A
trap
bar is another one of the better pieces of weight lifting
equipment available. This is not a required piece of equipment, but it
does allow you to do several compound exercises that are great muscle
builders!
As an example, I use this weight bar for stiff legged deadlifts because
I feel my hamstrings so much better with this exercise than other
versions of the stiff legged deadlift. You can see my doing stiff
legged deadlifts with the bar in the image above.
Mos people know this bar as only a weight bar that you can do shrugs
with. Many people call this a shrug bar and have no idea the variety of
exercises you can do with this bar.
What is a Trap Bar?
A trap bar is simply a weight bar in a hexagonal
shape
that you can stand inside with parallel handles at your sides. I prefer
to use this weight bar with the raised handles on the bottom side
so the bar sits lower to the
ground for better range of motion on deadlifts and stiff legged
deadlifts.
With the raised handles on the bottom side, you can get better depth on
your exercises! You can also
load the bar with smaller weights like 25's and 10's if you want an
even larger range of motion at the bottom of the exercise. Here's a
picture of a bar without raised handles:
All you have to do is turn the bar over if your
weight bar has raised handles. This will give you a bar without the
offset handles and a greater range of motion on certain exercises!
The bar is designed for working your traps by
doing shrugs with heavy weight. This special bar puts your arms at your
sides for shrugs instead of in front or behind you with a regular
barbell. I've found that you can do much more weight for shrugs with
the handles at your sides instead of gripping a barbell from the front
or rear.
Many people will and should argue that you can simply use dumbbells at
your sides to get the same effect. There's something about using a shrug
bar that allows you to use much heavier weight. Sometimes it's tough to
find large enough dumbbells for shrugs at your side.
Exercises to Use with Your New Shrug Bar!
One of the best exercises you can do with this bar
is a deadlift. It's a mix between a barbell squat and a regular barbell
deadlift from the floor. It's a great exercise and comparable to the
two best exercises out there: the squat and the deadlift! This exercise
is called a trap bar deadlift. Many serious weight
lifters abbreviate it as TBDL.
Many weight lifters
choose a TBDL over a squat because the pressure is taken
off the spine. Many people have trouble supporting weight that is
sitting on their shoulders. The weight is held around hip height and is
held in your hands and not on your upper back.
For those people that have back problems and can't support heavy weight
on their shoulders, I recommend either TBDL or hip belt squats. Heavy weight does not have to be
supported by your back and shoulders in both of these exercises!
In order to do deadlifts with
this bar, you have to have the bar! This form of the deadlift gets your
quads involved more than a regular barbell deadlift. You'll be able to
feel the difference! I also suggest that people with weaknesses in
thier quads use this exercise for their back to get some extra work for the legs.
Like I've already mentioned, you can also use this
bar for stiff legged deadlifts and shrugs. You can also do romanian
deadlfits. I'm sure there are other
weight lifting exercises you can do, but I've never experimented with
any others.
If you've got the extra money, I highly recommend a trap bar!
 |
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about Weight Training Equipment at the Main Equipment Section of the
Website:
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