Deadlifts are one of the best exercises you can do for building strength that translates to daily life. Because it trains the hip-hinge movement pattern, it’s essential for maintaining the ability to do tasks like picking up groceries, lifting luggage, and safely lifting heavy objects off the floor. Deadlifts also build full-body strength, working the glutes, hamstrings, quads, back, and core all at once. Nevertheless, traditional barbell deadlifts can become more challenging for many middle-aged men as mobility and joint comfort change with age. But that’s where the trap bar deadlift comes in. By positioning the weight around your body rather than in front of you, the trap bar allows you to maintain a more upright torso, putting less stress on the lower back compared with a traditional deadlift.
“Don’t lift the bar—instead, think about pushing the floor away from you,” says Ashley Katzenback, PT, DPT, of Cape Concierge Physical Therapy. “The key to any deadlift, but particularly trap bar deadlifts, is to make sure your legs are pushing, instead of your back pulling or lifting. As you prepare to lift the weight off the floor, exhale and then push your feet into the ground as if to move it away from you, and it will feel easy to bring the weight up. Also, pull your shoulder blades down and back, so you aren’t tempted to ‘lift’ with your upper body.”
Here’s how to execute the trap bar deadlift properly.
Related: This One-Sided Deadlift Variation Challenges Your Core in a Completely Different Way
How to Do Trap Bar Deadlifts
- Stand in the center of the trap bar with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hinge at your hips and bend your knees to grip the handles on either side of you.
- Keep your back flat, chest up, and shoulders pulled back. Brace your core and keep your weight balanced across your feet.
- Push through your feet and extend your hips and knees to stand tall, keeping your arms straight and the bar close to your body.
- Push your hips back and bend your knees to lower the bar to the floor. Reset your position before starting the next rep.
Why You Should Trust Me
I’m a health and fitness writer for Men’s Journal and an ACE-certified personal trainer with more than five years of experience training clients and coaching various group fitness modalities, from HIIT to indoor cycling.
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Experts
- Ashley Katzenback, PT, DPT, of Cape Concierge Physical Therapy
