I have this hex bar in my so-called gym at home. I’m a beginner and I have used it for calves. My husband has used it for shrugs and dead lifts. I have a couple of questions I was hoping people could help me out with.
1)Please confirm that it is a hex bar?
2)Is this a good bar for me (a beginner) to use for dead lifts?
3)What other lifts can be done with this bar?
Thanks
Boingogirl
FYI’s…
For my calves I hold the bar while doing heel raises. I have only done dead lifts once so my form is still being worked on and I don’t have any lower back problems.
Not sure if that’s what they call a “hex” bar, but it sure does look like a trap bar. Yes, you can definitely use it for deadlifts (I wish I had one!). I’m sure you can use it for various calf raises and probably a few other exercises (squats?) as well.
"A trap bar is a diamond-shaped lifting bar that you stand inside, gripping the built-in handles outside of and parallel to your legs. Weights are added to the ends outside your hands, changing the balance considerably from a traditional bar.
I assume from the name “trap bar” that it was originally designed for shrugs, but actually, around our gym anyway, I’ve only seen one guy use it for shrugs. Probably the most popular use for the trap bar is a deadlift. The trap bar takes the strain off the lower back when compared to a traditional bent legged deadlift and because of the arrangement of the hands as well as standing inside the bar places additional work on the thighs making it a kind of a combination squat and deadlift.
The hand position allows a more vertical pull and changes the leverage from a traditional straight bar deadlift, also keeps the back flatter - not rounding - and therefore safer from strain. Because of all this, you can actually go very heavy - in my opinion much heavier than with a straight bar, and it doesn’t bang your shins up either!"
Trap Bar Exercises:
* Bent legged deadlift aka Squatlift
* Stiff Legged deadlift
* Parallel grip upright rows
* Parallel grip high pulls
* Shrugs - Olympic lifter's staple -
* Farmers walk - load up and walk as far as you can. A 'finisher' as popularised by Dinosaur Training.
* - you can even do overhead presses but will need to improvise some kind of rack to get it up to shoulder height.
We can play around with it next time I’m over and I’ll show you any of these lifts you may not know how to do. And we’ll work on your dead lift form and get that bad boy solid.
