Back · EZ Bar
Lying Upper Trapezius Press
How to do the lying upper trapezius press, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- EZ Bar
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- VerticalPull
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Lie face down on a bench with an EZ bar held below you at arms length. Keep your arms relatively straight and lift the bar by squeezing your shoulder blades up and back, raising the bar through your upper traps and rear shoulders. Lower it under control and repeat.
- 1Upper traps and rear delts driving the lift
- 2Shoulder blades pulling up and back together
- 3Arms staying long with a soft elbow bend
Common mistakes
- Bending the elbows to turn it into a row
- Jerking the bar up with momentum
- Lifting the chest off the bench to cheat
Muscles worked
The lying upper trapezius press mainly works the upper traps, with the mid traps, rear delts, forearms, and lower traps assisting.
- Upper TrapsPrimary
- Mid TrapsSupport
- Rear DeltsSupport
- ForearmsSupport
- Lower TrapsSupport
- BicepsMinor
- LatsMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
- Side DeltsMinor
- External RotatorsMinor
Kovo programs the lying upper trapezius press 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.