Most People Shouldn’t Deadlift…..

with a straight bar.

Writing those words in 2018 feels kinda like these guys,

Here comes the we don’t give a damn about context Trolls.

Regardless of what the 23-year-old internet guru, soothsayer, shaman, “coach” says not everyone should deadlift,

with a straight bar.

“The Barbell is The Tool of Satan” 

I was told that a looooonnnnngggg time ago, by a very large and strong man.

At least in his mid 50’s and repping 405 on the bench.

He was telling me sh@t about what I should do to be able to train forever and still progress.

One of those things was,

“Don’t Always Use the Barbell, It’s a Tool of Satan”

He was right.

The barbell is GGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAT when it comes to being able to produce force.

Nothing Beats the Barbell for Straight up Strength.

NOTHING.

But too much barbell almost always beats the living hell out of you.

Why is The Barbell So Bad? 

Plain and Simple:

The Barbell Locks You In Place

You can’t really manipulate the bar to fit you,

yes, you can manipulate the bar path on the bench, high, low or front on the squat and conventional vs sumo on the deadlift.

But think about it, you’re mostly manipulating YOU.

The bar is still a BAR and you have to contort YOURSELF to manipulate those variables.

Here’s a Fun Fact:

Some People Can ABSOLUTELY CRUSH Barbell Lifts Their Whole Life

and will never have an issue.

Most Can’t

They’re just not built for it.

Be it the anatomical structure of the shoulder, hip, low back, wrist, elbow

The accumulated injuries from sports, lifting, life.

Whatever it is, most people eventually need to limit (usually not remove) barbell training if they want to remain (mostly) ouchie free.

However, occasionally TOOLS, not crutches, come along that allow us to kinda-sorta perform a barbell lift but in a way that is a little more joint/ mobility/ physical capacity friendly.

One of those TOOLS is also one of the oldest.

The Trap/ Hex Bar

 

That’s literally the bar I have from Cap Barbell, yes, I got it on Amazon Its a 72lbs BEAST with HEAVY, NASTY knurl on the handles. 

Don’t say I didn’t warn you. 

I used to Look as the Trap Bar as Cheating.

Young and Dumb, I Was.

Now I look at the Trap Bar as a Gift From Above.

Virtues of the Trap Bar:

was gonna do a video, but Joe D already did one, and it’s really good…

1) You’re Inside the Bar….

That means the weight is in line with the body.

Shortening the moment arm of the movement, versus the conventional, bar in front of the shins, set up with a barbell.

2) High or Low Handles

Lack hip mobility?

Lose the pelvis?

Round the thoracic spine too much?

The bar can be manipulated to fit you.

Yes, you can deadlift from blocks.

But, who does?

With the Trap bar you can just flip the damn thing over, bringing the bar height up, and viola, you’re gravy baby.

3) Neutral Grip Handles

Neutral anything is almost always more orthopedically sound.

The neutral grip handles on the Trap bar make it easier for just about everyone to activate the lats and pack the shoulders harder.

This also makes it easier to get the chest up (thoracic extension) and keep it up through the movement.  <—-this increases the likelihood that you wont round the low back too.

Trap Bar Deadlift

Checklist:

• Make sure you’re centered in the bar.
• Push as far back into the hips as necessary while maintaining a NEUTRAL LUMBAR SPINE.
• CRUSH the handles, make sure that pinkie is active and crushing hard
• Take a DEEP and BIG breath INTO THE BELLY, not the chest and HOLD IT. <—-DO NOT BREATH OUT ON THE WAY UP.
• Have a belt on? PUSH OUT INTO the belt hard AF
• Pack the shoulders/ activate the lats (pretend there is a troll head in your armpits, choke him out).
• Chest up, t-shirt logo/ shoulders lead the way
• Grip the floor with the feet hard
• PRESS through the floor and tall.

Bro Tips:

• Want to “Root” better? Lose the shoes.
• Don’t be afraid to use the high handles. Better to be injury free than “hardcore”.  <–seriously, you’re already using the trap bar, you’re not that “hardcore”. 
• Get your ENTIRE BODY as TIGHT as you possibly can. Just setting up should be uncomfortable.

Knees Out, Glutes on….ALWAYS

Trap Bar Achilles Heel

The main criticism of the trap bar is what is also one of its potential strengths.

Trap bar deadlifts have the potential for the knees to travel forward more so than the straight bar.

This criticism is 100% on point.

It’s VERY EASY to turn the Trap Bar Deadlift into a Trap Bar Kinda Squat Deadlift.

Here’s how you avoid that.

Don’t Turn the Movement Into a Squat…

Seriously, it’s that easy.

Focus on the HIP HINGE, loading the hamstrings and glutes and using as vertical a shin angle as possible.

Pay attention to the knees relative to the position of the bar sleeve (center of the plates)

9 out of 10 Times the Easiest Way to Keep the Trap Bar Deadlift a Deadlift is:

• Be honest about your setup and hip mobility
• Realistic about the weight you should have on the bar.
  • When things are too heavy the first default is almost always to drift the shins forward to get more quads into the movement.
• Use the high handles so you can actually get into a hip dominant position without having to push your shins forward because you can’t hinge into the hips enough to reach the low handles.

If your joint angles are the same in the conventional and trap bar deadlift, the activation patterns and muscle stimulation/ excitation levels are VERY similar, if not, the same.

Greg Nuckols Most Excellent Article, Trap Bar Deadlifts Are Underrated, put it this way,

“A trap bar simply allows for more freedom of movement. A barbell deadlift requires a particular type of pull – it must be hip-dominant because the barbell must stay in front of your legs through the lift. That requires pushing your butt back, minimizing forward knee travel, etc.

With a trap bar, you can still deadlift with that exact same style – push your butt back, minimize forward knee travel, and deadlift as if you were using a barbell (without bloodying your shins and with lower risk of spinal flexion). You can also drop your hips a little lower and let your knees travel a little further forward to use your quads a bit more. The trap bar gives you that choice. With a barbell, there is no choice.”