7 Trap Bar Deadlift Variations For Power & Strength Development

Is Barbell Deadlifting Inherently Dangerous?

I’ll be the first to say that “absolutes” are not a wise idea in the world of fitness or strength and conditioning. That being known, if I had to choose one exercise that is worthy to be considered the foundation for every other exercise it would be the deadlift, and by a landslide.

This fact applies to everyone from a 10-year old to those entering their 10th decade. No matter if your goals are centered on just functioning better in daily life, performance, or purely on building your physique, you will be better by mastering the loaded hip hinge. And, when it comes to athletic preparation, the deadlift pattern will serve to reveal potential problems, help correct those impairments, and develop the foundation that most every athletic attribute is built on.

That’s a lot of value to be placed onto a single exercise, especially considering how many different exercises will be included in a total training program. Yet, this invaluable exercise can also be considered the “double-edged sword” of training. If you asked 100 people, who are at least familiar with strength training, which exercise is the most likely to cause an injury (or the one they typically avoid), you likely hear “the deadlift” 75% of the time.

The key to the “absolute” statement in the opening paragraph about the value of the deadlift is in clarifying that it’s an exercise not limited to the traditional tool of choice, the conventional barbell.

Barbell Bondage

With over 33 years experience as a performance strength coach, I will not be the one to condemn the barbell. The fact that its lifespan began in the 19th century deserves respect. However, even in individuals with optimal health of the spine, joints, and connective tissues, there can be contraindications with certain barbell exercises.

The primary reason the barbell is considered the standard in strength training is due to its availability, loading capacity, relative simplicity, AND tradition. However, an individual’s personal arthrology does not give a rat’s ass about these factors.

In addition to the anthrological element, add the fact that most people are dealing with certain “developed” impairments via muscular weakness, postural deficiencies, previous or existing injuries, all in addition to living in a culture that often requires being in prolonged postural positions counter to lifting anything from the floor. That being true, it becomes more clear that being ‘bound by the barbell’ due to the aforementioned reasons should not make sense to anyone outside of a competitive powerlifter or olympic lifter.

Principles of Movement, Not The Tools You Move

With any exercise, first consider the movement pattern and understand the optimal mechanical process of the exercise. Only then do you consider loading the exercise. The tool you choose to load the exercise must be subordinate to optimal mechanics, rather than something that changes the mechanics.

For instance, in the bench press you are wise to first understand and own a proper push-up. From there you are better equipped to lie on a bench and optimally handle a substantial load in the horizontal push. And, you may find that the conventional barbell restricts you in a way that does not allow for optimal shoulder function. There is no benefit in either being hardheaded or in completely forgoing the exercise. You simply look at the other tools available, such as dumbbells, and go for a solution that permits the movement pattern to be loaded with minimal, if any, impairment.

The barbell squat is a similar situation that has a few high quality alternatives, and outright substitutes, to serve you when there’s a mechanical issue with the bar. There’s a difference in “good technique” and contraindication due to one’s intrinsic mechanics. There are certainly individuals who need their technique assessed, corrected, and coached. However, there will be times that even with optimal technique there’s mechanical contraindication for an individual. Consistent joint pain either during or after a training session reveals an issue to acknowledge.

The deadlift, with its aforementioned classification as foundational, is an even more imperative exercise to find a way to load the movement pattern without pain or significant compensation. I say significant due to the fact that there is no such thing as 100% perfect technique. The point is, you want a loading option that does not create an injurious environment that can be discerned rep by rep. Common sense yes, but an issue that frequently gets ignored in the name of training legalism, which the barbell is “prime minister”.

The Risk-Reward Ratio of Barbell Deadlifting

All considered, outside competitive lifting, the barbell is usually not a preferred selection to load the deadlift, especially when taking it from the floor. The mobility required to get to the bar with mechanical integrity, and lift rep by rep, is beyond a healthy range for many people regardless of the multitude of mobility drills they may perform. As well, the grip on the straight bar– matched or mixed– is not as “friendly” as a neutral grip.

Where I observe the most common issues with the barbell is in high school and collegiate weight rooms. Due to logistics (and maybe lack of knowledge how to teach alternatives), the barbell is the most common implement of loading the body in those weight rooms.

With this being the reality, those young athletes must learn how to use a barbell to the “safest” degree that their inherent anthrology permits. The barbell will be used not only in the deadlift but also Olympic lift variations from the floor.

One manner of resolving this is setting up the bar in a power rack to shorten the bottom-end range of motion (ROM) that can be a modification that works well when other options are not available (and even when they may be). Also, the RDL (Romanian Deadlift) is a highly effective variation of the loaded hip hinge without having to take the bar from the floor. But, the RDL emphasizes the eccentric phase of the lift and takes away the ‘dead start’ component of the conventional deadlift.

The barbell is an obvious reality in the sports of Powerlifting and Olympic Lifting. There’s no denying that in order to become proficient as a competitor in either of those sports, you must master the barbell. Still, other loading variations can be a major benefit in a competitive lifter’s overall program.

Solutions To Training Without The Barbell

I have found the kettlebell (KB) to be the best “teaching tool” for a loaded hip hinge. By using a progressively heavier KB as an entry- level progression, I observe a quicker “ownership” of the deadlift mechanics than when that step is skipped. The design of the KB allow the loading to begin between the feet in ideal concert with the movement pattern’s axis of rotation and teach the glutes to be prime movers rather than the lumbar spine.

Once the KB deadlift has been mastered, the Trap Bar is my preferred tool of choice in progressing the deadlift and hip hinge pattern. Where the KB hits a ceiling in regards to loading, the Trap Bar picks right up. And, technically speaking, the Trap Bar variation takes full advantage of mastering the KB adaptation.

As with the standard barbell, you can modify the ROM of the Trap Bar deadlift by using blocks or low boxes. And, many of the newer Trap Bars are designed to work out of a power rack, which is an ideal environment to execute the lift.

And, as with the barbell, the Trap Bar works very well with accommodating resistance in the form of chains or resistance bands. This accommodating resistance not only benefits performance but also lends itself a better loading curve for those with orthopedic contraindications. Yes, barbell variations with chains and bands work well, but the benefits of this modality with the Trap Bar are even greater due to the distinctive design of the tool.

Smart Strength Applications For The Trap Bar

No matter the training objectives or goals, implementing the Trap Bar into a training program offers several highly effective options that can make up the true foundation of lower body training without ever touching a barbell.

At McConnell Athletics, I include the Trap Bar in nearly every program, no matter if onsite or online programs. Beyond the initial phase I addressed earlier where I use a kettlebell to teach loading of optimal hip hinge mechanics, the Trap Bar will be used in programs of general fitness, physique development, and athletic preparation.

The Trap Bar is a great tool to teach youth athletes optimal loaded hip hinge technique that will carry over to their forthcoming work in a high school weight room with a conventional barbell. As well, older trainees will find that the Trap Bar allows them to train the posterior chain in a way that adds life to the years. I’ve got a client nearing 90 who thrives with the Trap Bar deadlift yet cannot imagine performing a deadlift with a straight bar.

For all of my professional athletes, who’s livelihood depends on their remaining healthy, the only straight bar deadlifts we will perform are Glute Ham Deadlifts (aka RDL) and a modified stance deadlift from the floor where the feet are wider and elbows are between the feet.

A good starting point for anyone to get familiar with the Trap Bar is a load of 65-85lbs. The rackable Trap Bars are heavier than the original Trap Bars so it’s best to start out of the rack with those. If bumper plates are not available for the original Trap Bars, I advise that blocks or aerobic steps be used to elevate the start of the ROM.

One point that must be emphasized regarding the Trap Bar is the tendency to hyperextend at the lumbar spine at the top of each rep. Unlike a conventional bar, the design of the Trap Bar permits the hips to drive all the way through. This is one issue that I am very attentive to. I teach, and cue, firing the glutes via a slight posterior tilt of the pelvis at the top, which will act as “a brake” at the top of the ROM.

With consistent application, this cue will become a natural occurrence.

Training The Deadlift & Squat With The Trap Bar

Below is a list of the primary Trap Bar applications you can implement into a training program.

The Basic Trap Bar Deadlift

Trap Bar Rack RDL

Split-Stance Trap Bar Deadlift

The Trap Bar Squat

Trap Bar Deadlift Jump

*With a much lower load (appx 25-35% 1RM), set up as in deadlift. Explode through floor, absorb landing, RESET before next rep.

Trap Bar Squat Jump

*Set up the same as in Deadlift Jump, and execution is similar other than the plates do not touch floor between reps. You go right into next rep upon absorbing landing.

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