Trap bar deadlift....good, bad, or a waste of time?

[romanxgiordano]

Is it true that it's "easier" on the lower back? Is there any point whatsoever to doing trap bar deadlifts? I typically DL 2x a week (conventional) and heard some potential Bro Science (?) tossed around about how replacing the conventional with trap bar = safer/better for the lower back and keeping the weight over your center of gravity. If your goal is to develop strength (not competing in powerlifting), are there ANY advantages to doing trap bar vs conventional (for all deadlifting or as a supplemental lift...such as conventional 1x week and trap 1x week)? Or is all this just bullshittery and we should stick with conventional only? I tried trap bar DL once and it felt more like a squat than a DL and my hips were far lower than when I pull conventional. Thanks in advance.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Resistance training is very safe and trap bar DL aren't any safer than regular deadlifts.

They're better for improving your trap bar DL than your regular DL. If you're not a powerlifter, Olympic lifter, or geeked out on your deadlift strength- they can be a fine main pull or variation.

[speculaas]

I would say do conventional if it doesn’t cause you back discomfort. For me that was not the case, and I opted for trap bar deadlift.

With TBDL I can actually overload the muscles. With conventional I just can’t get in the position which feels strong - it always feels like my lower back is going to snap and I can’t load it sufficiently to make progress. Interestingly, my stiff leg deadlift also feels much better than conventional ☺️ It seems I’m just not built for conventional deadlifts.

Anyway, TBDL works well for me - I can make progress and live a without back discomfort

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

I would say do conventional if it doesn’t cause you back discomfort. For me that was not the case, and I opted for trap bar deadlift.

With TBDL I can actually overload the muscles. With conventional I just can’t get in the position which feels strong - it always feels like my lower back is going to snap and I can’t load it sufficiently to make progress. Interestingly, my stiff leg deadlift also feels much better than conventional ☺️ It seems I’m just not built for conventional deadlifts.

Anyway, TBDL works well for me - I can make progress and live a without back discomfort

We probably wouldn't recommend movement avoidance, but rather a gradual increase in exposure to get better do it. It is unlikely your anthropometry is holding you back from conventional deadlifts, though trap bar deadlifts are fine. There aren't any real advantages to use one over another outside of lift-specific improvements in strength.