Dead-Squat Bar vs Farmer's Walk Handles

I’m seriously considering getting a Dead-Squat Bar but I already have a very nice set of Farmer’s Walk handles. It seems like anything you could do with one you could do with the other. The primary difference would be that you would have to work harder to stabilize the FW. Is there anything the DSB can do better compared to FW handles? I appreciate your input.

[quote]myonlyvice wrote:
I’m seriously considering getting a Dead-Squat Bar but I already have a very nice set of Farmer’s Walk handles. It seems like anything you could do with one you could do with the other. The primary difference would be that you would have to work harder to stabilize the FW. Is there anything the DSB can do better compared to FW handles? I appreciate your input. [/quote]

Im assuming that you should be able to lift more with the D.S. bar than with the farmer handles.

[quote]Re.po wrote:

[quote]myonlyvice wrote:
I’m seriously considering getting a Dead-Squat Bar but I already have a very nice set of Farmer’s Walk handles. It seems like anything you could do with one you could do with the other. The primary difference would be that you would have to work harder to stabilize the FW. Is there anything the DSB can do better compared to FW handles? I appreciate your input. [/quote]

Im assuming that you should be able to lift more with the D.S. bar than with the farmer handles.[/quote]

This is what I was expecting but I’m wondering how great the difference would be. Has anybody trained with both? I’ve never used any kind of trap bar before.

Doing any kind of reps with farmer’s handles will be a pain in the ASS. They will never set down exactly the same.

The <a href=“http://www.t-nation.com/store/products/dead-squat-bar"target="new”>Dead-Squat Bar is great for farmer’s walks, but also for the dead-squats themselves (trap bar deadlifts which hit the quads more), bench pressing, overhead pressing (you don’t have to go in front or behind the neck - feels good), rack/pin work (it’s long enough), stiff-leg deadlifts, lunges and other unilateral work, etc.

So, very versatile.

Ben Bruno has some good articles and videos in the archives on trap bar variations.

Personally, I find that the Dead-Squat bar is better for farmer’s walks because of the 15 degree natural handle angle and the fact that it allows the hands to be out wider rather than straight down as with farmer’s handles or dumbbells, which bumps the legs more – especially as fatigue sets in. That hands-wider position seems to hit the traps more as well.

[quote]Chris Shugart wrote:
The <a href=“http://www.T-Nation.com/store/products/dead-squat-bar"target="new”>Dead-Squat Bar is great for farmer’s walks, but also for the dead-squats themselves (trap bar deadlifts which hit the quads more), bench pressing, overhead pressing (you don’t have to go in front or behind the neck - feels good), rack/pin work (it’s long enough), stiff-leg deadlifts, lunges and other unilateral work, etc.

So, very versatile.

Ben Bruno has some good articles and videos in the archives on trap bar variations.

Personally, I find that the Dead-Squat bar is better for farmer’s walks because of the 15 degree natural handle angle and the fact that it allows the hands to be out wider rather than straight down as with farmer’s handles or dumbbells, which bumps the legs more – especially as fatigue sets in. That hands-wider position seems to hit the traps more as well. [/quote]

Nice. You mentioned several things I hadn’t considered. I gotta get one of these things.