Ask someone in the weight room to point to their trapezius muscle, or “traps” in gym-speak, and they’ll probably gesture toward the small mounds of muscle nestled in between their neck and shoulders.

If you’ve walked into an old school gym, you’ve probably bumped into an iron age strength sage who tried convincing you that there’s only one way to build a set of big traps: Shrugs. Lots of shrugs.