Smith Machine Shrug

Muscles worked by the Smith Machine Shrug

Primary

TrapsTrapezius

Secondary

Forearm FlexorsWrist Flexor Muscles

Also called: trap, traps, trapezius, upper traps, lower traps, mid traps.

Equipment

Smith Machine

Also called: smith bar, guided barbell, fixed barbell, smith press.

How to do the Smith Machine Shrug

1. Stand upright inside a Smith machine with the bar at thigh height.
2. Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder-width with an overhand grip.
3. Unrack the bar and let it hang in front of your thighs.
4. Shrug your shoulders straight up toward your ears.
5. Hold the top for a moment, then lower slowly.
6. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Form tips

• Keep your arms straight so the traps, not the biceps, do the work.
• Lift straight up and down rather than rolling the shoulders.
• Keep your neck neutral and avoid jutting the chin forward.

At a glance

Smith Machine Shrug in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Barbell Shrug
• Behind the Back Barbell Shrug
• Chest Supported Dumbbell Shrug
• Dumbbell Shrug
• EZ-Bar Shrug
• Kettlebell Shrug
• Plate-Loaded Shrug
• Inverted Row

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "smith-machine-shrug",
  "name_en": "Smith Machine Shrug",
  "name_de": "Smith-Maschine Schulterzucken",
  "name_es": "Encogimiento de Hombros en Máquina Smith",
  "description_en": "A Smith machine isolation exercise elevating the shoulders to target the trapezius with a fixed bar path.",
  "description_de": "Eine Isolationsübung für den Trapezmuskel an der Multipresse, bei der die Schultern mit geführter Stange angehoben werden.",
  "description_es": "Un encogimiento de hombros en máquina Smith que aísla el trapecio sin necesidad de estabilizar la barra.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "pull",
  "mechanic": "isolation",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "equipment": "smith_machine",
  "body_part": "back",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "trapezius"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "forearm_flexors"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "knee_safe",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "shoulder_safe",
    "no_axial_load"
  ],
  "variation_group": "shrug",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Stand upright inside a Smith machine with the bar at thigh height.",
    "Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder-width with an overhand grip.",
    "Unrack the bar and let it hang in front of your thighs.",
    "Shrug your shoulders straight up toward your ears.",
    "Hold the top for a moment, then lower slowly.",
    "Repeat for the desired number of reps."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Stehe aufrecht innerhalb der Smith-Maschine, Stange auf Oberschenkelhöhe.",
    "Greife die Stange etwas breiter als schulterbreit mit Obergriff.",
    "Entracke die Stange und lass sie vor den Oberschenkeln hängen.",
    "Ziehe die Schultern gerade nach oben in Richtung Ohren.",
    "Halte kurz oben, dann langsam absenken.",
    "Wiederhole für die gewünschte Anzahl an Wiederholungen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Párate erguido dentro de una máquina Smith con la barra a la altura de los muslos.",
    "Agarra la barra ligeramente más ancha que el ancho de los hombros con agarre prono.",
    "Desrackea la barra y deja que cuelgue frente a tus muslos.",
    "Encoge los hombros hacia arriba en dirección a las orejas.",
    "Mantén la posición alta un momento, luego baja lentamente.",
    "Repite el número de repeticiones deseado."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Keep your arms straight so the traps, not the biceps, do the work.",
    "Lift straight up and down rather than rolling the shoulders.",
    "Keep your neck neutral and avoid jutting the chin forward."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Zieh mit den Schultern, nicht mit gebeugten Armen.",
    "Halte den Kopf neutral und den Blick geradeaus.",
    "Stehe aufrecht, ohne dich gegen die Stange zu lehnen."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Evita rotar los hombros; súbelos y bájalos en vertical.",
    "No tires con los bíceps; los brazos solo sostienen la barra.",
    "Mantén el cuello relajado y la mirada al frente."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/smith-machine-shrug-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/smith-machine-shrug-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "smith-machine-shrug");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.