10 Best Smith Shrug Alternatives for Gym and Home

What can you do instead of the Smith Shrug? Use dumbbell shrugs, barbell shrugs, trap-bar shrugs, farmer carries, or prone Y-raises to target the trapezius and scapular stabilizers. For a quick swap, perform dumbbell shrugs by driving your shoulders straight up while keeping your arms long to maximize scapular elevation.

Original Exercise: Smith Shrug

Smith Shrug
Primary Muscle
Traps
Equipment
Smith-machine
Difficulty
Beginner
Type
Isolation
Secondary Muscles: Shoulders
How to Perform Smith Shrug
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
  2. Grasp the barbell with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  3. Keep your arms straight and your shoulders relaxed.
  4. Lift your shoulders up towards your ears, squeezing your traps at the top.
  5. Hold for a moment, then slowly lower your shoulders back down to the starting position.
  6. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Ranked Smith Shrug Alternatives

Best Match
Leverage Shrug

1. Leverage Shrug

96% Match
Traps Machine Beginner Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Load the pins to an appropriate weight. Position yourself directly between the handles.
  2. Grasp the top handles with a comfortable grip, and then lower your hips as you take a breath. Look forward with your head and keep your chest up.
  3. Drive through the floor with your heels, extending your hips and knees as you rise to a standing position. Keep your arms straight throughout the movement, finishing with your shoulders back. This will be your starting position.
  4. Raise the weight by shrugging the shoulders towards your ears, moving straight up and down.
  5. Pause at the top of the motion, and then return the weight to the starting position.
Smith Back Shrug

2. Smith Back Shrug

94.7% Match
Traps Smith-machine Beginner Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
  2. Grasp the barbell with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  3. Keep your arms straight and allow the barbell to hang in front of your thighs.
  4. Lift your shoulders straight up towards your ears, squeezing your traps at the top.
  5. Hold for a moment, then lower your shoulders back down to the starting position.
Clean Shrug

3. Clean Shrug

81% Match
Traps Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Begin with a shoulder width, double overhand or hook grip, with the bar hanging at the mid thigh position. Your back should be straight and inclined slightly forward.
  2. Shrug your shoulders towards your ears. While this exercise can usually by loaded with heavier weight than a clean, avoid overloading to the point that the execution slows down.
Lever Gripless Shrug

4. Lever Gripless Shrug

80.7% Match
Traps Lever Beginner Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Adjust the seat height and position yourself on the leverage machine.
  2. Grasp the handles with your palms facing inwards and your arms fully extended.
  3. Keeping your back straight, exhale and elevate your shoulders as high as possible.
  4. Hold the contraction for a brief moment, then inhale and slowly lower your shoulders back down to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Barbell Shrug Behind The Back

5. Barbell Shrug Behind The Back

76.6% Match
Traps Barbell Beginner Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand up straight with your feet at shoulder width as you hold a barbell with both hands behind your back using a pronated grip (palms facing back). Tip: Your hands should be a little wider than shoulder width apart. You can use wrist wraps for this exercise for better grip. This will be your starting position.
  2. Raise your shoulders up as far as you can go as you breathe out and hold the contraction for a second. Tip: Refrain from trying to lift the barbell by using your biceps. The arms should remain stretched out at all times.
  3. Slowly return to the starting position as you breathe in.
  4. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Snatch Shrug

6. Snatch Shrug

76.6% Match
Traps Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Begin with a wide grip, with the bar hanging at the mid thigh position. You can use a hook or overhand grip. Your back should be straight and inclined slightly forward.
  2. Shrug your shoulders towards your ears. While this exercise can usually by loaded with heavier weight than a snatch, avoid overloading to the point that the execution slows down.
Lever Shrug

7. Lever Shrug

75.2% Match
Traps Lever Beginner Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Adjust the seat height and position yourself on the leverage machine with your back against the pad.
  2. Grasp the handles with an overhand grip and keep your arms straight.
  3. Keeping your back straight, lift your shoulders up towards your ears as high as possible.
  4. Hold the contraction for a moment, then slowly lower your shoulders back down to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Smith Bent Over Row

8. Smith Bent Over Row

74.9% Match
Upper-back Smith-machine Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Set up the smith machine with the bar at hip height.
  2. Stand facing the bar with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  3. Bend your knees slightly and hinge forward at the hips, keeping your back straight.
  4. Grasp the bar with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  5. Pull the bar towards your lower chest, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
Smith Narrow Row

9. Smith Narrow Row

70.9% Match
Upper-back Smith-machine Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Adjust the seat height and position yourself on the machine with your feet flat on the floor.
  2. Grasp the handles with an overhand grip, slightly narrower than shoulder-width apart.
  3. Keep your back straight and your chest up as you pull the handles towards your body, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
  4. Pause for a moment at the peak of the movement, then slowly release the handles back to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Smith Reverse Grip Bent Over Row

10. Smith Reverse Grip Bent Over Row

70.9% Match
Upper-back Smith-machine Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Set up the smith machine with the bar at hip height.
  2. Stand facing the bar with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  3. Bend your knees slightly and hinge forward at the hips, keeping your back straight.
  4. Grasp the bar with an underhand grip, hands shoulder-width apart.
  5. Pull the bar towards your lower chest, squeezing your shoulder blades together.

Why You Might Need a Smith Shrug Alternative

You might substitute the Smith Shrug because you don't have a Smith machine, you feel neck or shoulder pain with fixed bar paths, or you want unilateral work to fix imbalances. The Smith locks the bar path and can encourage cervical extension; switching to dumbbell shrugs lets each shoulder track naturally, improving scapulothoracic mechanics. Rehab cases often prefer low-load, high-control options, perform slow dumbbell shrugs with a two-second eccentric and a one-second hold to limit neck compensation. If you want safer heavy loading for a neutral spine, use trap-bar shrugs: stand tall, brace your core, and elevate the scapulae without retracting the neck.

How to Choose the Right Substitute

Select a substitute based on equipment, injury history, and the trap region you want to develop. For maximum upper-trap isolation pick heavy dumbbell or barbell shrugs and cue full scapular elevation with a controlled pause at the top. If you need better scapular stability and lower-trap work choose prone Y-raises on a bench, leading with the thumbs to bias lower traps. For overall load capacity and safer spinal position choose the trap bar; grip and unilateral options favor single-arm dumbbell shrugs to correct asymmetries. Always prioritize tempo, scapular control, and progressive overload.

Frequently Asked Questions

What muscles does Smith Shrug work?

The Smith Shrug primarily targets the upper trapezius through scapular elevation. It also involves the levator scapulae and assists the middle traps and rhomboids for scapular stabilization; avoid neck extension by elevating the scapulae without jutting the head forward.

What is the best bodyweight alternative to Smith Shrug?

A practical bodyweight option is the hanging scapular shrug (active hang): from a dead hang, elevate your shoulders toward your ears while keeping elbows straight to drive scapular elevation. Cue a solid scapular squeeze at the top and control the descent to emphasize trap activation without external load.

Can I build muscle without doing Smith Shrug?

Yes, you can build trap muscle with alternatives like heavy dumbbell shrugs, trap-bar shrugs, and farmer carries combined with progressive overload. Focus on full scapular elevation, controlled tempo, and gradually increasing load or time under tension to stimulate hypertrophy.

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