Tip: Make the Trap Bar Your Secret Weapon
Tip: Make the Trap Bar Your Secret Weapon
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<h2 class="article-detail">Six reasons the trap bar is just plain awesome. Check 'em out.</h2>
<div class="article-detail-byline"><span class="byline">by <a href="https://www.t-nation.com/all-articles/authors/charles-staley">Charles Staley</a> |</span> <span class="timeStamp3">Yesterday</span></div>
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<p>The trap bar or <a href="https://biotest.t-nation.com/products/dead-squat-bar"><span>Dead-Squat Bar</span></a> has very specific advantages for almost anyone:</p>
<ol><li>Trap bar pulls typically resemble a cross between a squat and a deadlift, but you can make it whatever you want it to be. <span>You can pull in a very hip-dominant way with significant torso inclination, or you can stay upright and make it like a front squat.</span></li>
<li>The trap bar hits the traps really hard, and perhaps even harder than straight-bar pulls. <span>This has to do with the grip width and neutral hand position.</span></li>
<li>Since trap bar deads involve a more upright posture than conventional pulls, you can recover from them faster. <span>They don't wreak the same havoc on the spine as compared to conventional deads. This means they're a good pulling option for higher-rep sets for building volume. In my own training, I'll often work up to a heavy 1-3 rep set on conventional pulls, then switch to the trap bar for back-off sets of 6-10 reps.</span></li>
<li>The trap bar is a superb tool for farmer's walks since there's little to no chance that you'll drop the weight on your foot. <span>Also, unlike farmer's walks with dumbbells, trap bar walks don't impede your gait by allowing the weights to hit the outside of your legs. Try this: Perform a 10-rep set of trap bar deadlifts and then start walking with the bar.</span></li>
<li>The trap bar requires less skill than a straight bar. <span>The beginner will instinctively adopt a safer position on this tool than he or she would with a straight bar.</span></li>
<li>The trap bar is easier on the knees than squats, and easier on the back than conventional deadlifts <span>– the best of both worlds, the worst of none. Coach Christian Thibaudeau agrees:</span></li>
</ol><h4>The Trap Bar Deadlift</h4>
<p><iframe width="620" height="349" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/g8gmMAOKBxI?autoplay=0&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="">[embedded content]</iframe></p>
<h4><a href="https://www.t-nation.com/training/how-to-murder-the-deadlift">Related: How to Murder the Deadlift</a></h4>
<h4><a href="https://www.t-nation.com/training/unconventional-trap-bar-exercises">Related: 5 Unconventional Trap Bar Exercises</a></h4>
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https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-make-the-trap-bar-your-secret-weapon
<div class="title-details">
<h2 class="article-detail">Six reasons the trap bar is just plain awesome. Check 'em out.</h2>
<div class="article-detail-byline"><span class="byline">by <a href="https://www.t-nation.com/all-articles/authors/charles-staley">Charles Staley</a> |</span> <span class="timeStamp3">Yesterday</span></div>
</div>
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</div>
<div readability="6.5952102803738">
<p>The trap bar or <a href="https://biotest.t-nation.com/products/dead-squat-bar"><span>Dead-Squat Bar</span></a> has very specific advantages for almost anyone:</p>
<ol><li>Trap bar pulls typically resemble a cross between a squat and a deadlift, but you can make it whatever you want it to be. <span>You can pull in a very hip-dominant way with significant torso inclination, or you can stay upright and make it like a front squat.</span></li>
<li>The trap bar hits the traps really hard, and perhaps even harder than straight-bar pulls. <span>This has to do with the grip width and neutral hand position.</span></li>
<li>Since trap bar deads involve a more upright posture than conventional pulls, you can recover from them faster. <span>They don't wreak the same havoc on the spine as compared to conventional deads. This means they're a good pulling option for higher-rep sets for building volume. In my own training, I'll often work up to a heavy 1-3 rep set on conventional pulls, then switch to the trap bar for back-off sets of 6-10 reps.</span></li>
<li>The trap bar is a superb tool for farmer's walks since there's little to no chance that you'll drop the weight on your foot. <span>Also, unlike farmer's walks with dumbbells, trap bar walks don't impede your gait by allowing the weights to hit the outside of your legs. Try this: Perform a 10-rep set of trap bar deadlifts and then start walking with the bar.</span></li>
<li>The trap bar requires less skill than a straight bar. <span>The beginner will instinctively adopt a safer position on this tool than he or she would with a straight bar.</span></li>
<li>The trap bar is easier on the knees than squats, and easier on the back than conventional deadlifts <span>– the best of both worlds, the worst of none. Coach Christian Thibaudeau agrees:</span></li>
</ol><h4>The Trap Bar Deadlift</h4>
<p><iframe width="620" height="349" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/g8gmMAOKBxI?autoplay=0&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="">[embedded content]</iframe></p>
<h4><a href="https://www.t-nation.com/training/how-to-murder-the-deadlift">Related: How to Murder the Deadlift</a></h4>
<h4><a href="https://www.t-nation.com/training/unconventional-trap-bar-exercises">Related: 5 Unconventional Trap Bar Exercises</a></h4>
</div>
<p><em>This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.</em></p>
https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-make-the-trap-bar-your-secret-weapon