Dumbbell Seated Shrug

How to do it

1. Sit upright on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand and your feet planted on the floor.
2. Let your arms hang straight down beside your hips with palms facing your thighs.
3. Brace your core and sit tall with your chest up and chin neutral.
4. Shrug your shoulders straight up toward your ears, lifting the dumbbells without bending the elbows.
5. Squeeze the traps hard at the top of the shrug for a one-second pause.
6. Lower the dumbbells back down slowly and feel the traps stretch before the next rep.

Common mistakes

• Rolling the shoulders forward or backward instead of shrugging straight up, which can irritate the shoulder joint.
• Bending the elbows during the lift, turning the shrug into a partial upright row.
• Cutting the top short and skipping the squeeze, where most of the trap contraction happens.
• Using too much weight and barely moving the dumbbells, which reduces the lift to a hold.