Kelso’s Shrug Book (affiliate links: UK
Do shrugs for a back like that
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So is the book really just about shrugs?
Well, mostly, but not entirely. The chapters break down like this:
- A shrugger’s education – here, Paul explains that Kelso shrugs are all about a training principle, which is training the shoulder girdle using all of the movements possible through the natural adduction and retraction of the scapulae. Paul also explains why shrugs are important, which is that smaller assisting muscles often give out before the shoulder girdle, meaning that exercises like bent over rows and chins only training the shoulder girdle to a certain extent.
- Shrug variations - in this chapter, Paul covers the bench shrug, which is designed to help support big weights in the bench press, the dip shrug, which helps build up the serratus anterior, the chinning shrug, the Hise shrug and many other variants.
- Shrug training for the bench press – here, Paul covers the principles of training shrugs specifically to make your bench go up, gives some suggested shrugs and also a sample programme as used by a competitive lifter.
- Shrug variations for other competitive lifts – in this chapter, Paul focuses on the benefits that can be obtained by including some shrugs into the programming of Olympic lifters and notes that these benefits can also apply to deadlifters. Of particular interest here is the Hise shrug.
- Training with trap bars – here, Paul covers the various exercises that can be performed with a trap bar and discusses why the trap bar is a useful addition to the armoury of any lifter.
- Ribcage expansion and overall growth – Paul goes back to the beginning of his own training and talks about how breathing squats and other exercises contributed to his overall development. If you have ever been tempted by Randall Strossen’s Super Squats but never really made the leap to buy it, this could be a good alternative if you are intrigued by the shrugs already.
- The shrug laws – in this short chapter, Paul outlines the basic principles that he works by when setting up shrug programmes. Some of them are light-hearted and some of them are inspirational. Some are even useful.
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So remind me, why should I shrug?
As Paul explains, when doing exercises designed for upper body pulling movements, smaller assisting muscles often give out before the shoulder girdle, meaning that exercises like bent over rows and chins only training the shoulder girdle to a certain extent.
For example, when training the latissimus using the bent over row, it will be clear to most people that the latissimus and trapezius don’t reach complete failure even when you can’t do any more repetitions of that movement.
You can discover this for yourself by performing a “lat shrug” after your sets of bent over rows. A lat shrug is a shrug in the bent over row position, usually with a bit of head support (I have tried this using a pillow or towel on the back of a small chair and it works quite well). You will find that you can shrug quite a few more reps even after you fail on the row.
So Paul deduces that the lat shrug is a good way to train the latissimus and trapezius in a more targeted way.
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Have you tried any of these?
Well, I’ve only had the book since Christmas so I’ve tried the following so far:
- Lat shrug – I’ve tried incorporated a few lat shrugs in after my press workout and, with a double overhand grip, they definitely work the middle traps in a nice way that seems to counter the effects of sitting in a hunched position. I feel that this could be a nice prehab exercise. I have not yet tried it double underhand, which is supposed to be a more latissimus-focused exercise.
- Chinning shrug – for someone who likes chins and pull ups and can happily hang off the bar for a while without getting sore or tired forearms, these are great to play around with. I really like the close grip chin grip (pronated) and the wide grip pull-up grip (supinated). I have started doing a few sets after my pull workouts and they really pump up my shoulder girdle and also make my shoulders feel much more “packed” afterwards.
From my experimentation so far, I think that there may be some mileage in these movements as prehabilitation exercises for the shoulder as well as assistance exercises for building up some extra upper back muscle mass, which most people need.
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Why should I buy this book?
Well, this is one of the few resources that I can point to and say, this material is unique and valuable. Moreover, you will not find this material in one place anywhere else.
Paul had a great idea and he has followed through with some great self-experimentation and writing about his great idea. I am really looking forward to incorporating his concepts and training principles into my own routines and seeing how they pan out.
If you do experiment with any of Paul’s shrugs (or have done already), please let me know.
