Ever work out your middle traps? Chances are–mid traps aren’t the first muscle you’ve thought to exercise when bulking up your back muscles. That’s because plenty of other muscles are showier and more external, including the upper traps, which often get more attention. But if you’re here, you probably already know how important middle trap exercises are for overall shoulder health and function.
That’s because your middle traps help out every time you pull your shoulder blades together.
When you add mid trap exercises to your workout routine, you’ll benefit from:
→ Better posture
→ Shoulder stability
→ Less pain in your neck and upper back
Here at Back Muscle Solutions, we love back-muscle-specific exercises because they empower people to strengthen their backs and get out of pain.
Today, we’ll explore the 7 best middle trap exercises for a sculpted back and stronger shoulders.
We’ll cover:
- 7 Best Middle Trap Exercises
- Trapezius Anatomy
- Benefits of Middle Trap Exercises
- How to Massage a Middle Trap
- How to Stretch a Middle Trap
- Our Best Trapezius Resources
- Mid Trap Exercises FAQs
7 Best Middle Trap Exercises
It may be a weirdly specific muscle, but many people want to know:
→ What exercises work the middle traps?
→ AND how do you get bigger mid traps?
And there are actually many mid trap exercises to choose from.
But before we get started, let’s get clear on a few things.
There are 3 trapezius muscles on each side of your body:
1) Upper Trapezius
2) Middle Traezius
How Do You Target Mid Traps in Your Workouts?
The main function of the middle trapezius is to bring your shoulder blades together. So, the most isolated mid trap exercises typically include that exact motion: scapular retraction AKA bringing your shoulder blades together.
That said, the middle trapezius also kicks in during most upper AND lower trapezius movements, such as:
→ Shrugging
→ Bringing your shoulder blades back and down.
Let’s explore the best middle trap exercises below.
Middle Trap Exercises #1: Cable Wrap-Around Rows
1) At a dual cable machine, set the two pulleys wide and slightly higher than shoulder-width apart.
2) Grab the pulleys on the opposite sides of each hand.
3) Pull the cables in toward you, pushing your elbows back.
4) Pause at the top of the motion.
5) Then, slowly return the cables back to the starting position.
6) Repeat for the desired amount of reps.
Pro Tips:
→ Avoid shrugging so you don't recruit your upper traps.
→ Set the cables to their widest setting.
Middle Trap Exercises #2: Prone Reverse Flyes
1) Lie stomach-down on a bench with your head over the front of the bench.
2) Place your arms into external rotation by pointing your thumbs up.
3) Hold your arms straight out at each side–each at a 90-degree angle with your torso.
4) Bring your arms up, drawing your shoulder blades together as you do this.
5) Pause briefly at the top.
6) Then, slowly lower them back down.
7) Repeat for the desired amount of reps.
Pro Tips:
→ Avoid raising your arms above your torso.
→ Make sure your shoulders do not shrug.
→ Keep your lower back from arching.
→ You can add weight here once you’re ready!
Middle Trap Exercises #3: Face Pull
1) At a cable station, set a pulley to just above head height and attach a double-rope attachment.
2) Facing the cable machine, grab the ropes with a neutral grip (palms facing inward).
3) Holding the ropes, step back until your arms are fully extended.
4) With elbows up, bring both ends of the rope toward your face–right to ear level.
5) Pause here, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
6) Slowly return to the starting position.
7) Repeat for the desired amount of reps.
Pro Tips:
Before drawing the cables toward your face:
→ Puff up your chest.
→ Draw your shoulder blades down.
→ And engage your core.
If you want to learn more about the face pull, I’ve got a whole article on it below:
“Face Pull: Muscles Worked, Variations, and How to Unleash Shoulders of Steel”
Middle Trap Exercises #4: Incline Dumbbell Row
1) Angle your bench to about 45 degrees, and have dumbbells of your selected weight ready on the side.
2) Sit with your chest against the bench and your feet on the ground.
3) Now, grab the dumbbells and squeeze your shoulder blades together before you get started.
4) Leading with your elbows, row the weight toward the side of your body.
5) Pause briefly at the top.
6) Slowly return to the starting position.
7) Repeat for the desired amount of reps.
Pro Tips:
→ Be sure to keep your chest pressed against the pad of the bench throughout the entire middle trap exercise.
Middle Trap Exercises #5: Single-Arm Dumbbell Row (With External Rotation)
1) Lie stomach-down on a flat bench with a dumbbell at the side.
2) With one arm, grip the dumbbell, and row it up toward the side of your chest–leading with your elbow.
3) Next, rotate your arm so your hand comes in line with the rest of your arm.
4) Pause for a moment.
5) Return the dumbbell first back to the row position. Then, down to starting position.
6) Repeat for the desired amount of reps.
7) Then, switch arms.
Pro Tips:
→ As always, with unilateral exercises, be sure to start with the non-dominant arm, so you have a clear base for how much weight you can lift and how many reps you can perform.
→ You can support your head on the bench with the non-working arm.
Middle Trap Exercises #6: Pull-Ups
1) Stand facing a pull-up bar.
2) Grip the bar with palms facing outward at about shoulder-width apart–or slightly wider.
3) Bend your elbows to lift your body up toward the pull-up bar, bringing your chest in line with your hands.
4) Next, slowly lower down into the starting position.
5) Repeat for the desired amount of reps.
Pro Tips:
→ Be sure to squeeze your shoulder blades and back at the top of the motion.
→ Lower yourself down nice and slowly to get maximum muscle work.
If you want to learn about one of my favorite pull-up variations, check out the article below:
“Neutral Grip Pull Up: How To Master & Vs. Pull Ups”
Middle Trap Exercises #7: Barbell Row
1) Position a barbell on the ground in front of you, and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2) Using an overhand grip, grip the bar with your arms just wider than shoulder-width.
3) Push your hips back, keeping a neutral spine and bending your knees slightly. Stop once your torso is just parallel to the floor.
4) Row the bar up toward your stomach.
5) Squeeze your shoulder blades together and pause at the top of the motion.
6) Slowly return the barbell to the starting position.
7) Repeat for the desired amount of reps.
Pro Tips:
→ The other middle trap exercises I've mentioned so far focus on isolating the middle trapezius muscle as much as possible. But remember: The middle trapezius is hard to isolate and often gets involved during both upper and lower trapezius exercises. This exercise is a compound movement, which will work many muscles, including your lats, rhomboids, and upper and lower traps. That said, you’ll get a good middle trap workout with upright rows here, too!
Trapezius Anatomy
Now that we’ve covered the best middle trap exercises, let’s get a bit more technical.
As you already know, there are three trapezius muscles on either side of your back: upper, middle, and lower.
Here’s the scoop on all three.
Upper Traps
These muscles are primarily used for shrugging our shoulders. They are a more aesthetic muscle as they help bulk out the area between your neck and shoulders.
Middle Traps
The muscle fibers in your middle traps run east to west.
In fact, you can feel them working in that side-to-side direction if you squeeze your shoulder blades together.
The middle traps like to wear many hats. They also help with shrugging and pulling your shoulders down–basically getting involved to help the upper and lower traps, respectively.
Lower Traps
When you lift your arms up to the sky, you’ll feel your shoulder blades moving down and back.
This is what your lower trapezius muscles do.
Wanna work out those lower traps, too? You’ll find a similar article below–just dedicated to lower trap exercises:
“7 Lower Trap Exercises for Better Posture, Strength, and Stability”
Benefits of Middle Trap Exercises
As I already mentioned, there loads of benefits to adding middle trap exercises specifically to your back workout routine.
Today, I’ll focus on the top 3.
Middle Trap Exercises Benefits #1: Shoulder Health & Stability
Strong shoulders are healthy shoulders. And one of the best benefits of middle trap exercises is shoulder strength and stability.
After all, we use our shoulders all day long. And any time you draw them together, shrug them, or lift up your arms, your middle traps get involved.
Many people prioritize upper trap exercises, but adding middle trap exercises to your routine ensures that you don’t ignore any aspect of your trapezius muscles.
Middle Trap Exercises Benefits #2: Better Posture
If you think about it, middle traps do the opposite of hunching: bringing your shoulder blades together. Because of this, they’re super helpful for preventing a hunched-over posture
Plus, having good posture has tons of other benefits, including:
→ Feeling more confident
→ Preventing pain throughout your entire back
To learn more about the role posture plays in back pain, check out the article below:
“How Can Poor Posture Result In Back Pain?”
Or for an exercise routine specifically about good posture in your mid-upper back and neck, here’s a great video:
Posture Routine
Middle Trap Exercises Benefits #3: Less Pain in Your Neck and Upper Back
As we know, with better posture and stronger muscles…you’ll feel less back and neck pain.
I know from experience how debilitating back pain can be, and it’s our mission here to help put power back in the hands of people with back pain.
We hope the middle trap exercises in this article can do exactly that for you!
How to Massage a Middle Trap
At Back Muscle Solutions, we teach a 3-step approach to healing from back muscle pain.
1) Massage
2) Stretch
3) Strengthen
Because of this, I always recommend looking at ways to massage and stretch your middle trapezius before diving into these middle trap exercises.
We have a whole article on trapezius massage below if you want ot check it out:
“Untangle that Knot! Learn About Trapezius Trigger Points”
When it comes to massaging back muscles, we’re a little biased toward our own back muscle massage device: the QL Claw.
While not originally designed to massage upper back muscles, the trigger point or “Claw” on this thing can reach tons of hard-to-get muscles all over your back.
In fact, below, you can see our founder, Ben, using the Claw on his rhomboid muscle–a muscle very close to the trapezius.
Learn more about the QL Claw below:
How to Stretch a Middle Trap
When it comes to stretching your middle trapezius, you’ll want to move your shoulders in the opposite direction of how they’re exercised. This means forward instead of back.
You can see this movement in the photo below.
Here’s how to stretch a mid trapezius:
1) Sit on a yoga mat with your legs out in front of you.
2) Stretch your arms and hands straight out in front of your face–with your palms facing out.
3) Bring your shoulders forward, feeling a nice stretch in your shoulders and upper back.
4) Hold for a few seconds.
5) Return to the starting position.
Learn more about trapezius stretches below:
“8 Trapezius Stretches to Loosen Tight Traps”
Our Best Trapezius Resources
At Back Muscle Solutions, back health and education is our mission. So, if you want to learn more about your trapezius muscle, we’re here for it.
Check out some of our best trapezius resources below:
Articles
“Untangle that Knot! Learn About Trapezius Trigger Points”
“8 Trapezius Stretches to Loosen Tight Traps”
“Got a Bad Trap? Try a Trapezius Tear Test!”
“7 Lower Trap Exercises for Better Posture, Strength, and Stability”
Video
“Mid Back Pain Exercises for Relief & Strength (Beginner to Advanced)”
Middle Trap Exercises FAQs
What exercise works the middle traps?
There are lots of great middle trap exercises to choose from. My personal favorite is the cable wrap-around. You can check out all the best mid trap exercises here in this article.
How to get bigger mid traps?
Mid traps are typically way less external than the upper traps. That said, strong mid traps can contribute to having an overall sculpted, strong-looking back. To grow your mid traps, check out the middle trap exercises in this article.
What is the function of the middle traps?
Middle traps help with scapular retraction–drawing your shoulder blades together. This is why you want to focus on mid trap exercises that utilize this movement.
How do you target mid lower traps?
The best way to target your middle traps is to focus on moves that draw your shoulder blades together.
Do rows train mid traps?
Yes, rows are one of the best middle trap exercises because they involve scapular retraction AKA bringing the shoulder blades together, which helps bias the mid traps.
Do pull ups work middle traps?
Yes, pull-ups work the middle traps as well as several other back muscles. They are a compound back exercise.
How to stretch a middle trap?
To stretch a middle trap, I recommend a middle trapezius stretch that moves your shoulders in the opposite direction of contracting together.
What is the difference between mid traps and rhomboids?
The middle traps and rhomboids are super similar, and both work to bring your shoulder blades together. That said, rhomboids have an additional function of helping with the downward rotation of your shoulders.
Sources:
[1] https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jpts/28/5/28_jpts-2016-012/_article/-char/ja/
[2] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1466853X07001083
[3] https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/tfrd/article/360019