Middle Back Shrug

What it is

This isolation exercise strengthens your middle back muscles using dumbbells. You lie face down on an incline bench to perform a controlled pulling motion. Focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together to engage the rhomboids and trapezius. This movement helps improve posture and scapular stability.

Technique tips

• Keep your arms straight, allowing your shoulder blades to do the work.
• Exhale as you powerfully squeeze your shoulder blades together.
• Hold the peak contraction for one full second.
• Imagine you are trying to give a reverse hug.
• Slowly return to the starting position on the inhale.
• Avoid using your biceps to pull the weight up.

How to track your progress

Log the weight and reps of each set. Straddly turns every set into an estimated one-rep max, so a heavier single and a strong set of eight both count as progress, and it flags a personal record the moment you beat your best.