Upgrades you didn’t know you needed👇🏼
Three common faults when online clients tell me when their upper traps take over or they have pain with lateral raises:
1️⃣ shrugging the weight & using too much upper trap to complete the movement.
2️⃣ using momentum to push the weight up because it’s too heavy.
3️⃣ raising the arms straight out instead of in the scapular plane — 30-45° in front of you.
The upper traps stabilize the scapula during lateral raises, so it’s normal to feel SOME engagement, but if you’re feeling your upper traps more than your lateral delts, then you need hone in on your execution!
☝🏼A slight forward lean & getting into the scapular plane both lines up the movement with the fibers of the delts better, plus it makes for happy shoulders!
✌🏼 Supporting your chest on an incline bench limits the momentum & use of stabilizing muscles so you can be more aware of the main movers.
🤟🏼Lying on your side on an inclined bench loads the delt earlier than the traditional upright variations, while loading the upper traps & neck less!
Lastly, the delts are a smaller muscle group & are located a long ways away from the load, meaning you don’t need a ton of load to make em work — thanks, physics!
Dropping the weight so you aren’t relying on momentum & your upper traps to complete them can be HUGE 😉
If you found this helpful, be sure to SHARE with your gym buddy & SAVE for later!
Do you struggle with any upper trap pain or them taking over for lateral raises? Lmk in the comments!
Upper trap pain really affecting your training? My team & I would love to help!
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