For the past three weeks I have been experiencing some lower back stiffness and soreness. I attribute this pain to shitty form three weeks ago on deads. I skipped last weeks deadlifting session but I dont want to take too much time away from them.
I was wondering if substituting the trap bar would be equivalent in terms of getting the erectors involved in the lift. I seem to maintain excellent form with the trap bar whereas using the barbell I tend to get sloppy as I get tired.
I went to the chiropractor on Saturday and he said there wasn’t anything apparently wrong but my back was locking up probably due to being over-stressed. I could take more time off too; I guess…
This is a great question and hope it’s addressed by someone w/ a more physiology/kineseology knowledge than me. I suffer quite a bit in the lower back doing BB deads, but trap bar deads do tend to feel more like a hack squat than a deadlift to me.
The trap bar deads definitely don’t require as much erector static strength. I flex my knees a great deal further in trap bar deads. To me a trap bar deadlift is a concentric squat with the bar in your hands.
First I must say value your back/spine like you value your heart/brain/penis. Don’t be afraid to take some time off. Let your back heal!
Second I don’t know why more gyms don’t have trap bars and why more people don’t use them. Trap bars are excellent for leg and back/glute development. Depending on the structure of your body, if done properly, deads done with a trap bar gives you better alignment patterns. Give us some more feedback and details so we can advise better. Do you stretch? Do you stretch your hip flexors? Tight hip flexors can cause low back over-activation and pain.
If you are a competitive powerlifter then obviously the barbell would be better.
However, if you are just doing the exercise for overall strength/muscle development, then definitely use the trap bar if it allows you to perform the exercise using better form and with less back problems.
Personally, I like the trap bar. I think that it allows you get into a more natural position to lift the weight while maintaining the lumbar lordosis. Maintaining this curve is vital to avoiding disc injury. I think a lot of people injure their backs with deadlifts because they end up rounded their backs or losing the curve from the bottom to mid-portion of the lift, especially as they fatigue. I find that it is easier to sit back and maintain the curve with the trap bar.
Training longevity is the key to longterm success. Therefore if you are able to perform deadlifts with the trap bar without developing injuries, then it will give you much better results than having to stop doing deadlifts because you have injured your back performing conventional deadlifts.
Eric Cressey wrote an article breaking down the deadlift and offering suggestions for correcting different faults/weaknesses. You may want to read that article as well.
I plan to take a couple weeks off,
learn how to properly warm up, and start stretching consistently. I will be using the trap bar more than the BB for heavy work but I also plan on perfecting my form with the BB using light weights. I will probably have my wife videotape some deadlifting sessions so I can see where I am failing to maintain form.
I’ve always figured that DL’s like Oly Lifts are very technique intensive and therefore should be done for fewer reps (1-6) than other exercises - to avoid sloppy technique as the smaller muscle groups tire.