Whenever I do trap bar deadlifts with the high handles, my lower back is irritated for days, but with low handles I feel fine. Any ideas why this would be? The main benefit of high handles was supposed to be saving your lower back I thought. Thanks.
Actually the main “benefit” of the high handles is that it shortens the range of motion, allowing you to lift more weight.
So my question is, did you use the same load for high and low handles or did you use more weight with the high handles? Because it might be a load issue rather than a movement issue.
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I did raise the load, but still was in the 4-6 rep range respectively.
I get what you are saying, but the added load is likely the reason as both movements are the same, save for something like a 3" shorter ROM. You might have a weakness at a specific angle and the added loaded was enough to exceed the load that weakness can handle without pain.
That’s all I can see because the movement you do when you perform a high handle trap bar is included in the low handle version. So it’s not the position itself, but rather the load imposed in that position.
It could also be that the position at which you overcome inertia (getting the bar off the ground) is mechanically problematic for you and more prone to an injury, whereas when you start from the floor you could reach that position with the bar already moving up, so requiring less force at that specific point.
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Thanks for the detailed explanation. I too thought it could be a mechanical problem with where I’m starting the pull.