Benefits of a Trap Bar

The unique benefit of a trap bar, also known as a hex bar, is the hexagonal shape of the bar, which eliminates contact with your body whilst lifting weight. This has a variety of functional applications, for instance, jump training, heavy-high speed training, reducing spinal loading, simplifying technique or even single leg strength.

The Mirafit 2" Trap Bars come in matt black and silver. Weighing in at 25kg and with a weight capacity of 300kg, the world really is your oyster with a hex bar.

Oh, did I mention they also come with free a pair of free spring collars to secure your weights? Well, they do.

Top Three Trap Bar Exercises

1 - Staggered Trap Bar Deadlift

• Assume a staggered stance, also known as a B-stance, inside the middle of the trap bar; stood upright with one foot cocked back behind the other, bent at the knee and resting on the balls of your feet.

• Make sure both knees are in line with each other and under your hips.

• Hinge down to the bar and grab the middle of the handles, in line with the middle of your front foot.

• Take a deep breath and brace.

• Push the floor away to stand up, before slowly reversing the movement to lower it back down.

Benefits of the Staggered Trap Bar Deadlift

Unilateral training is great, it isolates one leg and works on stability at multiple structures. However, it limits how much you can lift, because of the lesser stability than bilateral exercises.

The B-stance is a nice way to bridge the gap between movements like the single leg deadlift and the traditional deadlift, by biasing one leg, while also having the other leg for stability to increase the amount you can lift. Add it to your training, alongside single leg deadlifts and traditional deadlifts to build a holistic training programme.

2 - Trap Bar Jump Squat

• Stand in the middle of the Trap Bar, with 10-20% of your back squat 1 repetition maximum to start.

• Squat down to the bar and grab hold of the centre of the handles.

• Take a deep breath and brace.

• Jump as high as possible, thinking about ‘getting your head to the roof.’

• Absorb the landing, stand back up and regroup, before lowering back to your start position and repeating.

Benefits of Trap Bar Jump Squats

Many will know that power is an essential competent of performance and day to day function, especially as we age. Producing heavy ballistic movements, those which do not slow down towards the end of the concentric phase (e.g. ones where you leave the floor), is an essential part of this.

Usually this is done with Olympic lifting movements, like cleans or snatches. These can be difficult and time consuming to learn and thus favour athletes. Power is not just for athletes so grab yourself a trap bar and get jumping.

3 - Trap Bar Farmers Walk

• Load up the hex bar to 30-50% (as a start point) of your deadlift 1 repetition maximum.

• Stand tall with the hex bar in your hands and your shoulders back and down.

• Walk 10-20 metres (as a start point) with the trap bar, like you’re carrying bags of groceries.

• Focus on keeping you shoulders level and breathing throughout.

• Rest and repeat.

Benefits of Trap Bar Farmers Walk

The farmers walk exercise is well established as a great exercise for general physical strength, grip strength and even aerobic conditioning in a METCON or WOD. However, most will hit a point where they have maxed out the dumbbells or kettlebells in their gym, either because it gets too awkward to carry or because they don’t go heavy enough.

When this happens, switch to a trap bar and continue to progressively overload your farmer walks.  This is a fantastic exercise for gym newbies who are still learning the technique for the bigger lifts because the farmer walk is a simple movement.

Pick up a Mirafit Trap Bar and add these trap bar exercises to your training to enhance your routine and become an all-round athlete!

Check out our guide to learn more about the trap bar deadlift.

Written by guest author Ewan Hammond.

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Tags: Equipment > Bars & Weight Plates ; Exercise Type > Strength ; Misc > Workout