Training guide
A trap bar (or hex bar) deadlift is a deadlift from inside a hexagonal bar, with handles at your sides. You stand in the middle, push your hips back and bend your knees to grip the handles, and push the floor away until you stand tall. Because the weight sits beside you instead of in front, your knees do more of the work and your hips and lower back less, which is why many people find it the easiest deadlift to learn.
The research is clearer on what changes than on what's safer. In lab studies most men lifted a little more, and lifted it faster, than with a straight bar; the straight bar worked the hamstrings harder; and the lower back's modelled load was lower, at light to moderate weights by one review's account. No study has measured back pain or injury with it.
This guide covers the set-up on the 3D figure, high and low handles, the trap bar against the straight bar and the squat, your back and knees, and how heavy and how many.
Stand in the middle of the bar with the handles in line with the middle of your feet. Push your hips back and bend your knees to grip the handles, set a long, braced back, then push the floor away so your hips and shoulders rise together. Stand tall, then lower the bar the same way.
In 19 male powerlifters the trap bar lowered the peak turning loads on the lower back, hips and ankles, raised the load on the knees and produced more power. In 11 trained women, the straight-bar deadlifts loaded the hips more near the top and the hex bar loaded the knees more.
6 to 8% more in two studies, the same in a third, and slightly less in trained women in a fourth (100 against 103 kg for 3 reps). There's no reliable conversion from one bar to the other.
The straight bar worked the hamstrings harder, by 28% in one study. How you set up matters as much as the bar: starting with more knee bend raised front-thigh activity and lowered hamstring and lower-back activity.
The lower back's modelled load was lower with the trap bar, at light to moderate weights by one review's account, but no study has measured back pain or injury with it, and a model of a 68 kg hex bar lift still put a big load on the lowest disc. Our deadlift guide's back rules apply unchanged.
While you learn, one work set of 5 after warm-up sets in weeks 1 and 2, then 2 or 3 sets of 5, adding about 2.5 kg a session while every rep looks the same, as our deadlift guide teaches. After that, 3 sets of 5 to 8, stopping 2 or 3 reps short, with 2 to 3 minutes' rest, once or twice a week. There are no strength standards to aim for.
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From our move page and deadlift guide, the US Army's deadlift test standard, StrengthLog's set-up and the positions used in research. The 3D figure shows one handle height. The breathing and the slack-out are from our deadlift guide.
Loading the 3D figure…
The movement on the figure: Trap bar (hex bar) deadlift
A hexagonal or open-ended frame you stand inside, with handles at your sides, so the load lines up with your body instead of hanging in front of your shins. Bars weigh different amounts: the US Army's is 60 lb (27 kg) and one trial's was 32 kg, so check the label on yours. Many have two handle heights: on the bar used in one study the high handles sat about 10 cm above the low ones, and in another a low handle's top was about 22.8 cm off the floor with full-size plates. Those are measurements of the bars studied; yours may differ.
The front of the thighs (quadriceps), the glutes, the hamstrings, the back muscles that hold your spine, and your grip. Against a straight bar, the front of the thigh works harder and the outer hamstring less, and the knee does more of the work while the hip and lower back do less. The back muscles still work hard: their activity didn't differ from a straight bar in two studies.
A steady hip hinge and a kettlebell deadlift with a long back. Our move page asks for a steady Romanian deadlift, and our deadlift guide's ladder below gets you there.
On a fixed bar, taller people and longer legs had a longer pull, and arm length mattered more in women. In the women's study the hex bar lifted slightly less than a conventional deadlift, while most studies in men found a little more. Older adults have trained with it under supervision in trials.
In 19 male powerlifters lifting both bars at 10 to 80% of their maximum, the hex bar gave lower peak turning loads (moments) at the lower back, hip and ankle, a higher one at the knee, and more peak power (4,872 against 4,388 watts). We could read only the study's summary; by the Ramirez 2022 review's account of the full paper, the lower-back difference was significant only at 10 to 60% of maximum, and the greatest trunk bend didn't differ (about 55 against 58 degrees).
In 11 trained women at a 3-rep maximum, conventional and sumo deadlifts gave larger hip loads near the top, and the hex bar more knee load, more bar speed and more hip and knee bend. These are turning loads at the joints, not the squeeze on the spine.
265 against 245 kg in 19 powerlifters; 194 against 183 kg with the same bar travel in 11 men; 181 against 181 kg in 20 men; and 99.7 against 103.2 kg for 3 reps in 11 trained women. With high handles, 31 lifters (21 men and 10 women) lifted 154.5 against 134.7 kg, over a pull 22% shorter and 25% quicker than their conventional deadlift.
At the same share of maximum, the hex bar moved faster with more force and power in 20 men, and gave 28% more average power at 90% of maximum in 11 men. In still (isometric) pulls at the same height, force was the same with either bar, in 20 men and in 35 adults.
The straight bar worked the outer hamstring 28% more in 13 men, with no difference in the back muscles. In 20 men the hex bar worked the outer front thigh more, and the straight bar the hamstring more while lifting and the back muscles more only while lowering. Muscle activity in one session shows effort, not what a muscle will build.
In 20 adults lifting a hex bar from different starts, more knee bend at the start raised front-thigh activity from about 25% to 62% of maximum and lowered hamstring activity (41 to 28%) and lower-back activity (73 to 55%). Hips a little lower works the thighs more; hips higher, with your shins more upright, brings in the hamstrings and back (our application).
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It comes from one study's maximal lifts, ranked inside a review that mixed different methods. No head-to-head study shows the trap bar works the glutes more than a straight bar, so don't rank exercises on it.
We found no study comparing high and low handles for joint loads or muscle use. What's measured is that high handles shorten the lift: a 22% shorter pull than a conventional deadlift in 31 lifters.
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A shorter range, and as one coaching source puts it, "the mobility requirements are not as high": you don't need to reach as low with a long back.
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The longer, classic deadlift range, and the mobility needed rises with it. Swinton's powerlifters used the low handles, by the Ramirez review's account; Lockie's and Gantois's lifters used the high ones.
Start with the high handles if your back rounds before you reach the low ones, and move to the low handles when your back stays long all the way down. That's our editorial advice, not a tested rule. Training through a fuller range built more strength in general across reviews.
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In 16 trained adults, the hex bar deadlift leaned the trunk further forward and bent the knees less than a back squat, with a similar peak knee load and a lower hip load. They lifted more in the hex bar deadlift.
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It bends the knees more and loads the hips and lower back less. It sits between a squat and a straight-bar deadlift, as our deadlift guide says, and it's still a pull from the floor.
A 2026 review says the hex bar keeps the trunk more upright, but the trunk-angle data we could read found no difference from a straight bar, by the Ramirez 2022 review's account, and more forward lean than a squat.
Aim for discomfort you'd call mild to moderate, no more than about 5 out of 10. It should settle within an hour or so, and your back should be no worse the next morning, as our back pain guides say. Pain, pins and needles or numbness spreading down a leg are the exception: stop, and see our sciatica guide.
The trap bar lowered the modelled turning load on the lower back in powerlifters, at light to moderate weights by the review's account. We found no study of back pain or back injury with the trap bar against a straight bar. Its lower back load is modelled, not shown in injury outcomes.
A computer model of one 23-year-old man lifting 68 kg on a hex bar put about 17 kilonewtons of squeeze and 4 of shear on the lowest joint of his lower back. In 23 recreational powerlifters doing a 68 kg hex bar deadlift to failure, the trunk bent about 10 degrees more late in the set. A trap bar doesn't make the load small, and long sets drift.
Rounding while lifting hasn't been linked to back pain in pooled studies, which were of low quality, as our deadlift guide says. Set a long, braced back anyway, and lower the weight if it changes a lot.
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In 35 adults, 16 of them with mild, recent back pain, the people with pain pulled as hard as those without, using either bar, and felt safe and confident (8 out of 10 or more); 15 of the 35 felt stronger with the trap bar. In 70 people with recurring back pain, supervised deadlift training matched gentler exercise for pain but did worse for daily activity at 2 months, as our deadlift guide reports. In one young athlete's rehab, the trap bar deadlift caused discomfort and was swapped out.
An Army health fact sheet says the hex bar reduces force on the spine by keeping the weight closer, citing the Army's own manual, and adds that evidence for specific ways to prevent deadlift injuries is limited. Treat "safer for your back" as untested.
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The knee load was higher than with a straight bar in men and in women, and the peak was similar to a back squat's. We found no study of knee pain with the trap bar.
Pain from 0 to 2 out of 10 is fine, and up to 5 is acceptable if your knee is back to its usual level by the next morning; for tendon pain just below or above the kneecap, keep it to 3 or less. Sharp, catching or giving-way pain, or new swelling, means stop. That's our knee guides' rule.
Our deadlift guide's ladder: hip-hinge practice, 2 or 3 sets of 8 tapping a wall; the kettlebell deadlift, 3 sets of 8 to 10, light to start; the dumbbell Romanian deadlift, 3 sets of 8 to 10, lowering for 3 seconds; then the trap bar, high handles first if needed. Many people go from the kettlebell deadlift straight to the trap bar, which many find easier to set up. The leverage machine deadlift, with handles at your sides on a fixed path, is an alternative at its move page's dose, 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 stopping 2 or 3 reps short.
Weeks 1 and 2: one work set of 5 after warm-up sets. Then 2 or 3 sets of 5, adding about 2.5 kg a session while every rep looks the same. That's our deadlift guide's progression; our deadlift technique workout uses 3 light sets of 3.
2 light sets, then 3 sets of 5 to 8, stopping 2 or 3 reps short, with 2 to 3 minutes' rest (3 for heavy sets), once or twice a week, as our lower body gym workout uses it (our editorial starting point). An Army health fact sheet for the hex bar gives 2 or 3 sets of 6 to 12, fewer reps with heavier weights, at least 2 to 3 minutes' rest and 48 hours between sessions for the same muscles.
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In 22 recreationally active women, 4 sets of 4 starting at 85% of maximum, twice a week for 8 weeks, raised trap bar strength 17.3%, not significantly more than half squats (11.7%). The training was unsupervised and the groups were small.
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Trained lifters judged their reps in reserve accurately in the hex bar deadlift, more so near failure, but most people misjudge by about one. There's no need to train to failure: stop 2 or 3 reps short, and end the set if your back starts to round.
In 32 women aged about 68, 24 weeks of supervised hex bar training twice a week raised back strength 26% against a 6% fall in controls, with no adverse events reported; we could read only the trial's summary. In 25 adults aged about 70, 2 hard sets did as well as 6 over 6 weeks, and in 30 adults aged about 71 the trap bar 5-rep maximum rose from 52.5 to 67.4 kg in 6 weeks. After breast cancer treatment, 20 women trained with it for 3 months without injury. Start supervised if you can, with the same ladder.
There are no research standards. The US Army's job test scores a 3-rep maximum from 140 to 340 lb for men and 120 to 210 lb for women aged 17 to 21, but that's a job test, not a health target. Compare yourself with yourself.
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In 25 men using high handles, power in the hex bar deadlift peaked at about 60% of maximum, with 50 to 70% much the same. For power, lift about 60% as fast as you can for 3 to 5 crisp reps (the load from the study; the reps are our suggestion).
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Jumping while holding a hex bar at arm's length gave more power than with a bar on the back, best at about 10 to 20% of squat maximum. In a 4-week trial in 29 rugby players, hex bar jumps gave possibly greater gains in jump height, using a contested statistical method. They're for trained athletes with a coach, and have no 3D demo; jump squats are the bodyweight stand-in.
A 3-rep maximum on a 60 lb hex bar, with two attempts, and your hips may not rise before or above your shoulders. Raters judging filmed lifts agreed only fairly to moderately on form.
The bar tips forwards or backwards. Line the handles up with the middle of your feet.
It turns the lift into a stiff-legged pull. Your hips and shoulders rise together, as the Army's test rule puts it.
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Too deep and your knees push forward and your back can't stay long; too high and your back does all the work. Hips between your knees and shoulders.
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Stand tall and stop, as our deadlift guide says.
Trunk bend crept up late in sets to failure. End the set there.
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Our deadlift guide argues sudden jumps in load are the risk factor that matters most. About 2.5 kg a session while you learn.
Lower it under control. Weights dropping on people caused 65.5% of weight-training injuries in US emergency departments in one analysis.
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Start with the kettlebell deadlift, light, as our back pain plans do, and build up within the back pain rule above.
While symptoms are irritable, reduce the weight and range of heavy bending lifts, then rebuild, as our herniated disc guide explains. The trap bar and the kettlebell keep the load close (our suggestion).
The UK consensus recommends strength training while avoiding postures with a lot of spinal rounding. Learn the lift with a coach, keep your back long and don't round under load.
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Follow the staged plans in our hamstring strain and high hamstring tendinopathy guides before deadlifting from the floor.
The trap bar's neutral handles, palms facing in, take strain off your hands and elbows, as our deadlift guide suggests; straps help too.
With controlled high blood pressure, the American Heart Association considers low- to moderate-intensity strength training with proper breathing safe. Breathe out as you lift, as our breathing guide advises. Use weights you could lift 10 to 15 times and leave maximal lifts until you've had advice, as our deadlift guide says. With heart disease, glaucoma or diabetic eye disease, ask your specialist before lifting heavy.
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Leaking when you lift is a reason to see our pelvic floor guide and a pelvic health physiotherapist, not to stop lifting, as our deadlift guide says. In pregnancy, the NHS says strength training at a gym is fine if you do it already, and advises against starting a new vigorous activity.
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Cat-cow, 8 waves, at its move page's dose, and glute bridges, 12 reps, to warm up (our lower body gym workout); goblet squats, 3 sets of 8 to 12 (our strongman workout for beginners); barbell hip thrusts, 3 sets of 8 to 12, and machine leg curls, 3 sets of 10 to 15, for the glutes and the hamstrings the trap bar works less (our lower body gym workout); back extensions, 2 sets of 10 to 12, and farmer's carries, 3 walks of 30 metres (our deadlift strength workout); suitcase carries, 2 walks of 20 to 30 metres each side (our deadlift technique workout); jump squats, 3 sets of 5, the bodyweight stand-in for hex bar jumps.
3D demoCat-cowBeginner · No equipment
3D demoGlute bridgeBeginner · No equipment
3D demoDumbbell goblet squatIntermediate · A dumbbell
3D demoBarbell hip thrustIntermediate · A barbell + A bench or box
3D demoMachine leg curlBeginner · Strength machine
3D demoBack extension on a 45-degree benchIntermediate · A bench or box
3D demoFarmer's carryIntermediate · A dumbbell + A kettlebell
3D demoSuitcase carryIntermediate · A dumbbell + A kettlebell
3D demoJump squatIntermediate · No equipmentThe barbell deadlift, 2 or 3 warm-up sets then 3 sets of 3 to 5 (our deadlift strength workout); the sumo deadlift, 3 sets of 5 (our sumo deadlift workout); the barbell Romanian deadlift, 3 sets of 8 to 10 (our Romanian deadlift guide). A trap bar Romanian deadlift uses the Romanian deadlift's technique with the handles at your sides (no 3D demo).
The deadlift technique workout walks the ladder from the hip hinge to the trap bar; the lower body gym, full-body gym B, bone-strengthening and strongman workouts use the trap bar as their main hinge, and the deadlift strength workout offers it in place of the straight bar.
A 30-minute session from the hip hinge to your first deadlift: hinge practice, kettlebell deadlifts, slow Romanian deadlifts, a light bar and a carry.
30 minBeginner9 movesA kettlebell, A dumbbellA gym lower body workout for legs and glutes: trap bar deadlifts, hip thrusts, reverse lunges, leg curls, hip abduction, calf raises and core.
50 minIntermediate13 movesOther / check instructions, A barbellFull-body gym workout B: trap bar deadlifts, cable rows, seated dumbbell press, step-ups, leg curls, push-ups and a Pallof press.
50 minBeginner13 movesCardio machine, Other / check instructionsImpact, strength and balance for stronger bones, following UK osteoporosis consensus advice, with options for every level.
40 minBeginner14 movesA kettlebell, Other / check instructionsA 60-minute strongman starter session for an ordinary gym: trap bar deadlifts, goblet squats, clean and presses, farmer's and suitcase carries and sled pushes.
60 minBeginner13 movesCardio machine, A wallA heavy deadlift session for lifters past the beginner stage: heavy sets of 3 to 5, deficit deadlifts, back extensions, rows and farmer's carries.
55 minIntermediate9 movesA barbell, Weight platesA 12-week beginner barbell program: squat every session, alternate bench and row with press and deadlift, and add weight each time until it stalls.
3 training days50 minBeginner4 days a weekA 4-day upper/lower split: two upper body and two lower body gym days, each muscle trained twice a week, with sets, reps and progression.
4 training days50 minIntermediate4 days a weekAn 8-week glute workout plan: two glute days and two upper-body days a week, with hip thrusts, squats, hinges and side-hip work, plus a home option.
4 training days50 minIntermediateIf you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise. The American Heart Association says these need immediate medical evaluation.
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For chest pain that comes on suddenly and doesn't go away, feels tight or like squeezing, spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness; arm pain that comes on suddenly with pressure, heaviness or squeezing across your chest; severe difficulty breathing, or a chest that feels tight or heavy; someone who faints while exercising; palpitations that don't go away, or come with chest pain, shortness of breath or feeling faint; or a headache that starts suddenly and is extremely painful, especially while lifting or straining. The NHS says a bleed on the brain may be more likely when lifting something heavy. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for a headache that's triggered or made worse by coughing, sneezing, bending down or exercising.
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Call 999 or go to A&E: loss of feeling or numbness around the genitals or bottom, new trouble peeing or controlling your bladder or bowels, changes in genital sensation during sex or problems with erections or orgasm, or pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs. These are signs of cauda equina syndrome, which needs treating in hospital urgently. Don't drive yourself.
Call 999 or go to A&E: back pain with chest pain, or back pain that started after a serious accident, such as a car crash.
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Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if you have back pain and feel hot, cold, shivery or generally unwell, or have severe pain that starts suddenly or gets worse quickly.
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If back pain hasn't improved after a few weeks at home, stops you doing daily activities, is worse at night or when you sneeze, cough or poo, comes with weight loss you can't explain or a lump, or is between your shoulder blades.
See a GP if pain spreading down a leg hasn't improved after a few weeks of home treatment, is getting worse or stops your normal activities. Sciatica on both sides, or weakness or numbness in both legs that's severe or getting worse, is a 999 call or a trip to A&E.
Get advice from NHS 111 if your knee is very painful, you can't move it or put weight on it, it's badly swollen or has changed shape, or it locks, gives way or clicks painfully; painless clicking is normal. In the US, use urgent care. See a GP if knee pain doesn't improve within a few weeks.
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A sudden sharp pain in your back, hip or the back of your thigh during a lift may be a strained muscle. Get help from NHS 111, or go to an urgent treatment centre (in the US, urgent care), if it's very painful or the pain is getting worse, there's a large amount of swelling or bruising or it's getting worse, it feels very stiff or is difficult to move, it's not feeling any better after treating it yourself, or you also have a very high temperature or feel hot, cold or shivery.
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A pop or snap with sudden pain at the front of the elbow, especially with bruising, a gap at the front of the elbow or a bulge in the upper arm, can be a torn biceps tendon. Go to an urgent treatment centre or A&E (in the US, urgent care) the same day, and don't wait for it to settle, as our biceps guides say.
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See a GP if you think you have a hernia, a bulge or lump that may get bigger when you strain and smaller when you lie down. Get help from NHS 111 if you have a hernia and pain in or around it, a bloated tummy, you feel or are sick, you're vomiting blood or your vomit looks like coffee grounds, you're constipated, you have a high temperature or feel hot, cold or shivery, or you've suddenly become confused. Call 999 or go to A&E for a femoral hernia (a small lump at the top of your thigh, in your groin) with very bad tummy pain, sickness, being unable to fart or poo, a high temperature or sudden confusion.
The NHS lists lifting heavy weights among the causes of a femoral hernia. After an inguinal hernia repair, avoid heavy lifting or strenuous activity for at least 4 to 6 weeks.
Muscle soreness for a day or two after a new or harder session is common and fades. Sharp pain, or pain that builds during a set or lingers into the next day, isn't: swap to an easier version, and see a clinician if it persists, as our plans advise. The NHS says to stop exercising straight away if you feel any pain or become unwell, and to get help from 111 if symptoms worry you or don't go away.
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Speak to your GP first if you haven't exercised for some time or have medical conditions or concerns, as the NHS advises. Get advice before hard or straining work if your blood pressure is uncontrolled (140/90 or higher at a clinic, or 135/85 at home), or you have heart disease or chest pain when you're active, a pacemaker or defibrillator, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, a hernia, recent eye or tummy surgery, or you're pregnant, as our breathing guide lists.
With controlled high blood pressure, the American Heart Association considers low- to moderate-intensity strength training with proper breathing safe. Breathe out as you lift, as our breathing guide advises.
With a pacemaker or defibrillator, the American Heart Association asks you to check with your doctor before upper-body strength training, because repeated arm movements can damage or dislodge the leads.
It leans further forward and bends the knees less than a back squat, with a similar peak knee load and a lower hip load, and it bends the knees more than a straight-bar deadlift. It sits between them, as our deadlift guide says.
Untested. It lowered the modelled lower-back load, at light to moderate weights by one review's account, but no study has measured back pain or injury, and the spine still takes a big load. The Army's claims rest on its own manual.
A 2026 review says so; the trunk-angle data we could read showed no difference from a straight bar, and more lean than a squat.
More in most studies of men, the same in one, and slightly less in trained women.
Less, not none: the straight bar worked the outer hamstring 28% more, and a more hinged start brings the hamstrings in.
They're a shorter pull, 22% shorter than a conventional deadlift, and useful while you build range. Move to the low handles when your back stays long (our editorial view).
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One study's maximal lifts, ranked inside a review that mixed methods. No head-to-head study shows the trap bar works the glutes more than a straight bar.
Stand in the middle of the bar with the handles in line with the middle of your feet, push your hips back and bend your knees to grip the handles, and set a long, braced back. Push the floor away so your hips and shoulders rise together, stand tall, then lower the bar the same way.
Your thighs (front and back), glutes and back muscles, with your grip. Against a straight bar it works the front of the thighs more and the outer hamstring less: 28% less in one study.
Different, not better. It moves the work from your hips and lower back towards your knees and lets you move faster; the straight bar works the hamstrings harder. Choose the trap bar to learn, for power, or if the straight bar bothers your back, and the straight bar to compete.
In most studies of men, a little: 6 to 8% more in two studies and the same in a third, while trained women lifted slightly less in a fourth. There's no reliable conversion between the two.
High handles shorten the pull and ask less of your hips; low handles give the full deadlift range. No study compares them, so start high if your back rounds at the low ones, then move down: that's our editorial advice.
Nobody knows. It lowered the modelled load on the lower back, at light to moderate weights by one review's account, but no study has measured back pain or injury with it. Use the same back rules as any deadlift: a long back, sensible jumps in weight, and stop for pain down a leg.
It loads the knees more than a straight bar, about as much as a back squat at its peak. We found no study of knee pain with it; keep any pain within our knee rule.
A bit of both: more knee bend than a straight-bar deadlift, more forward lean than a back squat. It's still a pull from the floor.
While you learn, one work set of 5, then 2 or 3 sets of 5, adding about 2.5 kg a session. After that, 3 sets of 5 to 8, stopping 2 or 3 reps short, with 2 to 3 minutes' rest, once or twice a week.
It depends on the bar: the US Army's weighs 60 lb (27 kg) and one trial's weighed 32 kg. Check the label, or weigh it.
There are no research standards. The Army's test scores run from 140 to 340 lb for men and 120 to 210 lb for women aged 17 to 21, but that's a job test. Compare yourself with yourself.
Yes, built up gradually and ideally supervised at first. In trials, women in their late 60s trained with it for 24 weeks with no adverse events reported, and adults around 70 gained strength in 6 weeks.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
