Banded Shrug
- Primary muscleTraps
- EquipmentResistance Band
- DifficultyBeginner
- TypeIsolation · Pull
- Secondary muscles
- Delts
- Body part
- Back
- Position
- Standing
- Laterality
- Bilateral (both sides together)
- Category
- Strength
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Band tension grows as you shrug higher, so the hardest resistance arrives right at the top, where the traps are fully shortened - the opposite of a dumbbell, which pulls the same the whole way. That resistance curve, plus the fact that a band travels anywhere, makes this the high-rep, home-session option in the shrug family.
How to do the Banded Shrug
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and place the band under your feet, holding the ends with your hands.
- Keep your arms straight and relaxed, and let the band hang in front of your thighs.
- Engage your traps by shrugging your shoulders upward, lifting the band as high as possible.
- Hold the contraction for a moment, then slowly lower your shoulders back down to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Tip: Hold the top for two seconds and lower for three.
Muscles worked
Common mistakes
- Rolling the shoulders — a circular motion does nothing extra and irritates the shoulder; move straight up and straight down.
- Bouncing out of the bottom — let the shoulders drop fully at the bottom, pause, then shrug up from a dead stop.
- Pulling the head forward — keep the chin tucked and the head neutral, since jutting the head forward shortens the range.
- Too heavy to squeeze — if you cannot hold the top for a full count, the weight is too heavy for the traps to actually contract.
Where it fits in a workout
Shrugs go at the end of a back or shoulder session after the pressing and rowing. Superset them with a face pull or a rear delt fly on the same station.
How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.
Variations and alternatives
Similar exercises
Without resistance band
Easier and harder
When to talk to someone
- Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
- Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
- Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.
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More exercises
Sources
- ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
- ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
- CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)
Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.
Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.