Alternatives · Traps
7 Dumbbell Shrug Alternatives That Keep the Weight Hanging at Your Sides
A dumbbell shrug is defined by where the weight hangs: beside your hips, palms in, each arm free to find its own line. These seven swaps keep as much of that as possible when the dumbbells are taken, too light or missing.
The short answer
The best dumbbell shrug alternative is the Kettlebell Shrug, which keeps a weight hanging at each side with a neutral grip. The Barbell Shrug is the pick when you want more load and accept a shorter bottom range, the Trap Bar Deadlift keeps the at-your-sides grip for heavier gym work, and the Farmer Carry turns the same hold into timed work.
The best Dumbbell Shrug alternative for your situation
| No equipment | Prone Y Raise |
|---|---|
| With dumbbells | Farmer Carry or Dumbbell Upright Row |
| With a kettlebell | Kettlebell Shrug |
| With a barbell | Barbell Shrug |
| For heavier loading | Trap Bar Deadlift or Rack Pull |
What a Dumbbell Shrug alternative has to replace
The dumbbell shrug raises both shoulders vertically toward your ears with a weight hanging in each hand, palms facing your thighs. Two details set it apart from other shrugs. The load hangs beside the body instead of in front of it, so the shoulders can sink lower at the bottom and the upper traps work through a longer range. And each arm moves on its own, so neither side can borrow from the other and the path finds its own line rather than following a bar. Most people shrug less with two dumbbells than with a barbell, and grip often ends the set before the traps do.
A substitute should keep the load hanging from straight arms with the shoulders doing the lifting, ideally with the weight at your sides and a neutral grip. You can trade the independent arms or some of the range if you gain load in return, or trade the reps for a long, heavy hold.
7 Dumbbell Shrug alternatives, best first
1. Kettlebell Shrug
Kettlebells keep both things that make the dumbbell shrug distinct: one weight per hand, hanging at your sides with a neutral grip. The bell sits below and a little behind the handle, which nudges the load back a touch while the shoulders still sink just as deep at the bottom. Bell sizes jump in bigger steps than dumbbells, so it suits home gyms with a pair or two of kettlebells.
Swapping it in: Match your usual dumbbell reps with bells of a similar weight. If the pair is lighter, slow the lowering to three seconds and add a set rather than rushing the reps.
2. Barbell Shrug
The Barbell Shrug trades the dumbbell version’s free path for more load. With both hands on one bar, the sides move together, and the bar meets your thighs on the way down, so each rep ends a little higher than it would with weights at your sides. In return, you can load it far heavier. It is the right swap when your dumbbells no longer challenge you in 15 reps.
Swapping it in: Take an overhand grip just outside the thighs, or a mixed grip once it gets heavy. Do 4 sets of 8–12, lowering every rep until the bar rests against your legs.
3. Farmer Carry
Keep the same dumbbells and stop shrugging them: the Farmer Carry holds them at your sides while you walk, so the upper traps hold still against a load that is trying to pull your shoulders down. You can usually carry heavier dumbbells than you can shrug for reps, and the walk adds grip and trunk work. It suits anyone who has stalled on shrug reps and wants more time under load.
Swapping it in: Walk 30–40 steps with your shoulders held slightly up and back, not slumped. Do 3–4 trips, and finish with one set of slow shrugs using the same pair.
4. Trap Bar Deadlift
The Trap Bar Deadlift keeps the one feature a barbell shrug gives up: heavy weight in a neutral grip beside your hips. Standing inside the frame puts the handles exactly where the dumbbells hang, so at lockout the upper traps hold far more load than two dumbbells would put on them. You can finish sets with shrugs from the top, which makes it the heaviest way to keep the dumbbell position.
Swapping it in: Pull 3 sets of 5, and on the final set hold the lockout and add 10 shrugs through a full range before setting the bar down. Use straps if your grip fails first.
5. Dumbbell Upright Row
The Dumbbell Upright Row keeps the dumbbells but bends the elbows into the lift: they lead up to about chest height while the weights stay close to your body. Only the last part of the lift belongs to the upper traps and the delts handle the rest, so you use lighter dumbbells than for shrugs. Pick it when one exercise has to cover the traps and side delts in a short session.
Swapping it in: Lead with the elbows, stop around chest height, and use roughly half your shrug weight. Do 3 sets of 10–12, and keep straight-arm shrugs elsewhere in the week.
6. Rack Pull
In a gym, the Rack Pull hands the upper traps a weight no pair of dumbbells can match. You pull a barbell from pins near knee height to lockout, and at the top your traps resist a load well beyond anything you could shrug for reps. The lower back works hard too, and the bar hangs in front of you, so it trades the dumbbells’ side position for sheer weight.
Swapping it in: Set the pins at or just below the knee and hold every lockout for two to three seconds, shoulders set high. Do 3 sets of 5–6 and skip it in weeks with heavy deadlifts.
7. Prone Y Raise
Face down with the thumbs up, the Prone Y Raise lifts the arms overhead in a Y and asks the traps to rotate the shoulder blades upward rather than hike them. That puts more of the work on the middle and lower traps, which is why it also stands in for incline and Kelso-style shrugs done lying on a bench. It needs no equipment, but it is not a heavy upper-trap builder.
Swapping it in: Lie on the floor or chest-down on an incline bench and do 3 sets of 12–15 with a two-second hold at the top. Add light dumbbells once bodyweight is easy.
Illustrations adapted from Everkinetic via workout-guide, CC BY-SA 4.0. Full credits.
Side by side
| Exercise | Equipment | Where | Level | Muscles shared with the Dumbbell Shrug |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dumbbell Shrug (original) | Dumbbell | Home or gym | Beginner | Upper Traps |
| Kettlebell Shrug | Kettlebell | Home or gym | Beginner | 1 of 1: Upper Traps |
| Barbell Shrug | Barbell | Gym | Beginner | 1 of 1: Upper Traps |
| Farmer Carry | Dumbbell | Home or gym | Beginner | 1 of 1: Upper Traps |
| Trap Bar Deadlift | Barbell | Gym | Intermediate | 1 of 1: Upper Traps |
| Dumbbell Upright Row | Dumbbell | Home or gym | Intermediate | 1 of 1: Upper Traps |
| Rack Pull | Barbell | Gym | Intermediate | 1 of 1: Upper Traps |
| Prone Y Raise | Bodyweight | Home or gym | Beginner | 1 of 1: Upper Traps |
How to choose
Work out which part of the dumbbell shrug you need to keep: the side position, the heavy load or the reps.
- Side position: Kettlebell Shrugs at home, or the Trap Bar Deadlift with shrugs at lockout in a gym.
- Heavier load: the Barbell Shrug for reps, the Rack Pull for holds.
- Same dumbbells, new stimulus: the Farmer Carry for time, the Dumbbell Upright Row when you want delt work in the same exercise.
- Nothing to lift: Prone Y Raises, as a stopgap rather than a replacement.
Upper traps grow from heavy loads held with the shoulders high, so progress on any of these comes from weight and pause length more than from the exercise you picked. Choose the one you can keep loading for months, and keep the lowering slow.
Full Dumbbell Shrug guide: form, muscles worked and mistakes →
Frequently asked questions
What is a good alternative to dumbbell shrugs?
The Kettlebell Shrug is the closest alternative, since it keeps a separate weight in each hand hanging at your sides with a neutral grip. If you want more weight, the Barbell Shrug loads heavier through a slightly shorter range, and the Trap Bar Deadlift keeps the handles beside your hips while you hold far more at lockout. The Farmer Carry works with the same dumbbells.
Is there a machine alternative to dumbbell shrugs?
The Trap Bar Deadlift is the nearest gym equivalent to a machine shrug: the handles sit where the dumbbells hang and the frame takes heavy loads, so you can add shrugs at lockout. A Smith machine or cable shrug works on the same principle if your gym has one. Keep the arms straight, lift the shoulders vertically and pause at the top of every rep.
What is a good incline dumbbell shrug alternative?
The Prone Y Raise is the best stand-in for incline dumbbell shrugs and Kelso shrugs, because it keeps you face down and trains the middle and lower traps that the incline angle targets. Do it chest-down on an incline bench with light dumbbells, or on the floor with none. For the upper traps, keep a standard Kettlebell Shrug or Barbell Shrug in the week.
What is a dumbbell shrug substitute at home without dumbbells?
Kettlebells are the best home substitute, used exactly like dumbbells in the Kettlebell Shrug. With nothing to lift, fill two bags with books or water bottles and shrug those, or hold them for timed walks like a Farmer Carry. The Prone Y Raise needs no load at all, but it trains the lower and middle traps more than the upper traps a shrug targets.
Which of these does your back actually need?
BackMaxx scores your traps and the five other back zones from one photo, then builds each session around whichever one is furthest behind.
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