A Shrug Cycle

A Shrug Cycle: What Bodybuilders Should Learn From Powerlifters
By John S. Howard, B.I.S.

Too often bodybuilders get stuck lifting the same poundages week after week and don’t know what to do next. They don’t feel like they can go any heavier and they’ve stopped making progress. I remember as a teenager I was stuck for years doing 35-lb dumbbell curls.

Powerlifters cycle their workouts to build strength. A typical cycle lasts anywhere between 3 and 15 weeks. Basically what happens during the cycle is, each week, the weight gradually progresses from light to heavy as the reps decrease. This cycling process not only builds a lot of strength -- It also builds muscle.

Soon after I got into powerlifting 20 years ago, I began cycling all my lifts -- not just the squat, bench press and deadlift, but everything -- I’m talking, even dumbbell curls. This resulted in me getting bigger and more muscular than ever, and working my way up to 100-lb dumbbell curls and 20-inch arms.

You can use cycles to improve all your lifts. One of my favorite cycles is this barbell shrug cycle. Barbell shrugs work your traps and improve your grip and deadlift lockout power. Here’s an example of a six-week barbell shrug cycle:

Week 1: 225 x 10, 10, 10, 10
Week 2: 275 x 8, 8, 8, 8
Week 3: 315 x 6, 6, 6, 6
Week 4: 365 x 4, 4, 4, 4
Week 5: 405 x 3, 3, 3, 3
Week 6: 455 x 2, 2, 2, 2

* You can adjust the weight, sets and reps to suit your needs.

After you’re done with week six, start over at week one and work your way back up. This cycle can be repeated over and over as long as you’re making progress. If you get bored, substitute a different exercise for a while. Good alternatives to barbell shrugs include reverse-grip barbell shrugs, dumbbell shrugs or power cleans.

Here’s an example of a three-week dumbbell shrug cycle:

Week 1: 80 x 10, 10, 10
Week 2: 115 x 7, 7, 7
Week 3: 150 x 4, 4, 4

Execution of the Barbell Shrug

Here’s how I do barbell shrugs. The first two weeks of the cycle I use a standard double overhand grip. Then, instead of using lifting straps, as the weight gets heavier in weeks 3 through 6, I switch to a supinated/pronated grip. In other words, with one of your hands, hold onto the bar using an overhand grip. With your other hand, hold onto the bar using an underhand grip. This grip keeps the bar from rolling out of your fingers. And it's the same grip most people use for deadlifting.

Lean slightly forward and use your traps to raise your shoulders to your ears. Don’t try to jerk or swing the weight up using any kind of momentum. Do everything slow and controlled. At the top, hold for a couple seconds and lower. At the bottom of each rep push your shoulders down and slightly forward -- almost like you are hitting a most muscular pose. It’s important to keep your arms straight throughout the movement and not try to curl the weight with your hand using the underhand grip as this could lead to a bicep tear.

As the cycle progresses, you’ll notice that your shoulders aren’t getting quite as close to your ears as they were with the lighter weights. This is ok as long as your shoulders are going up quite a bit. On your heaviest sets, you may not even notice your shoulders going up at all because it will happen so slowly. These heavy sets are real grinders and every muscle in your body will be working; but after you get to the top of the rep, hold and lower. You should then notice that your shoulders are going down. If your shoulders didn’t go down, then they didn’t go up in the first place and the weight is probably too heavy. End the cycle here and start over with a new cycle. You should readjust the weight, sets and reps to suit your needs. Keep a journal and record what you did each workout so you can improve on it in future cycles. If the cycle is too easy, add more weight next time. If it is too difficult, use less until you know where you’re at.

Cycling works. And you’ll make a lot better progress (whether you’re a powerlifter or a bodybuilder) by cycling your workouts than by using the same old weight (say 275 x 8, 8, 8, 8) every week after week after week.