Is The Trap Bar Deadlift Better Than The Conventional Deadlift?

Conventional deadlifts have long been hailed as the “king” of exercises.

trap bar deadlift vs conventional deadlift

You wanna be bigger? Deadlifts.
You wanna get stronger? Deadlifts.
You wanna have Rambo-sized traps? Deadlifts.

However, new data suggests there might be a serious challenger to the throne.

A team of Scottish researchers recently published a study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research which indicates that trap bar deadlifts (yep, the hex-shaped bar collecting dust in most gyms) might be superior to conventional deadlifts with regards to gaining strength. (1)

What’s The Difference?

The easiest way to tell you is to show you:

As you can see, there are a few subtle differences between the two lifts.

The first is your hand position.

By taking a neutral-grip the trap bar deadlift puts your forearms (by far the weakest muscle in the chain) in the strongest possible position, which should help you pack a little more weight onto the bar.

Also, you’ll notice that you’re actually “inside the bar” on the trap bar deadlift. This centres the load across your whole body, which places significantly less stress on the lower back (the second weakest muscle in the the chain) and enables you to generate greater force by prioritising the quadriceps (the strongest muscles in the chain).

What Did The Study Discover?

A team of researchers from Aberdeen, Scotland, recently suggested that the trap bar deadlift might be a better strength-builder than the conventional deadlift.

Controversial, I know!

In this study they had 19 male trainees (all powerlifters) hitting multiple sets of each deadlift variation as they charted the muscle activity and strength gains.

Surprisingly, those who did trap bar deadlifts saw a 10% improvement in max strength versus those who did conventional deadlifts. The researchers put this down to the fact that the trap bar places less stress on the lower back and replaces that with increased involvement of the quadriceps, a much more powerful muscle group. (1)

Interestingly, these findings were later re-confirmed in further research from California State University, Fullerton.

This time around, the researchers measured the muscle activity of the quadriceps (biceps femoris and vastus lateralis) and lower back (erector spinae) while trainees performed sets of trap bar deadlifts and conventional deadlifts. They found that using the trap bar created more force, more power, and more velocity! (2)

So Are Conventional Deadlifts, Err, Dead?

No chance!

Yes, this research highlights the benefits of trap bar deadlift and shows us that it can be a great exercise for athletes looking to boost their explosive strength, but that doesn’t mean traditional deadlifts are no longer useful.

In some ways it would be like replacing barbell squats with box squats.

A box squat enables you to lift heavier and generate more force, but it does so by eliminating many of the weaker muscles involced in the traditional version of the lift. (3)

Likewise, the researchers in both of these studies on deadlifts acknowledged that the main reason we can generally lift more on the trap bar is because it reduces the involvement of muscles which most people consider “weak points”, e.g. the lower back.

In the long-term we really want to be strengthening those muscles, not avoiding them, right?

So that’s why – even though you won’t be able to lift as heavy – conventional deadlifts are still awesome.

You’ll see the best results by working both variations into your program. I like to switch them every couple of months.