-Trap Bar Training Tips -

"John- I just read today's email correspondence and the comments about the Gerard Trap Bar "being too small." Please, tell these guys, these complainants, to get their heads out of their collective asses and actually use the bar!

That would end every ridiculous complaint because I have big 300 pound guys (you can be really big at 300 or "just 300 pounds" which while not small, can be smaller than a really muscular 300 pound guy) who have never had a problem using the bar for Deadlifts, Shrugs, and pulls.

So what the hell are these guys bitching about? Post this please, enough bullsh*t chatter.

Dr. Ken

Labels: Dr. Ken, Dr. Ken Leistner, Gerard Trap Bar, Shrug Bar, Trap Bar Shrugs

When I was a kid back in Cincinnati we used to go watch a local comedy troupe all the time. Think Saturday Night Live - only funnier.

So they had this one skit where a guy goes to a restaurant and trys to order all these crazy things - and one of those things was a steak that was rare on the outside but well-done on the inside...

Read that again... Yes, hilarity ensued from there... an absurd situation, maybe possible yet highly improbable and certainly not worth the effort to actually "do" -- and thats why its funny.

Here's another absurd situation: Trap Bars with Thick handles.

Now, I'm not talking about slightly thicker, Im talking 2 inches, 3 inches or greater - and that's what several people have asked us to make.

Ok, before I go any further, let me unequivably state that if you want something like a thick-handled Trap Bar or some other variation, our manufacturer can do it.

They can make Trap Bars with thick handles, they can make Trap Bars that are long enough to use in a power rack, they can even put tail-fins like a '59 Cadillac on them if you like - whatever you want, just say the word we can do it.

However, based on my professional opinion, the fact that I have been training with one for a long time and how the Trap Bar is used, many of these exotic variations just don't make any sense.

Lets use thick-handles as an example:

The only reason someone would want thick handles is for the added grip work, this is the purpose of thick handles in the first place -- and why thick handles barbells and dumbbells can be very effective when used for all "traditional" movements.

But the Trap Bar was designed to do one thing: and that is to make deadlifts more efficient and more effective. So adding thick handles to a Trap Bar to turn it into a "grip challenge" is compromising the effectiveness of both types of exercise.

The handles will be stationary and not rotate like a thick barbell etc, meaning they will not "work" as well as a grip exercise and since the ability to lift the weight is now dependent on the strength of the hands, the legs and back will not get
as good of a workout

So, if you want to train with thick bars, get a real thick bar, or wrap a towel around your bar, or get some plumbing pipe, anything else, but on a Trap Bar, it just doesn't make sense.

Otherwise, if you are in the market for a Trap Bar, a real Trap Bar, the one that everyone agrees is a must-have piece of equipment, and here's the fastest way to make it happen: Trap Bar Order Page.

Labels: Custom Trap Bar, Gerard Trap Bar, Thick Bar, Thick Handled Trap Bar, Trap Bar, Trap Bar Deadlift

A few years back, I was at the National Strength Coaches Convention and if you've ever been at the NSCA, you know that on the convention floor they have all the "latest and greatest" pieces of equipment.

One of the pieces of equipment that I tried was an interesting looking incline bench which docked into a power rack etc etc, now, the thing of it was in the area of the rack where the bar rested, there was a giant bolt at the attachment point which was just above the bar cradle.

So, when you did your incline pressing and went to put the bar back, you had to move the bar around these bolts, instead of straight down which complicated the process.

My interpretation was that this contraption was put together by an engineer who didnt know how to train or actually train with it -- and it was confirmed when I talked to some of the guys in the booth.

-- It was a worthy attempt -- but training equipment designed by people who dont train is "problematic" - to say the least, and when YOU train, you can spot this type of issue right away or at least you should be able to.

Now, there's been some recent grumbling about the Gerard Trap Bar -- some folks that are flapping their gums about it being "too small" -- about the handles not being wide enough, about the handles being too small etc etc. and blah blah blah.

Keep in mind that our manufacturer can build anything to any spec we want, so, if any of those issues were, in fact, issues, we could make whatever adjustments are necessary.

However, I train with the Trap Bar, and so has Dr. Ken, and Brooks Kubik, and so do thousands of other people in the world over the last two+ decades, and I have yet to hear any of those issues from anybody -- anybody who actually trains with one --

So, the only conclusion that I can draw is that anyone who claims there are such issues, doesn't actually train -- another arm chair expert. And if you don't think so, ask 'em yourself -- see what their last workout was with it, see how much progress they have made from it (or any exercise), and ask why they would make such claims in the first place.

I would hope that you would'nt ever think of taking any training advice from anyone who doesnt train, but there are people out there who evidently do.

Meanwhile, several hundred people are currently training with the *New* Trap Bar and making big gains, (myself included) and there are many more yet to come.

If you want to add your name to the long list, here's the quickest way to do so: Order a Gerard Trap Bar

On the site so far we have all kinds of pictures illustrating exactly *what* the Trap Bar is all about -- how much it will hold, the finish, the knurling, the exercises etc, and we will have some videos shortly further illustrating said points. Every aspect of the *NEW* Trap Bar was chosen for a reason: the shape, the material, the finish, the knurling -- there is nothing "random" about them. They were all chosen because they were the best possible choice of alll the other choices out there, so to train with anything else would be a compromise.

But I urge you not to take my word for it, see it for yourself and make up your own mind...

And, of course, if you want ANY custom option, we would be happy to make it happen for you.

As always, if you have any questions or need anything else, please do not hesitate to contact us, and oh, by the way, tonight I'll be doing my usual 5 sets of 2 with the Trap Bar in the deadlift -- I'm up 20 pounds since the summer started -- with some shrugs and rows thrown in for good measure.

Train hard,
John Wood

Labels: Hex Bar, NSCA, Shrug Bar, Strength Equipment, Trap Bar Deadlift, Trap Bar Knurling, Trap Bar Plans, Trap Bar Specs, Trap Bar Workout

It's always an adventure opening up the 'ol email inbox, you never know what might pop out. Here's one from this morning that almost made me spit my chocolate milk out on the keyboard:

"John,
I've been reading about the trap bar for a while now,
back in Doctor Ken's Steel tip newsletter and hardgainer
magazine but I never got one. My concern is that I'm a bigger
guy, 6'2 and 240 pounds and I saw on another site that the
Trap Bar might be too small for me. What are your thoughts?

Jim P.

Jim, for whatever reason that bit o' nonsense has been floating around for years. I'll let you and everyone else take a look at this page and decide for yourself: Trap Bar Size.

Labels: Gerard Trap Bar, Trap Bar Sizes, Trap Bar Training, Using a Trap Bar

"How much will the Gerard Traop Bar hold?" - That's a question that we get pretty often around here and even though it's listed in several places throughout the website we thought it would be a good idea to show both current versions of the Trap Bar "fully loaded" to give you an idea of how much weight each one will hold.

Check it out:

That's 45 lbs. x 12 + 45 for the bar and 5 pounds for the Okie Collars = 590 pounds, so if you think you might be deadlifting or shrugging at most, just under 600 pounds, the "Classic" Gerard Trap Bar will be more than enough for you.

The Gerard Trap Bar XL holds 10 plates per side, that's 45 lbs. x 20 + 45 for the bar and 5 more pounds for the Okie Collars = 950 pounds.

In both cases, these are York Barbell plates -- holding capacity of both Trap Bars will ultimately be determined by your barbell plate thickness and choice of collars.

Labels: 45 Pound Plates, Barbell Plates, Gerard Trap Bar, Holding Capacity, Okie Collars, Trap Bar Specs, York Barbell