Back · Smith Machine
Smith Back Wide Shrug
How to do the smith back wide shrug, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Smith Machine
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Extension
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Set the Smith bar low and stand in front of it, gripping it behind your body with a wide overhand grip. Unrack and shrug your shoulders straight up, squeezing the traps and pulling the shoulder blades together, then lower under control. Holding the bar behind you biases the upper and mid traps.
- 1Feel your upper traps lift while the mid back squeezes the shoulder
- 2blades together
- 3Keep the bar close to the back of your thighs as you shrug
- 4Hold the top contraction briefly before lowering slowly
Common mistakes
- Avoid rolling the shoulders; shrug straight up and down
- Do not lean forward or use momentum to raise the bar
- Avoid letting the bar drift away from your body
Muscles worked
The smith back wide shrug mainly works the upper traps, with the mid traps assisting.
- Upper TrapsPrimary
- Mid TrapsSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- Lower TrapsMinor
- Rear DeltsMinor
Kovo programs the smith back wide 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.