Hex Bar vs Barbell Deadlift
If you go into any fitness facility or local gym, you’ll likely see the absence of deadlifting, and some gyms may even “ban” the ability to deadlift or drop heavy weights. As a society we’ve literally gotten soft when it comes to hard work, sweat, and putting in effort. You could say that lifting heavy has become a lost art. Many new trainees are unaware of many of the foundational movement patterns that help not only aid performance improvement, but weight loss and body composition results and see their lives outside of the gym improve because of the work they put in the gym.
How has a basic movement like the deadlift seemed to disappear from gyms across the country? The simple answer is fear of injury and/or poor implementation and execution. Many trainers, coaches, and trainees just truly don’t know how to deadlift or deadlift well to optimize leverages and performance. Add this with gyms just advertising they don’t do “heavy lifting”, and you can see how the deadlift gets so much hate. Let’s fix that.
The History Of The Hex/Trap Bar
The Hex Bar (or more commonly called Trap Bar), has been very misunderstood in the fitness and strength and conditioning industry. It was invented by Al Gerard, a competitive powerlifter, that had just banged his body up from competing and training at a high level. He wanted a way to get the benefits of deadlifting but without a straight bar so that it could be more lower back friendly. After months of using his invention, his squat and deadlift numbers continued to improve while his back health seemed to improve as well.
Since Al invented and used this barbell to help his training, it’s really been a bar that’s been demonized or harder to come by in your traditional big box gyms. Go into any real strength and conditioning facility or gym and you’ll find plenty of them, as those facilities know the value that the bar can bring to all types of trainees.
Issues With The Traditional Barbell Deadlift
It’s no question that the biggest issue with the barbell deadlift is the extreme forces that can go through the lower back as you lift the weight from the floor. If you look at the setup of the exercise, it’s clear that the barbell and load is in front of the body (center of mass), which makes it a less than optimal moment arm from a physics perspective. This leaves it incredibly difficult to optimize your trunk and midsection to stabilize your “core” as you try to lift the weight off the floor. This makes the axis of rotation to be further away from the barbell/load, which can cause the lower back to have to “do more work” to keep position. This can cause more shear forces in the lower back, and thus affecting things like discs, ligaments, and muscular tissue if you have faulty movement patterns, which could put you at a higher risk of injury.
What Are The Advantages Of The Hex/Trap Bar?
If you’re not looking to compete in powerlifting, the Hex Bar seems like a no-brainer option for trainees, athletes, and clients. If you’re a competitive powerlifter, I do still think the Hex Bar could be a valuable tool in your tool box. However, if you’re just trying to get the benefits of the deadlift with decreased injury risk, here’s what you need to know:
- Decreased shear forces in lower back/lumbar spine
- Ability to increase loads lifted due to increased leverages
- Easier to keep shoulders over hips and optimize position – aka less upper back rounding
- Decreased learning curve and easier for athletes and clients to “set up and go”
- A mix between and squat and deadlift variation
Programming Considerations
The Hex Bar can be used for just about any population and training goal. It will all come down to how you plan to implement it within your training program. It can be used to help develop strength, speed, power, improved movement patterns, and assist building the barbell deadlift variations if you so desire. Here’s how to use it for specific goals:
- Main Strength/Power Exercise: Perform for 3-5 sets of 3-8 reps. Rest 60 to 120 seconds. This would ideally be your main movement for the day.
- Supplemental/Secondary or Hypertrophy: 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps. Rest 60 to 90 seconds. This would come after your squat or other deadlift variation you’ve performed for the day.
- Speed/Power For Athletic Performance: 3-8 sets of 1-5 reps. Rest 20-45 seconds. This could be anywhere from first to third in your training program. However, the goal is speed and intent of the movement. This builds off the dynamic effort method from Louie Simmons and Westside Barbell. Weights should be ~60-80% of 1RM and performed as explosively as possible.
Take Home Points
The hex bar deadlift is a great mix between squatting and deadlifting, while decreasing shear forces in the lower back and decreasing the learning curve of deadlifting. If you’re new to the deadlifting game, this is where I would start your journey. If you’re a seasoned vet, use this awesome piece of equipment to level up your training. In summary:
- Created by a banged up powerlifter so he could continue to deadlift pain free and continue to see progress
- Compared to the traditional barbell deadlift, the hex bar deadlift is a safe and effective option for those with worries about lower back injuries (or those with lower back injury history)
- Arguably one of the most versitile pieces of equipment in strength facilities. You can develop all qualities of lower body strength and performance with just one piece of equipment.
