![]() ![]() There’s a reason why many of the best MMA athletes have towering traps. When playing high impact sports, they absorb blows to keep the shoulder’s safe and they protect your neck and upper back during contact. Inside the gym, they will help keep your shoulders and scapular stable. WHY ARE TRAP MUSCLES IMPORTANT?īesides enhancing your appearance and making you look like a beast, strong traps play a very important role for performance in the gym, sports, and all around daily life.įirst of all, strong traps will make you much more injury resilient. This is because the rhomboids play a role in scapular retraction and the lats play a role in scapular depression.įun Fact: The trapezius is even an accessory breathing muscle as it helps open up a small amount of room for breathing in the upper chest area. ![]() This is particularly true for the middle and lower traps. Moreover, the traps work in tandem with other muscles groups, such as the rhomboids and lats. Some movements involve all three parts of the traps. when you lift your arm up to the side and bring it back down. ![]() For example, the upper and lower traps work in tandem with the serrates anterior for upward rotation of the scapular and work in an opposing manner to the elevator scapulae and rhomboid muscles for downward rotation - i.e. The different regions of the traps also work together for certain movements. The main function of the lower trap is to move the shoulder blades downward (scapular depression), which is the opposite action of the upper trap. The lower trap fibers originate at the remaining thoracic vertebrae (T4-T12) and proceed upward and laterally converging near the scapular It’s role is very important for all-around posture and stability doing horizontal pushing and pulling movements. The main function of the middle trap are to bring the shoulder blades toward the spine (scapula retraction) and stabilize the shoulder for certain arm movements. The middle trap fibers originate at the first, second, and third thoracic vertebrae just below the neck and they proceed laterally to the spine of the scapula near the shoulder joint. Note: The upper trap can be seen from the front side of your body too, so if your upper traps are well built, you will have that huge traps look. The main functions of the upper trap are to elevate your scapular, which elevates and brings up your shoulder girdle, and to extend, tilt and rotate (and protect) your neck, which allows you to move your head. In simple terms, the upper trap fibers originate at the top of the spine and back of the head and they proceed downward and laterally inserting into the posterior side of the collar bone near the shoulder joint. ![]() Understanding this can help you target each region of your traps better. Separately, each region of the traps plays it own role. In other words, the trapezius is a postural muscle and a movement muscle that helps you move your neck and head, shrug and steady your shoulders, and move and twist your arms. Together, they support the arms, stabilize and move the scapular (elevate, depress, rotate, and retract), and stabilize and move the spine/neck. The trapezius muscle has three functional parts (or groups of fibers) which are referred to as the upper, middle and lower traps. You have two symmetrical trapezius muscles, one on the left side and one on the right side, which meet at the vertebral column. The trapezius, often referred to as the traps, is a large paired trapezoidal-shaped superficial (surface) muscle of the back that extends from the bottom of your skull to the lower thoracic vertebrae of your spine and laterally to the spine of the scapula. In this article, we will dive into the best exercises for the trapezius muscle, which includes specific exercises for the upper, middle, and lower traps, that way you can improve your upper body’s appearance, strength, and injury resilience. Here are three things you need to know about traps - they make a powerful statement, they ARE important for performance, and they can GROW if you know what you are doing. ![]()
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