Whether you’re a gym rat or you simply want to lose your love handles, exercise is a healthier option to lose weight compared to fad or extreme diets. Exercise not only makes you burn more calories, it strengthens your muscles and bones too. Weight lifting is a surefire way to increase the calories you burn and make your muscles stronger at the same time. While it’s true that cardio workout burns more calories than weight lifting, every additional pound of muscle you gain will make your body burn fifty extra calories a day. This is because muscles use up calories even when you’re not using them, whereas fat just sits there, providing cushion.
Weight lifting isn’t just for men either. Women are far more prone to osteoporosis after menopause and a little resistance exercise will not only strengthen abdominal and lower back muscles, it will reduce bone deterioration too. It even increases bone mass, making you much less prone to osteoporosis.
When we picture people weight lifting, we almost always associate it with a barbell. While a barbell is a useful enough piece of exercise equipment, some exercises are difficult to do using it. In comes the trap bar. In a trap bar, you’re inside its diamond-shaped frame when you lift it the weights. You grip it using the built-in handles right next to your legs. The weights are placed in either end just like in a traditional barbell but the shift in the center of gravity makes it considerably more comfortable to perform weight lifting exercises with.
The most common exercise done with this equipment is the trap bar dead lift. A dead lift is when you lift the weight directly from the floor until your legs and back are completely straight and with your chest out. The bar is then lowered carefully back to the floor. You may be in danger of scraping off some skin from your knees or bruising your shins when you perform a deadlift with a barbell. The trap bar eliminates this possibility. In other words, the trap bar deadlift is a great way to get toned muscles without fear of undue injury.
If you haven’t seen anyone doing a trap bar deadlift before, here’s how:
Step #1 Make sure that the weights attached to the trap bar are within your power to lift. Squat down inside the trap bar and get a good grip on the handles.
Step #2 Lift the bar by straightening your hips and knees. Remember to keep your back straight at all times. Stick our chest out a bit when you’re fully in the standing position.
Step #3 Return the trap bar to the floor by bending your knees and hips while keeping your back straight.
It’s always a good idea for beginners to start low and go slow with any exercise. The trap bar dead lift is no exception. Start with the lowest number of repetitions of the trap bar deadlift that you can tolerate and slowly increase the number per week. Anyone who suffers from any spine or back injury should check in with their physician before attempting this weight-lifting exercise.