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The trapezius – the muscle responsible for creating the appearance of mountains popping off the shoulders. The trapezius is responsible for broad shoulders and thick necks, making it an invaluable tool in the quest to get big.

The first thing to understand about the trapezius is that it is divided into three major areas. This is because there are directionally different fibers. These areas are named the upper, middle, and lower fibers. Because of this division and its multidirectional fibers, the trapezius is capable of performing a variety of tasks. Firstly, and most commonly, the trapezius is used to shrug – resulting in the movement of the shoulder blades vertically. The trapezius can also move the shoulder blades in towards the spine, as well as rotate them. Moving the head backwards and forwards, sideways, and rotating the head, is also dictated by the trapezius. Most importantly, the trapezius is a muscle involved in the process of breathing by opening up a small area of breathing in the upper chest.

To grow this muscle and achieve a large neck, there are a couple of exercises that you can perform. The first is the typical deadlift from the rack. In this exercise, the traps are responsible for the initial and final shrugs. This exercise is especially effective as the high weight usually associated with deadlifts provides optimal resistance for the traps to grow. The second exercise is the generic shrug. The traps actually possess a lot more power than they appear to, and thus, a large amount of weight can be used on this exercise. Because of the nature of the trapezius, the shrug effectively involves all areas of the muscle if done correctly. It may seem like an exercise only for the vertical fibers but if proper form is examined, the end jerk backwards recruits fibers that run horizontally along the back.

The trapezius is a muscle that makes the bearer appear large. Big traps are generally associated with strength and power – a sign signally that no one should mess around with them. Although it may seem odd that there are only two mainstream exercises to workout the trapezius, these exercises, done properly and regularly, should be enough to break through that plateau of growth in the neck and shoulders and make one look like a monster.

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