Yeah I can relate with the over active traps. I'm 37 and until recently I was often shrugging my shoulders up and I don't know why. Like I could be sitting here in my computer chair, just relaxed, and realize that my shoulders were shrugged up and tense. I first ran into it when doing chest exercises cause you can't really contract your pecs well when your shoulders are elevated (put your hand on your pec and do a one armed fly motion while trying to contract). Doing pushups too, my shoulders would be fricking shrugged up. I've since been trying to be mindful of the shrugging and it's slowly getting better, I think. I don't have a problem with them for rows but I do have to constantly be aware of my shoulders when I'm working out because if I don't they'll shrug up. Best tip that helped me for shoulders was a Chris Jones (Pump Chasers) video on retracting scapula. I've heard the "put your shoulder blades in your back pocket" many times but it was his video that made it click: shrug up, roll shoulders back, being shoulders down. Works like a charm. That's for shoulders though, not traps. Now I just need to follow your guys' video on upper cross syndrome. Thirty seven years of slouching... Ugh.

I ignored overactive traps / rotated scapula and ended up trapping an ulnar nerve. I’m a year down the line and am slowly correcting the imbalance.

What other excercises are great to engage mid back instead of traps? Is it better to start with these excercises and then do a pull-type excercise?

Sound advice

What cobra?

Wrong