Upper Neck Muscle pain after heavy Shrugs

[Y_lifter]

Well, my grip is getting better and therefore the shrugs are getting heavier.

But I noticed after the last 2-3 sessions I'm getting a Pulled Muscle kind of pain in the middle/upper back of my neck.
Right above the left Trap usually.
It goes away after a few days but is very painful and annoying.
Not a normal post workout pain but a muscle strain/pull pain.

I normally do 3-4 sets (9 -10 rep) of DB shrugs and 4 sets of BB shrugs. No rolling, just straight UP/Down. I usually try to Hold for 5-8 seconds the last couple of reps.

Sugguestions please on Movement or Technique to minimize/alleviate this pull as it is not a random occurance.

thanks

 

[gettinlarger]

you keeping your neck straight? moving it around, or like keeping it looking down and up at a bad angle could do that.

 

[Y_lifter]

you keeping your neck straight? moving it around, or like keeping it looking down and up at a bad angle could do that.

Not moving around much. If I had to say, I would pick down.

 

[Y_lifter]

boing !

 

[gymtime]

Do you bend your elbows on the upward motion?

 

[spatts]

Have you tried kelso shrugs? Alternating the palne you shrug on may help to target the area without over stressing it.

Use and incline bench and DBs or a chest supported T-bar row, and just as if you were going to row, you shrug.

A kelso shrug is any shrug performed a plane other than the one you use for an upright shrug. This means you can also lean back on the lat pull down machine, lat bar in hand, and shrug the lat bar. OR hook the lat bar up to the cable row, lay ALL THE WAY back and shrug that way.

I like to superset them with other lat/upper back work.

 

[b fold the truth]

Hmmm...not a big fan of shrugs myself...but you can always do other things to strengthen your traps/neck. I plan on doing some stuff with bands to strengthen my neck...

B True

 

[Vortexx]

Shrugs done with barbell or the dumbell ? I feel that with the bar your shoulders tend to hunch a bit forward and while you try to correct this during the lift it might overstress some small muscles in the neck.

I feel that the dumbells have a better plane of motion, even better are shrug/deadlift machines with neutral grip....

 

[Y_lifter]

Thanks for the posts....

I tried the Shrugs with lighter weight and in 3 different planes.
The best for a burn was lying on a flat bench and using a fixed BB flat across my chest shrugging the weight forward toward the ceiling.
Then using a Cybex seated chest supported row machine shrugging to the rear.

The straight up/down movement plane is what I need to work on now....

thanks SPATTERSON

BFOLD.. Sugguestions other than shrugs for traps?

 

[b fold the truth]

I get most of my trap development from farmers walks. They actually work. I get hit a lot from deads also...

B True