If you’ve walked into an old school gym, you’ve probably bumped into an iron age strength sage who tried convincing you that there’s only one way to build a set of big traps: Shrugs.

Lots of shrugs. We wish it were that simple. This trademark trapezius muscle exercise is overrated, and when it comes to a productive shoulder workout, shrugs are more underwhelming than effective.

Secondly, the key function of your traps you train when you shrug is that of elevating your shoulder blades. You can execute that same motion whether you're looking at the ground or looking ...