trap/hex bar for home gym?

curlsintherack

over the last few months I've had some lower back issues that have been aggravated by deadlifts. I've been reading about how hex or trap bar deadlifts take the pressure off your lower back and allow people to deadlift. What are your thoughts?

CarlydogsMom

Bookmarking to read input from some of the folks more experienced than I am. First, I think the recommendation would be to ensure you are not doing any sort of move that's going to further injury to your back (see your doctor, etc). That being said, I have lower back issues and have found I'm a bit more confident using the trap bar over regular deads, it seems like there's just a lowered risk of doing something stupid. I used to have a trainer and he'd watch my form so closely doing regular deads that I was more comfortable doing them; but since I've stopped using a trainer, I have moved to hex bar deads and rack pulls. I'm also almost 55 and not seeking these huge gains, I just want to maintain some level of strength and form. Your goals may be different, so I am interested in hearing more input from others.

jjpptt2

I do a lot of trap bar work for that very reason. Depending on your technique, you can make the movement very squat-like, taking much of the strain off the lower back, or you can make it very DL-ish, keeping much of the emphasis on your posterior chain.

But as with most lifts, how beneficial they are will depending on your effort/technique, not on the actual lift itself.

Shawshankcan

What's the back issue coming from?

Lizarking

I used a Rogue one. It worked a trick to get the pressure off my low back.
Then I paid an actual strength coach (not a personal trainer) to teach me to deadlift, and now I can do conventional deadlifts no problem.

tl;dr are you sure it's not a form problem?

sgt1372

I've got 2 of them. One is a cheaper, smaller raised grip version you see everywhere and the other is a huge, heavy and almost 8 ft wide low grip only version made by Rogue. After some experimentation, I no longer use them and just do traditional straight bar deadlifts.

If you've got back issues, the raised grip version feels better because it reduces the depth of bend at the hips at the start and angle of address of the back and makes the lift a squat/deadlift hybrid. The neutral hand position and centered weight relative to body position can also be perceived as better than using a traditional straight bar.

Using the low bar version (which can also be done on the raised grip) is NO different than doing a straight bar deadlift in terms of the depth of the hips at the start of the lift and the angle of the back. However, as with the raised grip version, the neutral hand position and the centered position of the weight relative to the body also is arguably better than the front loaded weight of a traditional straight bar deadlift.

FWIW, the reason the raised grip tar bar feels "easier" is that it is NO longer a full deadlift and if you are using one you are not getting the full benefits of doing a full deadlift. This is one of the reasons why I decided to just go back to doing straight bar deadlifts instead.

Of course, if you have a back injury or other disability, then your only choice may be to use a raised grip trap bar. So be it. Just be aware that there are compromises inherent in this choice that may limit your muscle development and training.

curlsintherack

I pulled a muscle along my lower spine at the end of last year that I thought I had completely rehabed and I just pulled it again last week. I have been very careful of my form and making sure everything is right and tight since the initial injury. I'm hoping not to make it a life long issue and plan on working back to deadlifts with a traditional bar after a few months. This time around isn't nearly as bad a the first but its still very concerning.

sgt1372

PS: One of the things that I really like using the raised grip trap bar for are Farmer's Walks. Much more compact and easier to do them w/this bar than with the separate Rogue Farmer's Walk handles that I also have.

You just can't load as much weight on the raised grip trap bar than you can on the handles. You can load more weight onto low grip Rogue trap bar (which was how it was designed) but it's not practical to use it for Farmer's Walks because it is so wide.

If you walk down a sidewalk with the bar fully loaded and can't walk completely straight, you'd probably sideswipe every car parked along the way. LOL!

Shawshankcan

sgt1372 wrote: »

PS: One of the things that I really like using the raised grip trap bar for are Farmer's Walks. Much more compact and easier to do them w/this bar than with the separate Rogue Farmer's Walk handles that I also have.

You just can't load as much weight on the raised grip trap bar than you can on the handles. You can load more weight onto low grip Rogue trap bar (which was how it was designed) but it's not practical to use it for Farmer's Walks because it is so wide.

If you walk down a sidewalk with the bar fully loaded and can't walk completely straight, you'd probably sideswipe every car parked along the way. LOL!

That's not a farmers walk, more of a frame carry. And when you use the actual farmers handles, you get a better workout from it.

sgt1372

Shawshankcan wrote: »

That's not a farmers walk, more of a frame carry. And when you use the actual farmers handles, you get a better workout from it.

True. It's a compromise like using the trap bar instead of a straight bar for deadlifts. Using the separate handles is "better" in that it requires more strength and control to walk with them than with just the trap bar but, like doing deadlifts w/the trap bar, it is easier and more comfortable to do the "walk" with the trap bar than w/the handles but your overall muscular development and training will be compromised to a certain degree as a result.