Shrugs Exercise —
The 1940s Heavy
Breathing Secret
The Father of American Weight Training reveals what most trainees miss
Most trainees think of the shoulder shrug as a straightforward isolation exercise for the traps. Joseph Curtis Hise — the man credited as the Father of American Weight Training — understood it as something considerably more powerful when combined with deliberate deep breathing.
His formula helped the average trainee build serious mass for over fifty years. It still works today.
J.C. Hise and the power of
heavy breathing shrugs.
More than any other individual, Joseph Curtis Hise promoted the deep knee bend — the squat — as the cornerstone of serious muscle building. But his formula extended beyond the squat to a complete programme of heavy breathing compound movements.
Three movements. All performed with deliberate heavy breathing.
- Heavy breathing squats
- Heavy stiff-legged deadlifts
- Extremely heavy breathing shrugs
Hise told all those who followed his programme that it would "make them junk all their clothes." The upper body development it produced regularly outgrew the trainee's wardrobe within months.
Joseph Curtis HiseThe principle behind the breathing shrug is the same as the breathing squat — oxygen is fuel, and deep forced breathing between repetitions amplifies the adaptive stimulus beyond what the movement alone produces. Research from the 1930s confirmed that deep breathing encouraged bodyweight gains. Hise was quick to apply this finding to every major compound movement in his programme.
Hise's formula — heavy compound movements, deliberate breathing, minimal exercises — reflects the same principles behind the Minimum Effective Strength System. Maximum stimulus from the fewest movements.
Three ways to get the most
from the barbell shrug.
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Breathe heavily between every repetition
Deep breathing between repetitions is not a recovery technique — it is an active component of the exercise's effectiveness. Hise demonstrated this by persuading some of his lighter trainees to work with reduced weights while applying maximum breathing effort. The result was chest expansion and strength increases that heavier loading without the breathing had not produced. Take copious forced breaths between each shrug repetition, fully inflating the lungs before the next lift. What worked for Hise will work for you.
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Practise precise form and explore variations
Perfect form means a controlled, vertical movement — straight up and down with no shoulder rotation. Keep tension throughout and breathe deeply between repetitions. Beyond the standard standing shrug with a straight bar, several variations target the traps and upper back from different angles.
Shrug variations worth exploring- Wide grip upright shrug
- Bent forward shrug
- Lying down shrug
- Inclined bench shrug
Use less weight than you think you need until form is solid. Momentum and shoulder rotation are the two most common form errors — both reduce the stimulus and increase injury risk.
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Pair shrugs with deadlifts for maximum efficiency
The smartest way to incorporate shrugs into an abbreviated programme is to perform them immediately after deadlifts. The deadlift already loads the traps heavily as stabilisers — following with shrugs takes advantage of this pre-activation without adding a separate training session to your week. For further recovery management, substitute the deadlift with barbell shrugs every few workouts. This rotation keeps the stimulus fresh while protecting recovery capacity — exactly the kind of deliberate variation that keeps a minimal programme productive over the long term.
Pairing the shrug with the deadlift — maximum benefit, minimum additional recovery cost — is the kind of movement economy the Minimum Effective Strength System is built on throughout.