I always found the conventional deadlift to be an awkward exercise. In contrast, the first time I lifted with a trap bar I felt right in the groove. The weight hangs naturally from my shoulders rather than out in front of me, my hands are in the neutral grip position, and I’m not scraping my shins on the bar. I’ve never had grip strength issues with TBDLs.
It’s not clear to me that the TBDL is less effective than the conventional DL in working the lower back musculature. My understanding is that it puts less stress on the spine itself, but the muscles should still get the same workout. (I’ll defer to those more knowledgeable if I’m misinformed on this.)[/quote]
this one should sort out your grip http://www.getstrength.com/search.asp?find=Gorilla+Grip+System�+trap+bar
you just have to use a block to get the right depth
Perhaps Al Gerard was just able to maintain his deadlift strength using the trap bar. I honestly don’t understand how anyone could build their conventional deadlift using a trap bar.
I have personally found the carryover to be terrible. The trapbar deadlift involves much less anterior pelvic tilt which shifts the load off of the lowerback and hamstrings and shifts it to the quads and glutes. Atleast it does based on the technique I use in the lift.
If you look at the “Westside: Then and Now” article on elitefts.com, Dave Tate mentions that they ditched the trap bar deadlifts a while back. He goes on to mention in his training log I believe, that his trap bar deadlift went up 100 and something pounds, but his conventional deadlift stayed the same.
Point taken as i found the carry over only to snatch grip deadlifts off on 2 inch block. However I do think for jumping athletes trap bar dead lifts make sense, the movement is similar and the weight is in the body plane rather than in front of it. Actually because of the neutral position of the hands the bar may help reduce stress on shoulders. Im a shot putter and not a powerlifter so for power lifters trap bar deadlifts should be only used sparingly or when recovering from shoulder injuries.
[quote]bulletproof_ wrote:
Perhaps Al Gerard was just able to maintain his deadlift strength using the trap bar. I honestly don’t understand how anyone could build their conventional deadlift using a trap bar.
I have personally found the carryover to be terrible. The trapbar deadlift involves much less anterior pelvic tilt which shifts the load off of the lowerback and hamstrings and shifts it to the quads and glutes. Atleast it does based on the technique I use in the lift.
If you look at the “Westside: Then and Now” article on elitefts.com, Dave Tate mentions that they ditched the trap bar deadlifts a while back. He goes on to mention in his training log I believe, that his trap bar deadlift went up 100 and something pounds, but his conventional deadlift stayed the same.[/quote]
You raise some very good points, I can see why a trapbar might not be the best option for some powerlifters.
I think it’s a great hypertrophy tool for recreational bodybuilders. I am finding it very good for building mass on my quads and upperback.
[quote]bulletproof_ wrote:
Perhaps Al Gerard was just able to maintain his deadlift strength using the trap bar. I honestly don’t understand how anyone could build their conventional deadlift using a trap bar.
I have personally found the carryover to be terrible. The trapbar deadlift involves much less anterior pelvic tilt which shifts the load off of the lowerback and hamstrings and shifts it to the quads and glutes. Atleast it does based on the technique I use in the lift.
If you look at the “Westside: Then and Now” article on elitefts.com, Dave Tate mentions that they ditched the trap bar deadlifts a while back. He goes on to mention in his training log I believe, that his trap bar deadlift went up 100 and something pounds, but his conventional deadlift stayed the same.[/quote]
Al Gerard did two types of deadlift with the trap bar. Straight leg lifts for the hamstrings and lower back, bent leg for the quads and glutes. Maybe this is the reason for his success with it.
[quote]sharetrader wrote:
Al Gerard did two types of deadlift with the trap bar. Straight leg lifts for the hamstrings and lower back, bent leg for the quads and glutes. Maybe this is the reason for his success with it.[/quote]
[quote]bulletproof_ wrote:
Perhaps Al Gerard was just able to maintain his deadlift strength using the trap bar. I honestly don’t understand how anyone could build their conventional deadlift using a trap bar.
I have personally found the carryover to be terrible. The trapbar deadlift involves much less anterior pelvic tilt which shifts the load off of the lowerback and hamstrings and shifts it to the quads and glutes. Atleast it does based on the technique I use in the lift.
If you look at the “Westside: Then and Now” article on elitefts.com, Dave Tate mentions that they ditched the trap bar deadlifts a while back. He goes on to mention in his training log I believe, that his trap bar deadlift went up 100 and something pounds, but his conventional deadlift stayed the same.[/quote]
Good post. I feel the tbdl is more of a squat to me.
[quote]greekdawg wrote:
bulletproof_ wrote:
Perhaps Al Gerard was just able to maintain his deadlift strength using the trap bar. I honestly don’t understand how anyone could build their conventional deadlift using a trap bar.
I have personally found the carryover to be terrible. The trapbar deadlift involves much less anterior pelvic tilt which shifts the load off of the lowerback and hamstrings and shifts it to the quads and glutes. Atleast it does based on the technique I use in the lift.
If you look at the “Westside: Then and Now” article on elitefts.com, Dave Tate mentions that they ditched the trap bar deadlifts a while back. He goes on to mention in his training log I believe, that his trap bar deadlift went up 100 and something pounds, but his conventional deadlift stayed the same.
Good post. I feel the tbdl is more of a squat to me.[/quote]
Interesting point. I agree about the tbdl being more towards the squat in terms of its mechanics. However, Westside generally and Dave Tate in particular have stated that doing the deadlift regularly is not necessary for improving it - improving your squat will also bring up your deadlift. So why wouldn’t this also apply to the trap bar deadlift?
[quote]sharetrader wrote:
However, Westside generally and Dave Tate in particular have stated that doing the deadlift regularly is not necessary for improving it - improving your squat will also bring up your deadlift. So why wouldn’t this also apply to the trap bar deadlift?[/quote]
Great point!. See if Dave Tate can get out of this one.
[quote]FSTYLE1 wrote:
sharetrader wrote:
However, Westside generally and Dave Tate in particular have stated that doing the deadlift regularly is not necessary for improving it - improving your squat will also bring up your deadlift. So why wouldn’t this also apply to the trap bar deadlift?
Great point!. See if Dave Tate can get out of this one.
[/quote]
I am not DT but I think he was referring to squatting in general and esp box squats. I know all of the WS guys are very big on box squats which do in fact work your lower back and you can use a ton of weight which would get your lower back much stronger.
To me, I just don’t feel the tbdl working the lower back muscles at all. Mostly quads and hips.
Wow. I’d never seen a Trap-Bar like that. The ones at my gym only hold 2 20kgs and a 10kg on each side. That big one must weigh over 100 pounds.
Punch me in the face if I’m wrong, but isn’t a big part of deadlift form the act of moving your pelvis forward so you become a fulcrum to lift the weight? How does this effect the trap bar deadlift? It seems like the trap bar deadlift is half deadlift and half hack squat.
[quote]FightingScott wrote:
Wow. I’d never seen a Trap-Bar like that. The ones at my gym only hold 2 20kgs and a 10kg on each side. That big one must weigh over 100 pounds.
Punch me in the face if I’m wrong, but isn’t a big part of deadlift form the act of moving your pelvis forward so you become a fulcrum to lift the weight? How does this effect the trap bar deadlift? It seems like the trap bar deadlift is half deadlift and half hack squat.[/quote]
yes. this was my point earlier. trap bar takes the tilt out of the equation because the set up keeps your back more erect at the start thus requiring more hips and quads to get the bar off the floor and little lower back. trap bar is a decent exercise but its not a replacement for the real deadlift.