I am a big fan of traditional compound exercises.
If you want to get strong and fit then you only need a barbell and weights to transform your body.
The deadlift is probably my favorite of them all.
There is something primal about picking something up from the ground and nothing make me feel better than cranking out a few sets of deadlifts.
Unfortunately, I have picked up some lower back injuries through playing rugby, doing JiuJitsu and other physical activities.
This has made the traditional deadlift harder for me to execute.
I have been feeling a lot of discomfort and pain when doing deadlifts.
In fact, it has become so bad that I thought about giving up the deadlift to let my lower back recover.
One day I saw a trap deadlift being performed at a gym in London and I thought that looks interesting.
For some reason, the trap bar deadlift is not available at many gyms.
Or at least in my experience its, not something, I see in every gym or maybe I just didn't notice it.
So I gave it a shot. I started off with a low weight and remarkably my back felt fine and I was pain-free.
The amount of pressure on the lower back was a lot less and I was able to increase my lifting weight in a short amount of time.
Sure good form and technique are still important.
But the strain on the lower back was a big difference.
Yea I get it, maybe the traditional deadlift is perceived as the best.
However, if you have a choice between not doing deadlifts and doing trap bar deadlifts then the choice is easy.
Is there a big difference between the types of muscles that the trap deadlift works?
Surprisingly the answer is no.
The main muscles that are targeted are the same in all forms of the deadlift.
This goes for the traditional deadlift, sumo deadlift, and the trap bar deadlift.
Yes, some variations will work certain muscles a bit more than others but in general, they are the same.
For example with the trap bar deadlift, the quadriceps will be worked more compared with the traditional deadlift.
Like mentioned before the biggest difference between the deadlifts types is that the trap bar deadlift places a lot less pressure on the lower back.
Recent studies show that there is 10% more pressure on the lower back when performing the traditional deadlift.
The study also shows 8% more force on the lumbar spine(lower back where spine curves inward)compared the other forms of the deadlift.
The best part of my research into the trap bar deadlift is that 3 recent studies have given it the green light for athletic development.
These studies found that the trap bar deadlift is the best version if you want to develop high-velocity strength and explosive power.
So if you have been struggling with lower back injuries like me or just want to mix up your training more then try out the trap bar deadlift.
For me the results have been great and more importantly, I'm back doing deadlifts.
