Shrugs Exercise - How to Barbell Shrug Like a 1940s Strongman

The shrugs exercise 1940s style shows you how.

The Shoulder Shrug - 1940s Style

When most trainees thing of the shoulder shrug exercise, they imagine the conventional standing shoulder shrug performed with a straight bar or dumbbells. Yet what if there was a little known shoulder shrug variation that guarantees results 1940s style?

There is.

And this same shrugs exercise was championed by a strongman of yesteryear - a man whose contribution to the iron game, earned him the title, the "Father of American Weight Training".

This weight training giant was Joseph Curtis Hise.

The Magic of Heavy Breathing Barbell Shrugs

The principles developed by J. C. Hise have been helping the average trainee get big and strong for over 50 years. Indeed, more than any other single man, Hise was to inspire and promote "the deep knee bend" or squat - an exercise that was to become the central core of Joseph Hise's muscle building formula.

This formula would later develop into power and bulk-building programs based on:

• Heavy breathing squats;
• Heavy stiff-legged deadlifts; and
• Extremely heavy breathing shrugs.

How effective was this formula? Joseph C. Hise pointed out to all those who followed his program, that it would "make them junk all their clothes"...

And the exciting part?

The Joseph C. Hise formula can do the same for you.


Photo courtesy of Christian Montone

How to Barbell Shrug Like a 1940s Strongman

1. Heavy Breathing Shoulder Shrugs. Breathing technique is important when looking to build body weight - a factor which is often overlooked by many of today's trainees. Research conducted back in the 1930s shows how deep breathing encouraged body weight gains - a discovery which Hise was quick to employ.

Hise wisely encouraged his lifters to use copious forced breathing in between each repetition, and as an experiment, persuaded some of his lifters to train with reduced weights. The results? Not only did the "peewee" lifters chests expand, but their maximum lifts increased too.

2. Practice Perfect Barbell Shrug Form. Practicing perfect barbell shrug form will not only protect you from injury, but will build your shoulders efficiently.

Some basic movements you can use when exercising your shoulders, include the:

• Wide grip upright shrug
• Bent forward or lying down shrug
• Inclined bench shrug.

Perfect form means no rotation of the shoulders as you move the bar up. Just a controlled "up and down" is fine. If in doubt, use less weight on your bar until your form is solid. Also try to keep yourself "tight" between reps, and remember to breath deeply between your repetitions - what worked for J. C. Hise can also work for you.

3. Abbreviated Shoulder Shrug. Shrug exercises can be added to your strength workout without adding too much to the total load of your training. How? To minimize excessive inroads into your recovery reserves, perform your shrugs immediately after your deadlifts.

Do this, and you get to enjoy the benefits of the shoulder shrug exercise while avoiding over training. And if you want to further boost recovery?

Consider substituting the deadlift exercise with the barbell shrugs exercise every few workouts.

In Summary

The muscle building principles developed by J. C. Hise have been helping the average trainee get big and strong for over 50 years. Want to barbell shrug your way to stronger shoulders? The shrugs exercise 1940s style shows you how.

Shrugs Exercise to Shoulder Strengthening Exercises

Shrugs Exercise to Muscle Building