How to do the Cable Shrug
Step by step
- Attach a bar to a low pulley and hold it in front of your thighs, arms straight.
- Stand tall with your shoulders relaxed down and the cable under tension.
- Shrug your shoulders straight up toward your ears without bending the elbows.
- Pause and squeeze at the top of the shrug.
- Lower your shoulders back down slowly, keeping tension throughout.
The thing people get wrong
Shrug straight up and down, not in a rolling circle. Rolling the shoulders adds no benefit and can irritate the joint.
Coaching cue
Stand back far enough that the cable pulls slightly forward, and keep your arms dead straight.
Make it easier or harder
- Harder: Hold the top of each shrug for three seconds.
Muscles worked
- Primary: Traps
Daily Coach builds this into a real weekly plan. It picks the exercises for your equipment and experience, swaps around injuries you tell it about, and tracks what you actually lifted.