Setup
Stand upright with feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand at your sides with arms fully extended. Keep your palms facing your body and maintain a neutral spine with your chest up.
How to do it
- Elevate your shoulders straight up toward your ears as high as possible while keeping your arms straight
- Squeeze your traps hard at the top position for a brief pause
- Lower the dumbbells back down in a controlled manner until your shoulders return to the starting position
- Keep your neck neutral and avoid tilting your head during the movement
- Think about moving your shoulders vertically without rolling them forward or backward
Watch out for
- ✗Rolling the shoulders in a circular motion instead of lifting straight up and down
- ✗Bending the elbows and using arm strength instead of isolating the traps
- ✗Using momentum by bouncing or jerking the weight rather than lifting with control