Cable Shrug

Stand in front of a cable machine with your feet hip-width apart. Hold the cable with an overhand grip and let your arms fully extend towards the floor. Shrug your shoulders up towards your ears, then lower them back down. Repeat.

How to perform the Cable Shrug

  1. Set up. Set up in a stable, balanced starting position appropriate for the Cable Shrug using your cable.
  2. Brace and execute. Brace your core, control the descent, and move through a full pain-free range of motion while emphasizing your trapezius.
  3. Reset. Reverse the movement under control and reset between repetitions, keeping your form crisp on every rep.

Coaching cues

  • Move with intent — every rep should feel deliberate, not rushed.
  • Drive force through your trapezius rather than momentum.
  • Keep your breathing steady: exhale on the hard part, inhale on the reset.

Common mistakes

  • Using too much weight and losing positional control.
  • Cutting the range of motion short and missing the target muscle.
  • Letting your spine round or hyperextend instead of staying neutral.

Detailed cues, common mistakes, and demonstration video are available in the Fitly app.

Build a free routine

Stage exercises here, then sign up to save them as a real Fitly routine — synced to web and mobile.

View staged routine (0)

Variations of Cable Shrug

Related exercises

0 exercises staged Save your routine — sign up free.