What to Do With a Trap Bar at the Gym

Dumbbells and regular barbells are great, but if you’ve been ignoring that big hexagonal thing in the corner, it’s time to get to know it. The hex bar or trap bar as it is also known is great for deadlifts and a host of other exercises.

What is the advantage of a trap bar over a barbell?

When you lift the weight, your center of gravity should stay over your feet (because if it doesn’t, you fall). With a normal straight bar this means the center of the bar should be close to the body.

The trap is shaped like a ring or a hexagon, meaning that its center of gravity is in the large empty space in the middle. You can perform deadlifts without rubbing the bar against the shin and shrugs without rubbing against the body.

The trap bar handles are in a neutral grip so your arms can be at your sides, palms at the sides of your body. This may be a more comfortable position for some exercises. And the handles are taller than a regular barbell, which means you don’t have to lean as much when doing deadlifts or other floor raises. All of these features can be both pros and cons, depending on how you look at them.

How much does a trap bar weigh?

Before you start loading weights, you’ll probably want to know how much the barbell weighs. (By the way, you can probably lift more weight with a trap bar deadlift than with a barbell.)

Unfortunately, there is no standard weight for trap bars. Many of them weigh 45 pounds like standard barbells, but you can also often find them in different weights. One gym I go to has a 45-pound trap bar and a 55-pound one. My old gym had one trap bar and I got on the scale with him to find out he weighed 69 pounds (nice). Here are some examples of popular models and their weight:

• BalanceFrom trap bar – 45 pounds
• CAP Rod Trap – 52 lbs
• Another trap bar with a CAP bar is 28 pounds.
• HulkFit Trap – 45 lbs
• Open Trap Bells of Steel – 65 pounds
• Rogue TB-2 Trap – 60 lbs.

If there is a brand and model on the end cap of the rod, you can try searching Google for it. Otherwise, see if you can get on the scale and weigh yourself with and without the bar in your hands. As a last resort, you can contact the gym staff. In my experience, this is the least accurate method; Every gym has a guy who will say, “This bar weighs 55 pounds,” regardless of its actual weight.

If you can’t find out for sure, I’d just pretend it’s 45 pounds because that makes the math of pancakes the same as a normal barbell.

Is the trap bar deadlift a “real” deadlift?

People can usually lift more weight with a trap bar deadlift than with a barbell, so the trap bar is “easier” in a sense. (It would be more accurate to say that more weight is required to achieve the same level of effort.)

There are two main differences between the trap bar deadlift and the regular deadlift. First, the handles are above the ground. Most trap bars have a set of handles that stick out above the middle of the plates and these are called “high handles”. But you can also flip the bar and lift it from the same height as a standard bar. This grip is called “low handles”. Taller handles usually allow you to lift more weight.

Another difference is related to the shape of the rod. With a straight barbell, you have to keep your feet behind the bar (since two solid objects can’t take up the same space), but the open design means you can position your feet however you feel comfortable and comfortable. For most of us, this means that the knees need to be slightly ahead of the center of gravity of the bar so that our quads can help add weight.

For this reason, the trap bar deadlift is often referred to as a hybrid of the squat and deadlift. In truth, they are more like 90% deadlifts/10% squats . After all, we are stronger in the deadlift than we are in the squat, so it is natural to use the motion of the deadlift to get the weight off the ground most effectively.

Ultimately, the benefit of the trap bar deadlift is that you don’t have to think too much about technique. The trap bar deadlift is popular in gyms because coaches don’t have to teach football or basketball players to be great deadlifts; they can simply tell them to step into the bar, grab the handles, and stand up. The learning curve is smaller so you can lift the weight and move on with your life.

What can you do with a trap bar besides deadlift?

Besides the deadlift, another classic trap bar exercise is the shrag. You stand up with the weight, then shrug your shoulders to your ears. Thanks to the open design of the trap bar, you don’t have to worry about the position of the bar in relation to your body; just take a good seat and shrug your shoulders.

Traps are also great for farm holds and carriers. That’s why there are “open” trapezoid bars, allowing your feet to move without bumping into the edges of the bar as you walk. (You can still do transfers with a standard trap bar, just take small steps.)

You can also use the trap bar for deadlift variations such as the block deadlift or the scarce deadlift or the Romanian deadlift. And they work well for bent over rows and bent over shrugs.

Finally, you might be surprised to know that trap bars work really well for pressing. Yes, it can be awkward to position the bar, but if your trap bar fits in a squat rack, you can remove it from there. (Tip: put the bar on safety instead of using J-hooks.) Overhead presses, bench presses, and floor presses can be done with a trap bar, and you benefit from neutral handles and a longer pull range. movement because the center of the bar is not touching your body.