The trap bar deadlift is the go-to deadlift variation for most of our athletes and adult clients at The Strength House who don’t compete in powerlifting. There’s nothing wrong with having non-powerlifters deadlift with a straight bar (and we’ll use them in the right situation), but we find the trap bar preferable for the bulk of our heavy lower body training for the following reasons:
1. More Variability in Starting Position
Because you stand inside the trap bar (instead of behind it like a straight bar), there’s more wiggle room for where your hips and knees can be at the start of the lift. You can start with your hips higher and shins vertical in a more RDL-like position, or drop your hips lower and bend your knees for a more squat-like position. It’s still a deadlift and hips still should still be above the knees, but this freedom to adjust your starting position lets you pick what starting position feels best to you.
2. Two Handle Heights = More ROM Options
Most of our lifters use the high handles, which slightly reduces the range of motion compared to a straight bar deadlift. This makes the starting position more lower-back friendly without sacrificing the effectiveness of the exercise. If you want to increase the ROM (for example, for shorter lifters), you simply flip the bar over and use the low handles.
3. Less Limited by Grip Strength
Because you hold the bar by your sides, your grip is less likely to fail during a trap bar deadlift. As you lose your grip on a straight bar deadlift, the bar tends to drift forward, away from your body. Your natural reaction is to keep the bar close to your center of mass, which usually results in rounding the lower back and puts you at greater injury risk. While it would be unwise to ignore a grip strength issue, trap bar deadlifts can work around it and let the lifter continue to train the deadlift effectively.
Are Trap Bar Deadlifts Really That Different?
I used to be against trap bar deadlifting for competitive powerlifters because I believed the mechanics were too far removed from conventional or sumo deadlifting to have significant carryover. I’ve softened my stance (no pun intended) over the years, starting after I read this article by Greg Nuckols.
Greg does a nice breakdown of the differences and similarities, but what really caught my eye is how similar the joint ranges of motion are between trap bar and conventional deadlifts when you actually measure them:
We can also look at joint ranges of motion. It varies a bit study-to-study and between various styles of the squat, but you tend to see about 100-120 degrees of both knee and hip flexion at the bottom of the squat, for roughly equal knee and hip ranges of motion. For the conventional deadlift, you tend to see ~100-110 degrees of hip flexion, and only about 50-60 degrees of knee flexion, for almost double the hip range of motion. And the trap bar deadlift? The joint ranges of motion for the knee and hip are, on average, within 2-6 degrees of what you see in the conventional deadlift.
I’m not gonna get bogged down over 2-6 degrees of range of motion. Yes, powerlifters still need specificity and should be training their competition-style deadlift first and foremost. But trap bar deadlifts are a solid option for off-season powerlifters, especially during a hypertrophy phase where we want more direct muscular stress on the legs.
A Deadlift is a Deadlift is a Deadlift
Good program design is about finding the exercise that fits the lifter or athlete and gives them the best chance for success. In the end, a deadlift is a deadlift is a deadlift. Do the variation that lets you train hard, beats you up the least and is the most enjoyable for you.
Over the years, we’ve found trap bar deadlifts are a great fit for most people. They’re also a viable option for off-season powerlifters to train the deadlift productively more often with less wear-and-tear.