Are you curious about the best Athlean X trap workouts?
Do you want to know Jeff Cavaliere trains his traps for size and strength?
Then you’ve come to the right place.
In this comprehensive guide, I will teach you exactly how to use the Athlean X trap workouts to take your training to the next level!
Introduction
- Part 1: Athlean X Trap Workout #1
- Part 2: Athlean X Trap Workout #2
Jeff Cavaliere is one of the biggest fitness influencers in the world.
He is best known for his popular YouTube channel, called “Athlean X,” where he shares helpful fitness videos to more than 12 million subscribers.
Of course, he is also known for his incredible physique – especially his huge traps!
How did Jeff build his huge traps? Is it a secret training program, or does he just have good genetics?
Jeff says the best way to build huge traps is to use a variety of compound and isolation exercises, such as deadlifts, barbell shrugs, and farmer’s walks.
Jeff likes to train the traps in functional movement patterns, which means using them in exercises that mimic real-life scenarios.
Here is one of Jeff Cavaliere’s high-volume trap workouts that you can try. Check it out:
Athlean X Trap Workout #1
- Exercise A1: Deadlifts, 2 sets of 8, 6 reps, 30 seconds rest
- Exercise A2: Weighted chin ups, 2 sets of 4, 8 reps, 2-3 minutes rest
- Exercise B1: Deadlifts, 2 sets of 4 reps, 30 seconds rest
- Exercise B2: Wide grip pull ups, 2 sets to failure, 2-3 minutes rest
- Exercise C1: Barbell dead rows, 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps
- Exercise D1: Alternating high pulley row, 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps to failure
- Exercise E1: Alternating Hyper Y / W: 2 sets of 14-20 reps
- Exercise F1: Barbell shrug ladder finisher (see video for more details)
Here is the training video:
Talk about an intense workout!
Jeff Cavaliere starts this routine with a brutal superset of deadlifts and chin ups.
Jeff says the deadlift is one of the best exercises for building huge traps, as the traps have to isometrically contract during the entire range of motion.
“We’re kicking off this perfect back workout with a compound lift: the deadlift. It’s a great foundational exercise for hitting the traps, the spinal erectors, the lats, and the scapular muscles.
But more importantly, we realize there are some compressive effects on the spine with the deadlift.
So we can pair this up with another great compound movement – the weighted chin up – and get a de compressive effect on our spine.”
Throughout the workout Jeff uses a variety of exercises for his upper back muscles, such as the traps, lats, and rhomboids.
Finally, Jeff finishes this Athlean X back workout with some direct work for the upper traps.
In this workout, he uses the classic barbell shrug to finish them off.
“We’re going to finish his workout up with the area that you probably focus on more often, and we can do that with the standard barbell shrug.
What we’re doing here is a finisher, a ladder. We’re going to work our way up from 1-10.
For the sick guys out there, I’m going to give you an option of working from 10 all the way back down to 1.”
Jeff Cavaliere is very creative in how he trains his traps. In some workouts he likes to use isolation exercises such as the classic barbell shrug.
However, in other workouts he likes to use more functional exercises such as weighted carries. Check it out:
Athlean X Trap Workout #2
- Exercise #1: Deadlift, 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps
- Exercise #2: Seated cable row, 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Exercise #3: Pull up, 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Exercise #4: Weighted carry, 3-4 sets of 100 feet
- Exercise #5: Plate front raises, 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Exercise #6: Hyper rows, 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
Here is the training video:
Talk about an intense workout!
As usual, Jeff starts this trap-focused workout with the barbell deadlift.
This is one of his favorite exercises, as it works all of the upper back muscles (including the traps!) in a functional movement pattern.
“My mindset is I always have a staple exercise, and that’s the deadlift! I always deadlift, no matter what kind of back workout I’m doing.
I find that it’s great for increasing strength, and it’s also again allowed me to work on my posture.
It strengthens my lower back, which is really important, as I had a weak lower back.
This was some of the root of my problems, starting down low and carrying up the kinetic chain.”
In the middle of the workout Jeff uses weighted carries to overload the traps even more.
Many strongman competitors have huge traps, and they perform plenty of weighted carries in their routines, so there’s plenty of real-world evidence that this exercise builds massive traps.
Finally, Jeff finishes the workout with some accessory exercises for the upper back, such as the seated cable row.
“Seated row I love, because it allows me to get into that stretch, as we have the cable down lower, which allows me to get into that stretch and really feel it in the lats.
You can see, with that low cable set up, it brings your arms out in front of your body, separating the attachment of the lats so you get a better stretch, which allow you to get a more powerful contraction on every single rep.
But it’s just a good way to do the seated cable row.”
This is some great advice from Jeff Cavaliere!
Depending on how you perform the seated cable row, you can really shift emphasis onto a number of different muscle groups, such as the traps / rhomboids, or the lats.
Conclusion | The Athlean X Trap Workout!
Jeff Cavaliere is one of the biggest names in the fitness industry today, and it’s easy to see why.
He has a gift for designing workouts that really nail hard-to-hit muscle groups, such as the upper traps.
If you want to build huge “Johnnie Jackson” style traps, then you have to give these Athlean X trap workouts a shot.
They may be just what you need to take your training to the next level!
Before you go, check out my other world-class articles on Athlean X:
- The Athlean X Training Program!
- The Athlean X Push Pull Legs Split!
- The Athlean X Chest Workouts!
- The Athlean X Back Workouts!
- The Athlean X Arm Workouts!
Trust me – you won’t find this cutting edge information available anywhere else!
“If you want to look like an athlete then you’ve got to train like one!”
Thank you for reading and I wish you the best of luck on your strength training journey!