Biggest Traps In Bodybuilding
- Johnnie Jackson
- Ronnie Coleman
- Dorian Yates
- Joel Stubbs
- Mike Francois
There’s no point in having enormous arms if they’re not supported by something substantial, such as a boulder shoulder or a thick, towering trap.
You notice the people with massive arms, but you’re captivated by the guys with large traps. Even if they claimed to be “weary,” you can be certain that they worked hard and didn’t skip a workout. You admire their strength and secretly wish you had a flexed pair to compare notes with.
Make a list of all the things you need to work on if you look like a bobblehead. Practicing with traps is not for the faint of heart. It needs a great deal of willpower and perseverance.
Who Has The Biggest Traps In Bodybuilding?
1. Johnnie Jackson
Ranking first on our list of biggest traps in bodybuilding is Johnnie Jackson. During his best moments, Johnnie Jackson has traps that climb so high that they appear to be at risk of detaching. He has a 3-D kite on his back, and you can see it from behind.
The muscle on either side of his neck forms a dramatic ring around an unusually raised vertebrae, creating a sight that is so freakishly distinct.
Jackson’s trapezius isn’t the only thing that sets it apart from the rest of the pack. In addition, he has dedicated himself for more than three decades to a field that receives little attention from the general public.
Tormenting his traps is like torturing any other part of his body. His trapezius workouts target all of the muscles on both sides of the upper back. As a 45-year-old star, Jackson is in the final stages of a remarkable career.
Why Do His Traps Stand Out?
If he was working on his chest, biceps, or back, he’d do the same thing. He alternates between a variety of workouts to target the muscle in a variety of ways.
The traps contain a substantial amount of muscle. Because they’re so large in comparison to other muscles like the biceps, they get a lot of attention at the gym. The same people, though, would declare they’ve worked their traps after doing three or four rounds of shrugs at the end of a shoulder workout.
It is a mystery to them why their traps do not expand. For large traps, you must provide them with enough work to make them expand.
Don’t treat them any differently than any other piece of your body. Assign them specific tasks and punish them severely with a variety of workouts. They will then develop.
2. Ronnie Coleman
Next on our list of the biggest traps in bodybuilding is 8 times Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman.
Coleman’s routines resembled something out of the past. He trained different portions of the body twice a week and sometimes even twice a day, focusing on free weights.
The numbers he put up for 10-12 reps in a workout after workout for over a decade were what set him apart. Leg presses weighing 2,300 pounds, T-bar rows weighing 540 pounds, incline dumbbell presses weighing 200 pounds, and behind-the-back shrugs weighing 700 pounds were all performed.
The simplistic, yet efficient guidelines that he followed by Ronnie Coleman will endure for a long time to come.
What Is His Secret?
Because they’re so hard to reach, traps are the most underutilized muscle group in the body. Shrugs don’t work for some people who are looking forward to building their traps.
The reason for this is that their traps are the most secluded and difficult to reach muscle parts in the body. The biceps, triceps, forearms, and hands serve as a virtual fortress to keep them safe, as do the lats, rhomboids, and erectors of the torso.
Consequently, the exercise must first pass through numerous of these accessory muscles, each of which drains it of some of its force before it reaches the trapezius muscle group itself. By the time it gets to the traps, it’s practically useless.
He used powerful lift-pulls and shrugs to move his traps in all directions, as well as backward-upward arcs and upward backward arcs. The exercises that follow have that effect. If you want the best traps, make sure to use them often.
3. Dorian Yates
3rd on our list of biggest traps in bodybuilding is Dorian Yates.
Yates is one of the most renowned bodybuilders of our time. In addition to his massive build, “The Shadow” was shredded to the bone. Yates is widely considered to be one of the greatest professional bodybuilders of all time.
Dorian Yates’ training style was characterized as “blood and guts” because he preferred short, high-intensity sessions. HIT, a form of high-intensity training popularized by fellow bodybuilding legend Mike Mentzer, influenced some of his workouts.
What Did He Do Differently?
Dorian Yates had a strong body with no visible flaws, but his back stood out. This was in part owing to an exercise he devised, the Yates row, which quickly became well-known.
The major back muscles are used in the Yates row, as they are in all rowing exercises. The tilt of your torso, on the other hand, places more strain on your upper back than on your lower back during this exercise.
With your hands supinated, you perform a barbell bent-over row (palms facing up). That’s all there is to it. A “reverse bent over row” or a “supinated bent over row” is a term coined by Dorian Yates, a legendary bodybuilder.
4. Joel Stubbs
4th on our list of biggest traps in bodybuilding is Joel Stubbs. There is nothing like Stubbs’ back on the bodybuilding circuit today. Stubb’s back might look like something out of a Hollywood blockbuster at first glance.
In the history of professional bodybuilding, Joel Stubbs has the widest back. To construct one of the best upper bodies in the business, the hard effort that Stubbs put into his training is what he credits for his success.
How Did He Get That Back?!
Joel Stubbs has a natural affinity for building back muscles, but he also follows a very sophisticated training regimen.
For the most part, he concentrates on each exercise in one area at a time and doesn’t simply repeat the same rows and chins over and over again.
For his back, he rotates between two different routines. A pyramided set of as few as six reps is included in his heavy day, which incorporates heavier weightlifting routines. Sets with a maximum number of repetitions of 15 are included on the second day.
For the last month before a competition, the gentlemanly islander trains back twice a week instead of once a week for the rest of the year.
In all workouts, six sets of chins are completed in three distinct techniques, and the wide-bodied jet-precision flier’s targeting of lifts to specific areas of his back remains constant.
5. Mike Francois
Concluding our list of biggest traps in bodybuilding is Mike Francois. In 1990, he competed locally and was crowned Mr. Ohio. In 1991, he competed regionally, and in 1992, he began competing nationally.
The 1993 National Championships were the stepping stone to Michael’s professional career. With two wins at the Chicago Pro Invitational and the Night of Champs in NY in the year 1994, he became a professional boxer.
Michael won the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic along with the San Jose Pro Invitational the following weekend in the year 1995, maintaining his winning streak. With his four victories in a row as a professional bodybuilder, Michael holds the rare distinction of being the only one.
Francois Fitness Consultants, a company established in Ohio, specializes in the construction of individualized fitness programs for persons of all fitness levels, including professional athletes, bodybuilders, CEOs, physicians, retirees, and housewives.
How Did He Stay Relevant In The Game?
Mike’s extensive knowledge of weight training and nutrition extends far beyond his own experience. Along the way, he has met and learned from some of the industry’s leading experts and supports the annual NPC Mike Francois Classic in his native state of Ohio each May.
How To Build Big Traps
Trapezius exercise can be done every day of the week, although not everyone agrees. It’s debatable whether it’s a back or a shoulder day.
Even though you’re going to hit your traps both days, you’ll be able to focus on your traps while training your shoulders, which is a good thing!
Here are some workouts that can help you build up your big-boy traps. You should incorporate at least two of these five moves into your daily shoulder practice.
Shrug
Straight Olympic bars, dumbbells, the diamond/hex/trap bar, or even cables can be used for this exercise. That’s not what sets men apart from boys; rather, it’s how they perform a movement that matters most.
A tricky part of this exercise is finding the right weight. For example, if you can deadlift that bar ten times, but the eleventh would be excruciatingly difficult, you should not attempt it. If this is the case, then I feel you are within the correct weight range.
How to do shrugs
- Pick up the bar and let it dangle for a few seconds so that you can feel the strain in your neck and traps. A slight tugging sensation is to be expected, but you shouldn’t experience any pain.
- Focus on your traps when you lift yourself on the bar. Avoid using your triceps or biceps, and keep your shoulders out of the exercise as much as possible. Your mind and body are linked.
- Squeeze the traps at the very top of the maneuver.
But you’re in this for the long haul, so don’t give up. You may require the assistance of a motivational squad to complete your task. Rest for the next two sets after completing the first 50 repetitions.
High Pull
If you’re going to do a strict-form upright row, use around 50% extra weight on an Olympic bar.
- Under-hand grasps the bar with your hands a little broader than your shoulders to ensure a secure grip.
- Lower the bar with your back straight and your buttocks and shoulders are drawn back before re-entering the starting position.
- Bring the bar to your chest by engaging your traps, shoulders, hips, and legs all at once when it is about two inches above the knee cap. Gravity will bring the bar back down once it reaches its final destination. Take advantage of your hips and legs as shock absorbers.
Single-Arm Dumbbell Upright Row
I prefer to think of this as a weight-to-rep strategy. Every time you lift a weight, do the same number of repetitions. So, for example, if you use a 50-pound dumbbell, each set would consist of 50 repetitions for each arm. Force yourself to use a rest-pause approach if you try to take on too much at once.
When doing this technique, it’s critical to remember to begin at the elbow. Imagine a puppeteer putting a string through your elbow and pulling it to make your arm move. Don’t lose sight of this idea; it will aid your posture if you become fatigued.
Modified Bent-Over Dual Cable Low Pulley Shoulder Fly
Finish your workout with this exercise as a good way to round out your session. Holding the opposing pulleys in your opposite hands, set yourself up like you would for a standard low-cable fly. Knees bent, hips set back, lower back arched.
A 45-degree angle between your elbow and shoulder joint is the starting point of the exercise. Your elbow should rise around 1-2 inches above your shoulder as you keep your arms in the same position. When you’re done, you should have a good squeeze in your hand.
Low-Cable Face Pull
An adjustable cable rack can be used with a rope attached to the bottom of it. Take a two-foot distance from the attachment to acquire the right angle for recruiting the traps. Do not take a break or relax at the end of the exercise if you want to use it as a fat burner.
This is going to be difficult, but keep going. It’s important to pick a weight that’s challenging but not so heavy that you’ll have to fake your way through it.
