Hi friends,
Im looking for tips on how to do a trap bar deadlift for the first time. Set-up? Cues? Any particular technique?
Im visiting a gym out of town this weekend which has a trap bar. If I like it I am going to buy one for myself. I don’t do barbell deadlifts or back squats due to a previous back injury.
Thanks in advance.
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Squat down, pull the handles together.
As for the bar itself. Keep in mind that you can get bars with and without rotating sleeves. And I wouldn’t be swayed by high/low handles as you can just use blocks. Another thing to keep in mind is the size of the trap bar. I like a roomy one.
And they’re not just for deadlifts - RDLs, shoulder pressing, shrugs, etc are great with a trapbar.
Pull the handles together? As in squeeze inwards?
How about keeping the chest high, shoulders back etc? Should I be thinking “squat down” or do I need to think “hinge down” or do I need to do a mixture of both?
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really depends what your doing it for, I like to use a mix of hip hinge and leg drive, This causes a nice blend of stimulus that can contribute to both the squat and the deadlift
it’s a lot more leg-dominant than a regular deadlift. More like a squat because of your center of balance. The weight is in front of you on a deadlift, and it’s not on a trap bar. So you’ll begin the lift with lower hips and a more upright torso. You will try to squat it up. It’s not going to look EXACTLY like a squat, don’t get me wrong, but closer to that. Do not turn it into a strictly hip hinge movement. Definitely push hard with your legs, particularly at the beginning of the movement. I’ve got a 700+ trap bar deadlift video on my instagram if you want to check it out. my name on there is tiptonstrong.
Echoing flip, think of a quarter/half squat. Try to wedge your hips underneath the weight. Also be patient off the floor, sometimes it takes a second to get moving.
One upping flip by posting my 700+ trap bar pull