Trap Bar Deadlift: How to Do It, Muscles Worked and Benefits

The trap bar deadlift, also called the hex bar deadlift, is a deadlift you perform standing inside a hexagonal frame rather than behind a straight bar. You grip two handles at your sides, which puts the weight in line with your body instead of in front of it. That single change makes the lift easier to learn, kinder to your lower back and, for most people, heavier. It is the deadlift variation strength coaches reach for when the goal is general strength and athleticism rather than a powerlifting total. Here is how to do it properly, what it works, and how it stacks up against the straight bar.

How to do a trap bar deadlift

You need a trap bar (hex bar) and enough plates to load it. Most UK trap bars have two sets of handles: raised handles on one side and low handles on the other. Beginners should start with the bar the high-handle side up.

1. Step inside the bar. Stand in the middle of the frame with your feet roughly hip-width apart, toes pointing forward or turned out very slightly. The handles should sit level with the middle of your feet.
2. Set your hips. Push your hips back and bend your knees until you can reach the handles. Your shins should be close to vertical or leaning forward a touch, your chest up and your back flat, not rounded.
3. Grip and take the slack out. Take a firm grip in the centre of each handle. Pull up gently until you feel the bar go tight against the plates. This kills the jerk that wrecks so many first reps.
4. Brace. Take a big breath into your belly, tighten your abs as if bracing for a punch, and pull your shoulder blades down and back so your lats engage.
5. Drive. Push your feet through the floor and stand up. Hips and shoulders should rise at the same rate. Keep the bar travelling straight up beside your legs.
6. Lock out. Finish tall with your hips fully extended and your glutes squeezed. Do not lean back or shrug at the top.
7. Lower under control. Push your hips back first, then bend your knees, and set the plates down without dropping them. Reset your brace before the next rep.

Muscles worked

The trap bar deadlift is a full-body pull with a strong leg bias.

• Glutes. Your glute max drives the hips from the bottom position through to lockout and is one of the prime movers throughout (systematic review of gluteus maximus activation).
• Hamstrings. They assist hip extension, particularly if you use the low handles and start from a deeper hip position.
• Quadriceps. This is the big difference versus a straight bar. Because you start with more knee bend and a more upright torso, your quads take a noticeably larger share of the work.
• Spinal erectors and core. The muscles running either side of your spine work isometrically to hold your back flat, while your abs brace against the load. The demand is real but lower than a conventional deadlift at the same weight.
• Traps, lats and rhomboids. Your upper back holds your shoulders in position and stops you rounding forward. Heavy sets are a genuine trap and upper back builder.
• Forearms and grip. Holding a heavy loaded bar for multiple reps is one of the best grip exercises going. If your grip fails before your legs do, lifting straps or a grip strengthener are worth a look.

Trap bar versus barbell deadlift

The most cited comparison of the two comes from a biomechanical analysis of straight and hexagonal barbell deadlifts, which found lifters moved heavier maximum loads with the hex bar and produced greater peak force, velocity and power, while the hexagonal design reduced the load on the lumbar spine, hips and ankles and increased the demand on the knees (Swinton et al., Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research).

In plain terms:

• Choose the trap bar for general strength, athletic power, back-friendly loading, and if you are new to deadlifting. It is easier to learn and harder to do badly.
• Choose the straight bar if you compete in powerlifting, want maximum posterior chain and lower back development, or you only own a standard barbell.

They are not rivals so much as different tools. Plenty of lifters run both, with the straight bar as the main lift and the trap bar as a heavier, lower-fatigue accessory.

High handles or low handles

Most trap bars sold in the UK are the raised-handle type, which you can flip either way.

• High handles raise the start position by around 10cm. That means a shorter range of motion, a more upright torso, more quad involvement and less demand on hip and hamstring mobility. Use these while learning, on heavy top sets, and if you are tall or have tight hamstrings.
• Low handles give a longer range and a deeper hip hinge, which loads the glutes and hamstrings harder. Use these once your technique is dialled in and you can reach the bar with a flat back.

If you are shopping for one, our best trap bar UK guide covers the open, closed and raised-handle designs and what to look for in a UK-friendly sleeve length.

Common mistakes

Hips shooting up first. If your hips rise before the bar leaves the floor, the lift turns into a stiff-legged pull and your lower back takes the hit. Fix it by pushing your feet through the floor and keeping your chest up as you initiate.

Rounding the upper back. A slight rounding under a very heavy load is not automatically catastrophic, but a soft, collapsing upper back on every rep is. Pull your shoulder blades down, squeeze your armpits and hold the position.

Jerking the bar. Ripping the weight off the floor with slack in the system spikes the load on your spine. Take the slack out first, then drive.

Standing too far forward or back in the frame. If the handles are not level with your mid-foot you will either tip forward or fall back. Look down before you grip and centre yourself.

Hyperextending at the top. Leaning back and squeezing your shoulder blades at lockout does nothing useful and compresses your lower back. Stand tall, squeeze your glutes, stop.

Going too heavy too fast. Trap bar numbers climb quickly because the lift is mechanically friendly, which tempts people into jumps their tendons are not ready for. Add weight gradually.

Variations

• Trap bar Romanian deadlift. Start from standing, push your hips back and lower the bar to mid-shin without touching the floor. A brilliant hamstring builder with far less lower back strain than the barbell version.
• Trap bar jump. Load lightly (around 20 to 30 per cent of your one rep max) and jump. This is one of the safest ways to train explosive power at home.
• Trap bar farmer's walk. Deadlift the bar and walk. Grip, core and traps get hammered. See our farmer's carry guide for technique.
• Deficit trap bar deadlift. Stand on a low platform or a couple of weight plates to extend the range and load the bottom position harder.
• Trap bar shrug. Deadlift to lockout and shrug from there. The handles at your sides make this far more comfortable than a barbell shrug.
• Single leg trap bar deadlift. Light load, one leg, for balance and unilateral strength.

Sets and reps

• Strength: 4 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps at a heavy but controlled load, resting 2 to 3 minutes. Once or twice a week.
• Muscle and general fitness: 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps, resting 90 to 120 seconds.
• Power: 5 to 6 sets of 3 fast reps at around 30 to 50 per cent of your max, resting fully between sets.
• Learning the lift: 3 sets of 5 with a light load, high handles, focusing only on a flat back and a smooth drive.

Deadlifts of any kind are demanding, so two hard sessions a week is plenty for most people. That fits neatly inside the NHS recommendation to do muscle-strengthening work covering all the major muscle groups on at least two days a week.

Progress by adding a small amount of weight when you can hit the top of your rep range with clean technique on every set. When your grip becomes the limiting factor rather than your legs, that is a signal to add dedicated grip work rather than to immediately reach for straps.

Recommended reads

1. The best trap bar in the UK
2. Deadlift: how to do it properly
3. Romanian deadlift technique guide
4. The best power cage in the UK
5. The best weight plates in the UK