

In some gym training video tutorials that I have published here: Dumbbell Shoulder Press Workout & Muscles Worked, Shoulder Workout: How to Do Dumbbell Upright Row, Shoulder Workout - How to to Dumbbell Front Raise, I gave many examples of movements to train shoulder muscles using dumbbell.

And of course, you can also practice these movements at home. For those of you who don't have time to go to the gym, these shoulder muscle exercises can be a solution for you.

To train your shoulder muscles and neck muscles (trapezius muscle), so that the shoulder and neck muscles look more muscular and sturdy, then there is one more movement that you can try, namely: Dumbbell shrug. The movement is as below:

Dumbbell shrug. Image source: Skimble.com

The following is the stage of the dumbbell shrug movement:

1. Stand straight
2. Both hands hold a pair of dumbbells
3. Raise both dumbbells using your shoulders and neck
4. The view remains straight forward
5. Repeat the movement
6. Perform the movement 20-25 reps
7. Do 3 sets

DUMBBELL SHRUG MUSCLE WORKED

Muscle targets that trained when you do dumbbell or barbell shrug is: Trapezius, shoulder especially rear delts, and upper back muscle. So, dumbbwell shrug can maintain your three  muscle elements. But the main muscle worked is TRAPEZIUS (some people called this NEC MUSCLE), because dumbbell shurg is focused to form your trapz. 

Dumbbell shrug can correct your posture, especially for those of you who have less sturdy shoulders and small trapezius muscles, then you can do dumbbell shrugs regularly as part of your practice.

Because in this movement, you are required to use your shoulders and trapezius to raise the dumbbell, so that your shoulder and neck muscles will be more robust.


You can enter this exercise menu into one exercise menu with other shoulder muscle exercises. For more details, you can watch the video on how to do the dumbbell shrug below:

You can do dumbbell shrug at home. You only need a pair of dumbbells. If you have a barbell, you can use it as an alternative to dumbbell. The example in my video uses a load of 5 kg.

When doing a dumbbell shrug, your hands may not raise the dumbbell. As much as possible you can only use your shoulders and trap to lift the dumbbell, because if your hands lift the dumbbell, the role of your shoulder and neck muscles will decrease, so that the shoulder and neck muscles do not form optimally.

You can add weight according to your abilities. Dumbbell / barbell shrug is a movement that is easy to do (not too heavy). So to get optimal results, you can use heavier loads. Or if you don't have a heavy dumbbell / barbell, you can increase the amount of your exercise intensity (increase the number of reps).