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Barbell Should I Get a Trap Bar?

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I did rodeo as a teenager.

You're correct on the stirrup connection, but the heel on a riding or roper boot is much shallower than the tall Cuban heel you see on many men's boots.

Plus, when I did calf rustling, you have to jump off the horse to tie up the calf....not something you want to be wearing very high heels for.
Went to the finals in Vegas once. Seats right behind bull-chutes. Ridiculous. Tough people.
 
I love mine. It allows me to squat the load all the way up (keeping my torso very upright and pushing hard with my quads) and RDLing it back down. Very unique exercise.
That wide variability option is what I love as well. Anywhere from RDL to nearly front squat angles. It's just up to how you set up and drive. Funny that it derives from one of Ripp's biggest complaints about trap bars. But that's what makes the world spin...
 
Okay got the thing assembled this morning.

The fact that Oppen is rackable is awesome.

Horsing around with the empty bar before lunch:

TB Floor Press:

Really interesting. The neutral grip changes the feel radically from a barbell floor press.

It feels much closer to a chest flye. I barefly felt my triceps or shoulders working at all.

Flipping the open end from feet to head changes the stabilization work a little bit. I preferred the open end at my head.

Plus it means you can't crush your windpipe and kill yourself.

Reducing death risk is nice.


TB Shoulder Press:

The open bar means I don't have to worry about timing my "head through the window" to avoid smacking myself in the face with a barbell.

The rack position feels a bit lower than a KB press, and *much* lower than a barbell OHP, which made it feel like the start position had more upper chest involvement than either.

I suspect this would have superior carry-over to KB pressing than a standard BB OHP due to a more similar range of motion.

Plus you can micro-load it easier than a KB.


TB Cambered Bar Squat:

This felt completely weird to me.

Wrapping arms around this big thick yoke forced me into a hunchy position, which is the exact opposite of the thoracic extension with upright torso I use in my primary squat patterns (BB FSQ, BB HBSQ).

Maybe it's more comfortable for people with limited shoulder mobility and limited thoracic extension.

======

Overall, this is a fun device.

I need to figure out how to work the TB Floor Press and TB Shoulder Press into my regular rotation.

I'll play with the deadlift, squat, and carry stuff later.
 
Oh, I just figured out you can do hammer curls with it.....

I haven't tried triceps extensions yet.

The "Convict" EZ Curl bar may end up getting relegated to tertiary duty as an inverted bodyweight row bar at this stage.
 
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That wide variability option is what I love as well. Anywhere from RDL to nearly front squat angles. It's just up to how you set up and drive. Funny that it derives from one of Ripp's biggest complaints about trap bars. But that's what makes the world spin...

The double-irony is that Ripp's biggest complaint....that the range of motion is too open-ended.....is the same feature that most people say are what makes free weights better than machines.
 
The double-irony is that Ripp's biggest complaint....that the range of motion is too open-ended.....is the same feature that most people say are what makes free weights better than machines.
Exactly! I could see it being a problem if people tended to come over and give the bar a good solid shove when you're deadlifting. Also the more load on the bar, the more inertia it has making it want to stay in the same place and just head for earth's center of gravity.
 
Okay, after doing a modestly weighted complex yesterday (I'll write it up later), I realized I had a dilemma:

How does one clean a trap bar to the rack position?

If holding at the waist, open part in front, it can be swung to an overhead locked out position like a snatch (easier for head clearance), or to the shoulder rack position (watch your head!).

I did a sort of swingy squat clean, but man was it ugly....
 
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