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Thread: straight bar deadlift vs trap bar deadlift.

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    Default straight bar deadlift vs trap bar deadlift.

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    straight bar deadlift vs trap bar deadlift.
    I'd like to know how much extra weight you can personally lift. Pounds and percents would be a desirable answer

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    Quote Originally Posted by RichieRich View Post
    straight bar deadlift vs trap bar deadlift.
    I'd like to know how much extra weight you can personally lift. Pounds and percents would be a desirable answer
    a trap bar deadlift is basically a half squat. i don't think many people here would recommend either one. you should be able to lift a considerable amount of weight but you won't be getting the best workout because your range of motion will be limited.

    we have a trap bar in our gym, and it never really occurred to me to use it even for shrugs, let alone a deadlift. i think a regular straight bar is better not only for DL but for shrugs as well.

    now if you maybe stand on some box to give you a bit of extra range of motion it could be an interesting alternative to squat that also works your traps at the same time.

    sorry i was unable to give you the answer you were looking for.
    Last edited by G1981C; 06-04-2014 at 11:56 PM.

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    The answer given is mathematically sound, well done.

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    Quote Originally Posted by G1981C View Post
    a trap bar deadlift is basically a half squat. i don't think many people here would recommend either one. you should be able to lift a considerable amount of weight but you won't be getting the best workout because your range of motion will be limited.

    we have a trap bar in our gym, and it never really occurred to me to use it even for shrugs, let alone a deadlift. i think a regular straight bar is better not only for DL but for shrugs as well.

    now if you maybe stand on some box to give you a bit of extra range of motion it could be an interesting alternative to squat that also works your traps at the same time.

    sorry i was unable to give you the answer you were looking for.
    I would prefer trap bars for shrugs and farmer's walks.

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    I've heard some people say low handles trap bar is roughly equal to their straight bar deadlift, but obviously this is going to vary among individuals. I can't say from personal experience, as I have never used a trap bar.

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    Quote Originally Posted by krazyduck View Post
    I would prefer trap bars for shrugs and farmer's walks.
    alternating between both for shrugs is probably a good idea.

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    Trap Bar Deadlifts are Great.

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    A bit of trap bar analysis that I posted elsewhere when this question came up...

    Some trap bar thoughts from a biomechanics perspective because I think people are confused about the lift...

    • People often use high handles on a trap bar which would be the equivalent of a rack/partial deadlift. That you can lift more weight with a smaller ROM is not at all surprising. If you want a meaningful comparison you'd have to compare a trap bar lift done with the "low" handles (or something like the dead squat bar) to a conventional deadlift since the ROM is identical.
    • If you compare strength with the low handles on a trap bar to a conventional deadlift I'd be at least a little surprised if the average person is actually stronger with the trap bar. I'm a bit weaker, myself.
    • Contrary to popular opinion, the "center of gravity" of a trap bar deadlift still conforms to the same mechanics that all standing exercises do, i.e. the combined center of gravity of you + the trap bar should be through mid foot with the bar coming up/going down in a straight line.
    • The primary difference biomechanically between a trap bar and regular deadlift is that the regular deadlift constrains knee movement such that you have to be more bent over with less forward knee travel compared to a trap bar deadlift or squat. The reason for this is simple - because the bar is in front of you with a conventional deadlift, forward knee travel past a point displaces the barbell in front of mid foot. In a trap bar deadlift this is not the case, and as such, the mechanics are fundamentally that of a squat.
    • To reiterate the point above, in order to "sit down" as you do in a squat or deadlift, there is some combination of movement at the hips, knees, and ankles to accommodate this. The primary difference between a barbell deadlift and trap bar is that the former will have you more bent over with less forward knee travel, so it's going to be slightly more posterior chain dominant, whereas a trap bar is more like a squat, a nice split between posterior/anterior chain.
    • Because a straight bar deadlift has you more bent over, the weak link in that lift is more obviously the low back's capacity to maintain neutrality. As such, people noticing that trap bar pulls might not translate past a point to straight bar deadlift is probably a result of this, i.e. due to being less bent over in a trap bar, you are not really targeting the weak link in a conventional deadlift. This is also why stiff-leg/RDL's are arguably the most important assistance movement for conventional deadlifts.
    • For people not competing in powerlifting the trap bar deadlift is a fine substitute for the conventional deadlift and has several advantages - neutral grip, no scraping of shins, arguably slightly more "natural" since it more closely mimics a squat. From a muscle building perspective, if you're already doing squats, you could probably argue that a conventional deadlift or RDL provide a better contrasting stimulus to really hit the posterior chain. But the trap bar deadlift is still a tremendous stimulus for the hips, so I seriously doubt it matters much.

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    the knee constraint makes straight bar DL a more natural exercise because when you lift things in the real world they are rarely specially shaped like a trap bar to avoid your knees.

    on the other hand if you want to shift the load from your lower back to your quads a bit you can do squats.

    i personally believe variety is good, and think even bad exercises can improve your training as long as they are not over-represented in it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by G1981C View Post
    the knee constraint makes straight bar DL a more natural exercise because when you lift things in the real world they are rarely specially shaped like a trap bar to avoid your knees.

    on the other hand if you want to shift the load from your lower back to your quads a bit you can do squats.

    i personally believe variety is good, and think even bad exercises can improve your training as long as they are not over-represented in it.
    It's really not that rare to lift two heavy things, one in each arm, or to pick up something between your legs, so I'm not sure I agree with this. We don't strength train to mimic real life movements anyways, though, and since the ROM is the same, the muscles responsible for the lift are largely the same, and the amount of weight we're capable of using probably pretty similar, I'd say it's more a matter of preference and equipment availability unless you're a competing powerlifter.

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