Intermediate

Trap-Bar Romanian Deadlift

The trap bar's neutral handles keep the load centered over your mid-foot and let you hinge with a more upright, spine-friendly torso than a straight bar. That makes it a strong choice for lifters with cranky lower backs who still want heavy hamstring and glute work. Start from the top with the handles at your sides and hinge without the plates touching down.

Equipment
Trap Bar
Body part
Glutes, Hamstring
Type
Strength
Browse by movement
Hinge
Muscles worked
Target
Biceps Femoris, Semitendinosus, Gluteus Maximus
Secondary
Erector Spinae
Tertiary
Adductor Magnus, Trapezius Upper

How to do it

  1. 1

    Stand inside a loaded trap bar and grip the neutral handles at your sides.

  2. 2

    Stand tall to lift the bar, then set soft knees, a tall chest, and shoulders back.

  3. 3

    Push your hips back and lower the handles down your legs.

  4. 4

    Descend to a firm hamstring stretch while keeping your back flat.

  5. 5

    Drive your hips forward to stand and squeeze the glutes at lockout.

  6. 6

    Reset the hinge and repeat. Inhale down, exhale up.

Tips

  • Keep the handles brushing your outer thighs so the load stays centered.
  • Use the neutral grip to stay tall through the torso, not to squat the weight.
  • Stop the descent above the floor to keep constant tension on the hamstrings.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • The bar starts on the floor and gets deadlifted up for every rep, which makes this a trap-bar deadlift under another name; lift it once, then hinge from standing for the set.
  • The high handles get used out of habit, and they leave the plates closer to the floor, so the plates touch down before the hamstrings reach a full stretch; drop to the low handles for this one.
  • One handle drifts ahead of the other and the frame turns as you descend, usually because one arm grips harder; keep the two handles level with each other.
  • The frame swings between your legs at the turnaround, so each rep starts with a little momentum and the hamstrings never take a dead-stop stretch.
  • Because the frame surrounds you, the feet land wherever they happen to, and a stance that began hip-width is wide by the last set, which shortens the hinge with it.

Frequently asked

How many sets and reps of the trap-bar Romanian deadlift should you do when you are new to the exercise?
Pause a beat at the bottom of every rep so you know you reached a stretch rather than the bottom of a bounce, and 8 to 10 reps across three sets is a productive session. The comfortable position means most people handle more weight here than on a straight-bar Romanian deadlift; add about 5 kg (10 lb) at a time and keep the depth honest. If hinging is new to you altogether, spend a month with dumbbells first, because a loaded frame is unforgiving when the back rounds.
What can I use instead of the trap-bar Romanian deadlift?
Two heavy dumbbells or kettlebells held at the sides copy the load position almost exactly, which is the answer for a gym with no hex bar and for training at home. A straight-bar Romanian deadlift moves more weight but puts the load in front of you and asks more of the lower back. If a fussy lower back is why you want the trap bar, a seated or lying leg curl and a low-cable version keep the spine out of it.
What is the trap-bar Romanian deadlift good for, and when is it the wrong choice?
It delivers heavy hamstring and glute work with the load centered over your feet and a more upright torso, which suits lifters whose lower back objects to a straight bar. It is the wrong choice when you want the longest possible hamstring stretch, since the load at your sides invites more knee bend and a lower hip position, which takes some of the stretch off the hamstrings, and the wrong choice for high-rep work, because thick handles on a heavy frame usually take your grip out before the hamstrings are done. Heavy hinging still loads the spine, so leave reps in reserve.

Related exercises

Other movements among FitRay's 2,000+ exercises that load the same target muscle — same equipment and level first.

All Glutes exercises