HLM and trap bar

[Willk87]

Hi, quick question about the trap bar.


Last summer, I suffered an injury to my left elbow which ended up given me bursitis in my left elbow. For the past 8 months of so I have been squatting 3x per week. In my last couple of training sessions, my left elbow hurts during my squat warm ups, but then the pain usually goes away during the second of third working set. However, the next day my left elbow is swollen, stiff, and in a good amount of pain. I train in my basement, with limited equipment, basically a rack, bar, and plates, as well as a trap bar that I haven't used in years. I was wondering if the trap bar could be an okay squat variant? I would plan on doing it for 4 sets of 8 reps. My week would be set up like Monday, heavy squat (5x5) and a medium pull, Wednesday trap bar 4x8 and light pull, and Friday heavy pull and medium squat (usually box squat).

[Brent Carter]

The trap bar is a pretty piss poor substitute for the squat. Not nearly as much ROM and no stretch reflex. You probably just need to adjust your grip. I would post a form check on the Staff Q&A.