Middle Fibres of the Trapezius

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The trapezius gets its name from its irregular 4 sided shape, which looks like a trapezium.

The middle fibres of the trapezius are recruited strongly during scapular retraction. For this reason rowing and chinning/pull-up exercises are an effective way of stimulating the middle trapezius region. You can view these exercises by following the links in the exercise section to the right.
The middle trapezius region will also be recruited during upward rotation of the scapular. Therefore, the middle trapezius is stimulated well from over-heading pressing actions.

Due to its recruitment in many exercises, the middle trapezius region will be greatly stimulated from a lot of back, shoulder and trapezius exercises.
Worrying about this specific area isn’t greatly necessary, as a well structured routine will recruit and stimulate the middle trapezius fibres effectively.

Hypertrophy will be optimal during 6-12 reps for the trapezius, providing ideal time under tension for the muscle fibre make up of the muscle tissue.
If however strength and power is the primary goal then the Trapezius will likely be best stimulated within the 1-5 rep ranges, providing stimulation for the type iiB fibres and neural adaptations of the nervous system.