Smith Back Shrug

Setup

1. 01Set the Smith bar just below glute height and stand facing away from it.
2. 02Grip the bar behind your body at shoulder width with palms facing back.
3. 03Stand tall with the chest up and a slight forward lean away from the bar.
4. 04Unrack by rotating the hooks and let the arms hang straight.

Execution

1. 01Shrug the shoulders straight up as high as possible without bending the elbows.
2. 02Squeeze the traps hard for a one-second hold at the top.
3. 03Lower the bar under control until the shoulders are fully depressed.
4. 04Repeat without rocking the torso.

Checkpoints

• -Arms stay straight; the traps do all the lifting.
• -The bar slides smoothly along the body without scraping the glutes.
• -The top position includes a deliberate squeeze, not a bounce.
• -The head stays neutral, not jutting forward.

Common mistakes

• -Bending the elbows to heave the weight up.
• -Rolling the shoulders in a circle instead of shrugging straight up.
• -Cutting the stretch at the bottom.
• -Loading so heavy the range shrinks to an inch.