Small Trapezius Imbalance

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Xav

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Hi folks

Have been building up my traps over time with dumbell and barbell shrugs, and although they're getting noticeably bigger, my left one is starting to look slightly bigger than my right, possibly something to do with being left handed and showing a subconscious bias towards that side on the dumbell shrugs.

Anyway, in order to balance them out should I throw in some extra shrugs on the RHS with one dumbell? Is there any other exercise that will isolate it and allow me to balance them out?

All help appreciated.

Cheers

Xav
 
You probably don't need to do more reps on one side, just make sure you work both sides equally.

Also, one trap could appear to be bigger because the scapula on that side is tilted downwards more than on the other side, which would be a posture thing.
 
thread is very lulzy :rofl:

But uh, stick to barbell shrugs. Or you could try what I do.. if you have the equipment available. Get on a rig that suspends the weight above you, (high rack will work nicely) and do some manimal power shrugs. Maximum weight = maximum recruitment, of both sides, I figure. Plus it's hella fun. :D And y'know, grip strength doesn't get in your way (you can hit that separately, if it's a concern - probably should anyway).

Be sure to note and enjoy the looks of confused terror on the faces of the gym rats as they do their 18 sets of curls. :rofl:
 
your traps might just be asymetrical... in which case there is nothing you can do about it. barbell is better for keeping them even though
 
well if they are uneven, a barbell won't do any good until they are even again; therefore, a dumbbell needs to be used (a one arm shrug).

I think my right upper trap is bigger too and I defiantly know its tighter than my left. I also have a hard time sometimes and have to keep telling my right shoulder to stay down because it has a mind of its own and goes up sometimes. Also, my mid/lower trapz are weaker, so I have do exercises for those muscles as well (might be the reason its hard to keep the shoulders down 24/7 and even during workouts). However....do you think I should work on the shrug imbalance first a long with a lot of stretching before mid/lower trap work to get rid of the tightness or can be done at the same time? also, a cause may be the deltoids too of why one side is more developed than the other. If you see a picture of me, you would know. if I do the behind the back stretch, I can easily touch my right fingers with my bottom hand (left hand) and I cannot do it at all with my right bottom hand and my right shoulder wants to go forward when I do it. also I have trouble getting my fingers pointing up like I can with my left. something inflexibility my wrist is stopping me from doing it.
 
I have a similar problem. my left trap is slightly bigger, but the right trap is a little thicker. Pull your shoulders up then back, as if you're trying to touch your shoulder blades together, then let the weight back down and repeat. If you do front raises, let the weight down slower from the top. You should see improvement, just focus solely on getting an even movement.
 
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Hi folks

Did the chest/trap etc. workout again today and tried to see what the problem really was. It turns out when I do shrugs I show a slight tendency to lean my head slightly over to the LHS. I dont know if this emphasises the left trap more, or just makes it look bigger, but I spent the session really concentrating on proper from and keeping my head dead centre throughout the reps. It seems to have done the trick, as they both looked equally pumped by the end.

If anything else changes I'll keep you updated.

Cheers

Xav
 
Interesting. I was going to do a new post, but then I thought I'd try and do a search first, so I'll revive this old thread.

So how's it going? Any improvement?

I noticed the other day in the mirror that my left trap is much larger than my right, as far as how high it goes up my neck, it's about 1/2" difference at least. Didn't bug me before, but now it's annoying!

But one thing I attribute it to is my sleeping habits. I sleep on my left side more, and if I'm reading something, or watching TV I'm on my left side leaning up a little. I first noticed this when I was getting a massage... the lady asked me which side I slept on... she correctly assumed my left since that side was more tense/sore than my right.

Can't exactly undo several years of sleeping habits, so I guess I'm going to have to try something new when lifting!!! My traps have grown a lot in the couple years I've lifted, but they didn't even out unfortunately.
 
Use dumbells to even it out, and barbell to keep it even.
Something to keep in mind, you might want to use wrist wraps to you dont grip the bar as much. You may have a better grip with your left hand because you are left handed, which may cause you to naturally favor the left side. Wraps will eliminate the grip factor.
 
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