Dumbbell Kelso Shrug

How to Perform the Dumbbell Kelso Shrug

Set an adjustable bench to a 30-45 degree incline and lie face down with your chest against the pad.
Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms hanging straight down and palms facing each other.
Keeping your arms straight, retract and depress your shoulder blades, pulling them together and down.
Squeeze your mid-back muscles at the top of the contraction and hold for 1-2 seconds.
Slowly release the contraction and let your shoulder blades protract forward, feeling a stretch in the mid-back.
Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions, focusing on the scapular movement.

Bending the elbows and turning it into a row

Keep your arms straight; the movement comes entirely from your shoulder blades retracting.

Shrugging upward toward the ears like a standard shrug

Focus on squeezing the shoulder blades together and slightly downward to target the mid and lower traps.

Using too heavy a weight

Use moderate weights that allow you to fully control the scapular retraction and feel the mid-back working.

✓Isolates the mid and lower trapezius without lower back strain.
✓Eliminates momentum cheating that is common in standing shrug variations.
✓Improves scapular retraction strength, which supports better posture and stronger pressing.

●Think about pinching a pencil between your shoulder blades at the top of each rep.
●This exercise is excellent for improving posture and scapular control.
●Pair with face pulls or Y raises for a comprehensive upper back workout.

Strength

4-5 sets of 3-5 reps at 80-90% 1RM

Hypertrophy

3-4 sets of 8-12 reps at 65-75% 1RM

Endurance

2-3 sets of 15-20 reps at 50-60% 1RM

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