At a glance
- Main muscle
- Traps
- Equipment
- Machine
- Rep range in Mitta
- 10 to 15 reps
- Skill level
- Beginner
- How tiring
- Low
- Weight step in Mitta
- 5 kg
How to do it
- Shoulders under the pads of the standing calf machine, knees slightly bent.
- Shrug your shoulders straight up.
- Hold briefly at the top, lower slowly.
Pick a weight you can lift for 10 to 15 reps with good form, and stop each set with a few reps left in the tank.
Why rating A
Shrugs without your grip giving out, heavy and easy to load in small steps. No growth study, so not an S.
Mitta rates every exercise from S to C, based on research where it exists and on how the exercise loads the muscle. When Mitta builds your plan it picks from S, A and B exercises and prefers ones that load the muscle at long length. C exercises are never picked automatically, but you can still choose them yourself.
Alternatives
These train the same muscle. Use one if you lack the equipment, if this exercise does not feel right, or for some variety.
- Smith Machine Shrug · Machine · rating A
- Barbell Shrug · Barbell · rating A
- Cable Shrug · Cable · rating A
Keep learning
- What is progressive overload, and how do you do it?
- How many sets per muscle per week?
- What is RIR, and how do you estimate it?
- One-rep max calculator: your max from any hard set of the calf-machine shrug.
Let Mitta set the weight.
Mitta plans the calf-machine shrug with a weight and rep target for every set, worked out from your last sessions.
Questions about the
calf-machine shrug
What muscles does the calf-machine shrug work?
The calf-machine shrug mainly trains your traps.
How many reps of the calf-machine shrug should I do?
Mitta plans the calf-machine shrug at 10 to 15 reps per set. Most sets should end with only a few reps left in the tank.
What can I do instead of the calf-machine shrug?
Good alternatives that train the same muscle are the Smith machine shrug, barbell shrug and cable shrug.
Is the calf-machine shrug good for beginners?
Yes. It is easy to learn, so it suits people who are new to lifting.
Why does the calf-machine shrug have rating A?
Shrugs without your grip giving out, heavy and easy to load in small steps. No growth study, so not an S.