"SS" with a Hex Bar

[Soule]

When I first started training, the PT I was using (who happened to be very good) started me off with the Trap bar then moved onto rack pulls followed by full Deadlifts and ever since then I’ve always looked at the Trap bar as essentially a training tool to move up to full Deadlifts.

Not sure why any of that would be necessary. Even most elderly trainees can easily learn a correct conventional deadlift.

[MFCPete]

Not sure why any of that would be necessary. Even most elderly trainees can easily learn a correct conventional deadlift.

Oh I don’t doubt that, but it worked fine and seemed a natural progression to me.

[Jdcuth]

From the little I know, the hex bar allows a crucial element of the deadlift to be relatively ignored, i.e. the strengthening of the muscles which maintain spinal extension under load. I had a play with the hex bar in the gym the other way and boy did it feel comfy. But so does the leg press, and I can lift lots of weight that too, but I think we all agree that is a poor substitute for the squat.

[chrisatkeson]

I started incorporating the deadlift with 275x5 and am now alternating between the deadlift and the hex bar deadlift, which is currently 370x5. 275 felt really easy and I'll do 10lb jumps until I find where I am supposed to be with it. At the very least though I am much stronger than I was at the start of LP because I barely did 250x5 initially.

I feel pretty sore in the glutes and lower back today. I guess this probably confirms that I'm not hitting these areas hard enough with the hex bar. On the other hand, hex bar puts a much greater load on the quads. After the final rep on hex bar sets I can barely walk out from the bar. This is the main reason I'm making an effort to switch, because glutes/low back are more important for continuing to drive progress on the squat than quads. I'm currently at 300x5x3 but I can tell that my lower back is the limiting factor. I can shoot up out of the hole but then the low back can barely manage to hold the back angle as I extend up. I'm not quite in good morning territory yet but it's getting a little too close for comfort on my final reps.

Anyway, I think the deadlift is better for overall strength then the hex deadlift based on the increased emphasis on the lower back/glutes. That said, I really do believe that the hex deadlift can be performed with more weight through the same range of motion, which would indicate greater strength by Mark's definition. I will continue to phase out hex deadlift as my deadlift reaches more challenging weights but I don't think I will get rid of it entirely.

[Jr_Geezer]

Anyway, I think the deadlift is better for overall strength then the hex deadlift based on the increased emphasis on the lower back/glutes. That said, I really do believe that the hex deadlift can be performed with more weight through the same range of motion, which would indicate greater strength by Mark's definition. I will continue to phase out hex deadlift as my deadlift reaches more challenging weights but I don't think I will get rid of it entirely.

You touch on but then leave out the "use the most muscle mass" part of the criteria used to select the lifts used.

[Sib]

I started incorporating the deadlift with 275x5 and am now alternating between the deadlift and the hex bar deadlift, which is currently 370x5. 275 felt really easy and I'll do 10lb jumps until I find where I am supposed to be with it. At the very least though I am much stronger than I was at the start of LP because I barely did 250x5 initially.

I feel pretty sore in the glutes and lower back today. I guess this probably confirms that I'm not hitting these areas hard enough with the hex bar. On the other hand, hex bar puts a much greater load on the quads. After the final rep on hex bar sets I can barely walk out from the bar. This is the main reason I'm making an effort to switch, because glutes/low back are more important for continuing to drive progress on the squat than quads. I'm currently at 300x5x3 but I can tell that my lower back is the limiting factor. I can shoot up out of the hole but then the low back can barely manage to hold the back angle as I extend up. I'm not quite in good morning territory yet but it's getting a little too close for comfort on my final reps.

Anyway, I think the deadlift is better for overall strength then the hex deadlift based on the increased emphasis on the lower back/glutes. That said, I really do believe that the hex deadlift can be performed with more weight through the same range of motion, which would indicate greater strength by Mark's definition. I will continue to phase out hex deadlift as my deadlift reaches more challenging weights but I don't think I will get rid of it entirely.

You would definitely benefit from coaching, I did.