Your trapezius isn’t one muscle doing one job. The upper fibers run from the base of your skull down to your collarbone and shoulder blade, the middle fibers pull your shoulder blades together across your upper back, and the lower fibers run all the way down to your mid-back and pull your shoulder blades down and in. Most lifters only train the upper third with a shrug and call it a day, which is why so many people have traps that look thick from behind but do nothing to support the shoulder blade during a press or a pull.
Cables are one of the best tools for fixing that. A barbell or dumbbell shrug only loads your traps straight up and down, but a cable stack lets you pull from behind you, above you, or out to the side, and it keeps tension on the muscle through the entire range instead of just at the top of the rep. That matters a lot for the middle and lower traps, since both respond best to pulling the shoulder blade through a full range rather than just shrugging it up. Cables also tend to be easier on your lower back and grip than heavy barbell pulls, since the load path is fixed and you’re not fighting to keep a bar balanced.
Here are the 7 cable trap exercises I use most, covering all three regions of the muscle. I’ll give you the benefits of each one, exactly how to perform it, and a demo video, plus a sample cable-only trap workout and a rundown of trap anatomy at the end.
Table of Contents
- 1 7 Best Cable Trap Exercises
- 2 Cable-Only Trap Workout
- 3 Trap Anatomy
- 4 Frequently Asked Questions
- 4.1 How often should I train my traps with cables?
- 4.2 What’s the best rep range for trap growth?
- 4.3 Can you build big traps with cables alone?
- 4.4 Cable shrugs vs barbell shrugs, which is better?
- 4.5 Do face pulls actually work your traps?
- 4.6 Why won’t my traps grow no matter what I do?
- 4.7 Are cable trap exercises safe if I have shoulder problems?
- 5 Final Thoughts
- 6 References
- 7 Other Muscle Groups Exercises
- 7.1 The 7 Best Lower Trap Exercises
- 7.2 10 Best Cable Shoulder Exercises
- 7.3 The 7 Best Medial Head Tricep Exercises
- 7.4 The 8 Best Bicep Cable Exercises
- 7.5 The 7 Best Long Head Bicep Dumbbell Exercises
- 7.6 The 6 Best Cable Rear Delt Exercises (2023)
- 7.7 The 8 Best Front Delt Dumbbell Exercises
- 7.8 The 8 Best Short Head Bicep Exercises
- 7.9 The 9 Best Rear Delt Dumbbell Exercises [Tested]
- 7.10 The 8 Best Long Head Tricep Exercises
- 7.11 The 7 Best Middle Trap Exercises
- 7.12 The 8 Best Rear Delt Exercises
- 7.13 The 8 Best Long Head Bicep Exercises
- 7.14 The 8 Best Rear Delt Bodyweight Exercises
- 7.15 The 7 Best Outer Quad Exercises (2023)
7 Best Cable Trap Exercises
- Cable Shrug
- Behind-the-Back Cable Shrug
- Cable Upright Row
- Cable High Pull
- Cable Face Pull
- Wide-Grip Cable Seated High Row
- Cable Y-Raise
1. Cable Shrug
Benefits of Cable Shrug
This is the most direct cable swap for a barbell shrug, and it’s the first exercise I’d put on this list for upper trap size. The cable pulls from a fixed low point instead of the bar drifting forward and back the way a barbell does, so you get a straighter bar path and less strain on your lower back and wrists. It also keeps constant tension on your traps at the bottom of the rep, where a barbell shrug tends to go slack. I run this for 4 sets of 12 to 15 reps, usually at the start of a trap-focused session while I’m still fresh enough to load it heavy.
How to Perform Cable Shrug
- Attach a straight bar to a low pulley and stand facing the machine with a shoulder-width, overhand grip.
- Stand up tall with your arms straight and the bar hanging in front of your thighs.
- Shrug your shoulders straight up toward your ears without bending your elbows.
- Pause for a second at the top, then lower under control back to the starting position.
Equipment: cable machine, low pulley, straight bar attachment.
This video from Renaissance Periodization shows how to perform the cable shrug.
Keep your shoulders moving straight up and down. Rolling them forward or backward turns this into a shoulder exercise instead of a trap exercise, and it’s a common way to aggravate the shoulder joint under a heavy load.
2. Behind-the-Back Cable Shrug
Benefits of Behind-the-Back Cable Shrug
Facing away from the machine and pulling the bar up behind your glutes changes the angle of pull just enough to hit your upper traps a little differently than a standard shrug, and a lot of lifters feel a stronger contraction from this angle once they get used to it. It’s not a replacement for the standard cable shrug, it’s a second angle to run alongside it. I’ll program this for 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps on a day when I want more upper trap volume without repeating the exact same movement pattern twice.
How to Perform Behind-the-Back Cable Shrug
- Attach a straight bar to a low pulley and stand facing away from the machine.
- Reach back and grab the bar with an overhand grip, letting it rest against the back of your thighs.
- Stand tall with your arms straight and shrug your shoulders straight up toward your ears.
- Pause at the top, then lower under control back to the starting position.
Equipment: cable machine, low pulley, straight bar attachment.
This video from Get Right Results shows how to perform the behind-the-back cable shrug.
Reaching back for the bar puts your shoulders in a slightly awkward position, so use a lighter weight than you’d use on a standard cable shrug until you’re confident with the setup. If reaching behind you bothers your shoulders, skip this one and just run the standard cable shrug for both sets.
3. Cable Upright Row
Benefits of Cable Upright Row
The upright row pulls the bar up along the front of your body instead of straight up, which brings your rear delts and rhomboids into the movement alongside your upper traps. That makes it a good bridge exercise between a pure shrug and a pulling movement like a row. Cables keep the resistance in line with your body through the whole range in a way a barbell can’t, so you don’t lose tension as your elbows come up. I run this for 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps.
How to Perform Cable Upright Row
- Attach a straight bar to a low pulley and stand facing the machine with a shoulder-width, overhand grip.
- Stand up tall with your arms straight and the bar resting against your thighs.
- Pull the bar straight up your torso, leading with your elbows until they reach shoulder height.
- Lower the bar back down under control to the starting position.
Equipment: cable machine, low pulley, straight bar attachment.
This video from Catalyst Athletics shows how to perform the cable upright row.
Only bring the bar up to shoulder height, not chin height. Pulling higher than that internally rotates your shoulders under load and is a common cause of shoulder pinching on this exercise. If your shoulders bother you on this one at all, drop it and stick with the shrug variations and face pulls instead.
4. Cable High Pull
Benefits of Cable High Pull
The high pull is a faster, more explosive version of the upright row, and it trains your traps to fire quickly instead of just under a slow, controlled load. That carries over well if you also do any kind of Olympic-style pulling or just want more power in your upper back. It also lets you use momentum a bit more than the strict upright row does, so you can typically load it a little heavier. I keep this to 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps and treat each rep as a fast pull rather than a grind.
How to Perform Cable High Pull
- Attach a straight bar to a low pulley and stand facing the machine with a shoulder-width, overhand grip.
- Set your feet about hip width apart with a slight bend in your knees.
- Pull the bar up explosively along your torso, driving your elbows high and out to the sides.
- Let the bar return under control back to the starting position and reset before the next rep.
Equipment: cable machine, low pulley, straight bar attachment.
This video from Nine2Fit shows how to perform the cable high pull.
Drop the weight down from what you’d use on a strict upright row. The point of this exercise is bar speed, and if you have to slow down and grind the rep, the load is too heavy and you’ve lost the reason to do it over an upright row in the first place.
5. Cable Face Pull
Benefits of Cable Face Pull
This is the exercise I’d point to first for middle trap and rear delt work, and it doubles as one of the better things you can do for shoulder health. Pulling the rope apart at the end of the range forces your shoulder blades to retract and your shoulders to externally rotate, which most lifters need a lot more of than they get from pressing. I run this for 3 to 4 sets of 15 to 20 reps with a fairly light weight, since the point is the squeeze at the end of each rep, not how much you can load it.
How to Perform Cable Face Pull
- Attach a rope to a pulley set at roughly eye level and grab one end in each hand with a neutral grip.
- Step back to create tension and stand tall with your arms extended in front of you.
- Pull the rope toward your face, leading with your elbows and splitting the ends apart as your hands pass your ears.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the end of the rep, then return under control to the starting position.
Equipment: cable machine, high or mid pulley, rope attachment.
This video from ScottHermanFitness shows how to perform the cable face pull.
Keep the rope at eye level or slightly above and pull to your face, not your chest. Pulling low turns this into a rowing exercise and takes a lot of the rear delt and middle trap work out of it. For more rear delt options to pair with this, see our cable rear delt exercises roundup.
6. Wide-Grip Cable Seated High Row
Benefits of Wide-Grip Cable Seated High Row
A regular seated cable row with a close grip is mostly a lat and mid-back exercise, but widening your grip and pulling from a slightly higher angle shifts a lot of the work onto your middle traps and rear delts instead. It’s a good exercise to pair with the face pull if you want more middle trap volume at a heavier load than a face pull allows, since you can sit into the machine and really drive with your back instead of relying on a lighter, higher-rep pull. I run this for 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps.
How to Perform Wide-Grip Cable Seated High Row
- Attach a wide bar to a cable row station and sit with your feet braced on the platform, knees slightly bent.
- Grab the bar with a wide, overhand grip and sit up tall with your arms extended.
- Pull the bar toward your upper chest, leading with your elbows high and out to the sides.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the end of the pull, then extend your arms back to the starting position.
Equipment: cable row station, wide bar attachment.
This video from OriGym shows how to perform the wide-grip cable seated high row.
Keep your torso upright through the whole set instead of leaning back to move more weight. Leaning back turns this into a lower back exercise and takes tension off your upper back. For more variations on this pulling pattern, see our cable row alternatives guide.
7. Cable Y-Raise
Benefits of Cable Y-Raise
This is the one exercise on this list built specifically for your lower traps, and it’s the hardest region of the muscle to train directly. Raising your arms up and out into a Y shape against cable tension pulls your shoulder blades down and rotates them upward, which is exactly what the lower traps are supposed to do and a movement most training programs never touch. I keep the weight light here, usually 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps, since this is a positioning exercise more than a heavy loading one.
How to Perform Cable Y-Raise
- Set two pulleys to the lowest position and stand between them, grabbing the left handle with your right hand and the right handle with your left hand so the cables cross in front of you.
- Step back until there’s tension on both cables, with your arms hanging down and slightly out to your sides.
- Raise both arms up and out at the same time, forming a Y shape with your body, keeping a slight bend in your elbows.
- Lower your arms back down under control to the starting position.
Equipment: cable machine with two low pulleys, two single handles.
This video from Rob Morgan shows how to perform the cable Y-raise for the lower traps.
Go lighter than you think you need. Most people can’t feel this one working until they drop the weight enough to actually control the raise with their upper back instead of swinging it up with momentum. For a deeper dive into training this region, see our lower trap exercises guide.
Cable-Only Trap Workout
Here’s a full cable-only session built from the exercises above, running from heaviest to lightest and hitting all three regions of the muscle. It works as a standalone trap day or tacked onto the end of a back or shoulder workout.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Cable Shrug | 4 | 12-15 |
| Cable Upright Row | 3 | 10-12 |
| Cable High Pull | 3 | 8-10 |
| Wide-Grip Cable Seated High Row | 3 | 10-12 |
| Cable Face Pull | 3 | 15-20 |
| Cable Y-Raise | 3 | 12-15 |
That’s 19 working sets, which is plenty for a dedicated trap day once or twice a week. If you’re already hitting shrugs, rows, or pulldowns on other days, cut this down to the face pull and Y-raise for 3 sets each as a finisher instead of running the whole session. For a broader cable session that covers the rest of your back too, check out our cable back exercises guide, or our cable shoulder exercises roundup if you want to build the workout around your delts instead.
Trap Anatomy
The trapezius is a single large, kite-shaped muscle on each side of your upper back, but it’s made up of fibers that run in three different directions and do three different jobs.
- Upper trapezius: runs from the base of your skull down to your collarbone and shoulder blade. It elevates your shoulder blade, which is what happens on a shrug, and it also helps rotate your shoulder blade upward when you raise your arm overhead.
- Middle trapezius: runs almost horizontally from your spine out to your shoulder blade. Its main job is retraction, pulling your shoulder blades together, which is exactly what a face pull or a wide-grip row trains.
- Lower trapezius: runs from your mid-back up and out to the bottom of your shoulder blade. It depresses and upwardly rotates the shoulder blade, working as a stabilizer any time you press or pull overhead. It’s usually the weakest and most undertrained of the three sections.
All three sections attach to your shoulder blade and work together to control how it moves and sits on your rib cage. The whole muscle is innervated by the spinal accessory nerve, which is also why a stiff, sore neck after a heavy shrug session can radiate up toward your skull rather than staying isolated to your upper back. A shrug alone only trains the upper third, which is why so many lifters end up with traps that look developed from the front but do very little to support the shoulder blade during a bench press, an overhead press, or a pull-up. If you’ve got underdeveloped traps across the board, our guide to growing underdeveloped traps covers the full picture, and our middle trap exercises guide goes deeper on that specific region.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I train my traps with cables?
Twice a week works well for most lifters, either as a dedicated short session or split across your back and shoulder days. Your traps also get worked indirectly any time you deadlift, row, or carry weight, so a farmer’s carry-heavy program might need less direct trap work than one built around isolation lifts. See our guide to farmer’s carry benefits and muscles worked for more on that carryover.
What’s the best rep range for trap growth?
Traps respond well to higher reps than most muscle groups, since they’re built for endurance and postural work as much as raw strength. I’d run shrugs and upright rows in the 10 to 15 range and face pulls or Y-raises up at 15 to 20. Heavy, low-rep shrugs work too, but they put more strain on your grip and lower back for not much extra trap stimulus.
Can you build big traps with cables alone?
Yes. Your traps respond to progressive tension and volume over time, and it doesn’t matter whether that tension comes from a barbell, a dumbbell, or a cable stack. Cables actually have an edge for the middle and lower traps specifically, since a barbell can’t replicate the angled, rotational pulling those two sections need.
Cable shrugs vs barbell shrugs, which is better?
The cable shrug wins on bar path and tension consistency, since the pulley keeps the resistance directly below you through the whole rep. The barbell shrug wins if pure loading is your only goal, since most lifters can put more weight on a bar than a cable stack. I’d use the cable version as your main upper trap builder and add heavy barbell shrugs later if you want to push loading further.
Do face pulls actually work your traps?
Yes, mainly the middle traps and rear delts. The retraction at the end of a face pull, pulling your shoulder blades together, is the middle trap’s job, so a well-executed face pull hits that region hard even though most people think of it as a shoulder exercise.
Why won’t my traps grow no matter what I do?
Usually it’s because every exercise in the program is a variation of a shrug, which only trains the upper third. If you’ve been shrugging for months with nothing to show for it, add a face pull, a wide-grip row, and a Y-raise before you add more sets of shrugs. The middle and lower traps have a lot of untapped growth in most lifters simply because nobody trains them directly.
Are cable trap exercises safe if I have shoulder problems?
Mostly, yes, and a couple of them are among the best shoulder-friendly options you’ve got. The cable face pull and cable Y-raise are both commonly used in shoulder rehab work because they train external rotation and scapular control without loading the joint heavily. The cable upright row is the one I’d watch closest, since pulling the bar up past shoulder height can pinch the joint in some lifters. If your shoulders are cranky, drop the upright row and high pull, and lean on the shrugs, face pulls, and Y-raise instead.
Final Thoughts
If you only have time for two of these, run the cable shrug and the face pull. That combination covers the upper traps and the middle traps in about 15 minutes and fixes the biggest gap in most people’s programming. Add the Y-raise once your shoulders feel healthy and you want to round out the lower traps too, and use the upright row, high pull, and wide-grip row to add volume once the basics are dialed in. Load the shrugs and rows heavier over time, keep the face pulls and Y-raises light and controlled, and your traps will grow across all three regions instead of just the part everyone else trains.
References
- Kenhub, Trapezius muscle: anatomy, origins, insertions, actions
- NCBI StatPearls, Anatomy, Back, Trapezius
- PMC, Surface electromyographic analysis of the lower trapezius muscle during exercises performed below ninety degrees of shoulder elevation
Other Muscle Groups Exercises
If you enjoyed this post, check out our other collections of the best exercises for each muscle group below.
