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The trap bar is a weightlifting device designed for certain exercises, such as deadlifts and shrugs, with a diamond or hex configuration that reduces lower back stress. It was developed in 1985 by Al Gerard and is popular in competitive powerlifting and weight training circles for its safety and efficiency.
A trap bar is exercise equipment designed exclusively for certain weightlifting and strength training applications. It is a specially designed bar that allows a weightlifter to perform certain exercises such as dead lifts, shrugs, and a variety of presses fluidly and safely. The trap bar design consists of a diamond or hex configuration that forms a “ring” around the weightlifter, with twin protruding bumps on either side for stacking the weight plates. The trap bar is used through handles that the lifter pulls up from the floor toward the shoulders, bringing the bar and weights along with it.
The original trap bar design arose primarily from a safety concern with traditional Olympic bars used to perform deadlifts and shrugs during powerlifting exercises. Olympic bars tend to hit a weightlifter’s legs during those exercises. The trap bar frame design prevents this from happening and also reduces lower back stress.
The trap bar was developed in 1985 by powerlifting hobbyist Al Gerard. Gerard designed, patented, and trademarked the snare bar, and sold the design to numerous manufacturers for large-scale production. While the Gerard bar was originally designed for upper body weight-bearing exercises like dead lifts and shrugs, trainers soon found other exercises that could be performed with it. These exercises included a variety of lifts, shrugs, and presses that worked the muscles in a weightlifter’s back, arms, shoulders, obliques, and legs.
Gerard, along with other powerlifters, soon discovered that using the trap bar weight training device reduces the risk of sustaining or aggravating lower back injuries. The lower back can be problematic for power lifters and Olympic lifters. Heavy lifting tends to strain the lower back muscles, even when all safety precautions are followed. With trap bars, such injuries were greatly reduced due to the design of the device, which aligned the lifting points of the bar with the natural movement of a weightlifter’s legs, arms, and back. As a result, many powerlifters were able to lift at full capacity in their advancing years; Gerard himself competed in deadlift competitions at the age of 59.
Although the trap bar is not as common in many modern and commercial gyms, the weight training device is still extremely popular in competitive powerlifting and weight training circles. Numerous trainers herald the device as the preeminent tool for a focused, safe, and efficient workout for a lifter’s back, shoulders, legs, and arms. In addition to improving safety and preventing injury, the bar allows competitive powerlifters to lift more weight per repetition than the standard Olympic bar.
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