The dumbbell shrug is a simple butvery effective way of working the upper traps. Grasp a pair of dumbbells and stand straight up with the dumbbells by your sides.

Let your shoulders "sag" down as far as possible.

Keeping your body fixed, slowly shrug your shoulders straight up as high as possible (don't rotate back or forwards!).

Pause for a count of 1-3, and then slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.

Repeat for desired reps.

Shrug Tips:

Focus on pulling the weight up with your traps and not your biceps.

You don't need to rotate the shoulders forward or back when doing shrugging exercises. The thought that this will benefit youis a myth! You should shrug straight up as high as possible.

Pause at the top of the movement to get the best results from the exercise.