Spot Toning and Muscle-Building Tips

10 Muscles That Are Hard to Sculpt

From stubborn muscles that just won’t pop to secret spots you didn’t know you should (or could) hit, we reveal how to train your body's trouble zones
By Greg Presto fitbie
 

Build a More Complete Back

If you're interested in building them, you probably think you've got your trapezius muscles covered: You do shrugs, and they get bigger.

That's true, but only of your upper traps, says Mike Wunsch. The trapezius extends about halfway down your back, and most people miss the lower half of the muscle. But you can train this part of the muscle, which is used in throwing and vertical pressing movements, with these two exercises.

If you're already performing lat pulldowns, try adding scapula pulldowns, says Wunsch. To do them, sit at a lat pulldown station and grasp the bar overhead with an overhand grip. Keeping your arms straight, squeeze your shoulder blades together and down. The movement is very slight. Pause, and return to start.

Wunsch's second exercise for the lower traps is the wall "y" and rotate. To do it, stand close to a wall, facing it with feet shoulder-width apart. Raise your hands up so they form a shallow "y" and place your palms on the wall. Keeping in contact with the wall, rotate your hands outward so the sides of your hands are on the wall. Now pull your shoulder blades down and back, as if you were trying to tuck them into your pocket. Your hands should move down the wall very slightly, but don't bend your arms. From here, lift your hands away from the wall a few inches, and return. Repeat the movement, mixing it in between other exercises in your workout.

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