Back · Leverage Machine
Lever Gripless Shrug
How to do the lever gripless shrug, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Leverage Machine
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Extension
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Stand or sit at the leverage shrug machine with the pads resting on your shoulders so no gripping is needed. Shrug your shoulders straight up as high as possible, squeeze at the top, then lower under control.
- 1Feel your upper traps contract as you lift your shoulders toward your
- 2ears
- 3Let the shoulder pads do the work so your arms stay relaxed
- 4Hold the peak contraction briefly to feel the squeeze
Common mistakes
- Avoid rolling your shoulders; shrug straight up and down
- Do not use a sharp bounce or momentum out of the bottom
- Avoid thrusting your head forward; keep your neck neutral
Muscles worked
The lever gripless shrug mainly works the upper traps.
- Upper TrapsPrimary
- Mid TrapsMinor
- Side DeltsMinor
Kovo programs the lever gripless shrug for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More back exercises
- How to do the archer pull-up
- How to do the resistance band assisted pull-up
- How to do the machine assisted pull-up
- How to do the back extension bench back extension
- How to do the machine back extension
- How to do the back lever
Last reviewed June 2026.