Let’s look at hex bars or Trap Bars.
The trap bar is an indispensable piece of equipment, and most commercial gyms and a majority of home and garage gyms have one. Using the trap bar gives you a full-body exercise targeting your legs and hips and enhancing explosive power for athletic performance.
Here are some of the styles we are going to look at:
Trap Bars – Overview
A trap (or hex) bar is a hexagonal-shaped barbell. Rather than standing behind the traditional straight barbell, you stand in the middle of the hexagon. Some trap bars have two handles – one high, one low, while others have the handles at the equal height of a straight barbell.
It needs less technical knowledge than barbell deadlifts and is easier to learn. A trap bar provides versatility, and you can do different exercises and movements with it. Many trap bars are rackable, giving you the ability to perform reverse band deadlift movements, rack pulls, neutral grip presses, shrugs, and many other movements. Here are some high-quality trap bars that we gathered to give you options just in case you are considering getting one.
Force USA Walkthrough Trap Bar
Force USA Walkthrough Trap Bar is intended to be simple and straightforward – just transition the Trap Bar from the lifting position to the standing position using the transition handle. Machined with medium knurling, the low and high rotating lifting handles are positioned explicitly for comfort, balance, and durability during all lifts.
The Walkthrough Trap Bar has an innovative, counterbalanced open design providing a varied range of exercises such as lunges and carries, without stopping any lifting.
Rep Trap Bar
The Rep Trap Bar has a sturdy steel hexagonal frame for an equal dispersion of weight around your body rather than in front. This unique design reduces the stress and tension of the lumbar spine as you drive more weight off the floor.
It has raised handles with a medium-depth knurled grip and solid steel construction. It also has a weight capacity of 500 lb with 16” loadable sleeve space and a handle diameter of 25 mm. The Rep Trap Bar is a valuable addition to any strength and conditioning setup.
American Barbell Hex Bar
Using the American Barbell Hex Bar lessens the stress on the lower back and gives you the ability to hold the bar close to the body with comfort, all while engaging the same target muscle groups. It is also a useful tool for more complex training and an excellent option for lifters new to the deadlift.
The Hex Bar is entirely rackable and takes standard Olympic diameter collars. All Olympic plates can fit in this bar, and it is a great choice for those looking to switch up regular deadlift training. Its length is 85″ while its handle is 1.405″ and the sleeve is 1.910″.
American Barbell Dual Height Fat Grip Hex Bar
American Barbell Dual Height Fat Grip Hex Bar is ideal for athletes looking to build hip, leg, and back strength while decreasing pressure to the lower back. This is also an excellent tool for recovery and increasing 1RM on the deadlift.
This is a versatile tool and great for shrugs and squats, is completely rackable, and can be used right-side-up or upside down. It weighs 55 lb with a handle diameter of 1.910″ and a sleeve diameter of 1.910″.
Vulcan Open Hex Bar – Ox Bar
The Vulcan Open Hex Bar extends ruggedness and sturdiness with the innovations of an open side allowing you to perform exercises that may not be facilitated by a regular Hex or High Hex Bar. It enables loading of the core, hips, and legs with minimum stress on the lower lumbar region.
The open side feature of this bar allows you to complete multiple exercises impossible to perform using a standard hex bar and or standard Olympic/Powerlifting Barbell. It has two 92 shore hardness rubber bolted in hard rubber feet on each side for optimum durability and to protect flooring and bar surface from early wear.
Vulcan Prime Hex Trap Barbell
Vulcan Prime Hex Trap Barbell has a powder-coated matte black textured finish with medium knurl handles for a secure grip. The single handles enable pulling from a position equivalent to a regular barbell deadlift.
The hard chrome barbell sleeves reduce the general issue of powder coat coming off of the sleeves and hideous rust. It can be used with regular Olympic bar collars or spring clips but not recommended for dropping.
American Barbell 6 Bar Vertical Storage
The American Barbell 6 Bar Vertical Storage is a remarkably valuable addition to any training environment and particularly helpful for limited space gyms. It is a solid, heavy-duty storage piece that enables you to store your bars in a convenient upright position compactly.
The six storage tubes are lined with plastic protectors and rubber bumpers to guarantee no cuts or wear on the bar sleeve when installing or transferring them from storage. The wide base on this bar storage rack provides supreme stability even when the rack is fully packed.
FringeSport Hex Bar
FringeSport Hex Bar is the perfect bar for beginners in the Power Lifting world. The hexagonal pattern makes it easy for you to step in and out of the bar. There are two handle options – one flush with sleeve and a second directly above.
This bar is perfect for performing heavy shrugs and deadlifts and has a Chrome finish making the bar resistant to rust. This bar works best with the use of metal plates so that you can add your maximum load.
Get RX’d Hex Bar 72″
With Get RX’d Hex Bar 72″, you can lift heavier than you would with a traditional barbell because it keeps the weight centered through the body’s midline. The Hex Bar highlights two different knurled grip points that add comfort and diversity, especially if you are looking to work on form and grip strength.
The Hex Bar is commonly used for deadlifts, power pulls, and shrugs. You can load up heavyweights with its 13′ loadable sleeve length and can fit up to five 25KG Get RX’d Competition KG Plates per sleeve.
Trap Bars Overview – In Summary
That’s our overview of the best Trap Bars.
The trap bar is a great way to deadlift without overly stressing your lower back and gives you some of the best total-body exercises. It is a piece of equipment used in the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), and if barbell deadlifts don’t fit you, trap bar deadlifts might work for you.
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