I still can’t squat after 15 weeks off cause of surgery. I’ve been deadlifting and doing leg extensions as my only leg work. Anyways I dont want my squat to be pathetic so im considering doing trap bar deadlifts instead. Will this interfere with my recovery for deadlifts? I really wish I had thought of this earlier as I probably would have lost much less strength in my squat if I had been doing it all along. Also anybody have any guesstimates as to how much my squat may have gone down? I know I’ve asked this before
The Trap Bar Deadlift ( Squat ) has good carryover for me personally to the Squat. I have used it as a prelude to Squating heavy after a lay off from Squating. I would do exactly as you are suggesting as a ramp back to Squating. Putting the bar on your shoulders involves some external rotation that may not be possible for you right now. Shoulder surgery?
Thanks for the response. It’s actually a surgery in my buttcrack (yeah i know its weird) and was left with an open wound that had to be packed every day. Besides being hell on earth it greatly limited my leg training. I’ve been able to Deadlift cause I don’t have to get down very far with my legs spread (long arms/conventional style) and leg extensions don’t spread the area. How long do you think it will take me to get back to my old squat numbers?
All you can do is try it. When I first used a trap bar I found it lit everything up pretty good, but left my lower back out of it. There are some pretty good articles about using the trap bar here on T-Nation and also Ben Bruno has a new one up today. 5 Killer Trap-Bar Deadlift Variations
This might be kinda a dumb question but what weight should I expect to start with in the trap bar deadlift relative to my dealift 1rm? My deadlift 1RM is probably around 385 right now (I know not great). I think I’m gonna do my normal 3 warm up sets then 3 sets of 5 with the same work weight. I plan on increasing once I can get 8 reps on last set. I may do hang cleans before but I’m not sure.
Use your deadlift weights that use use for 3s to start and go from there with the Trap Bar for 5s. This will be easy for you. You will be able to use more weight with the Trap Bar. But if you are doing the Wendler 5/3/1 you know that it is about building up over time. So no great urgency to have the weight heavy yet.
Any opinions on a good trap bar
[quote]docholliday7777 wrote:
Any opinions on a good trap bar[/quote]
If you are going to buy one, try to think long term. Look for a bar that has longer sleeves so it can hold more weight. I’m not sure what prices are like in the US but I got mine in Canada for 150 bucks and it is exactly the same as this www.savagestrengthusa.com/watson-dual-grip-shrug-bar.html not really sure why it’s priced so high relative to the one I have.
Thnks guys. Now that I think of it I don’t think I’m gonna do the 5/3/1 percentages for the trap bar deadlift. I feel like I could maybe get more out of it if I stuck to sets of 5 and upped the weight once I feel like I’m ready. I’m not planning on doing these as a main lift for a long period of time. I think I will do them until I can squat (hopefully in the next 4 weeks or so) and then use squats as my main movement and these as an assistance lift for my lower body. Does this sound logical?