Beyond-Brawn-2nd-Edition

EXERCISE SELECTION AND TECHNIQUE
torso structure is also highly suited to bench pressing.) Hard gainers often
have a “deadlifter’s body”—legs and arms that are long relative to torso
length. Hard gainers do not have the mesomorphic structure that is usually
associated with a body that is very responsive to training, but some hard
gainers have the structural proportions that are suited to efficient deadlifting.
10.60 In any type of bent-legged deadlift with a Trap Bar there are some big
advantages relative to the squat:
a. e bar is held beneath the body rather than precariously near the top
of the spine as in the squat, and thus there is no bar bearing down on
you.
b. Good form is easier to maintain because the deadlift is technically less
demanding than the squat.
c. Spotters are not needed.
d. No squat stands, power rack or safety bars are needed.
e. e exercise is easily done from a dead stop at the bottom.
10.61 When comparing the same degree of descent of the hips you may even find
that the Trap Bar deadlift works your thighs more than the squat. It is not
necessary to descend in the Trap Bar deadlift until your thighs are parallel
to the ground in order to mimic the effect on the thighs of the parallel squat.
e effect on the thighs from the parallel squat can be produced from Trap
Bar deadlifting from above the thighs-parallel-to-the-ground bottom position.
(Some people, because of their body structure, do not get much thigh
development from the parallel squat.)
10.62 I knew most of the benefits of the Trap Bar in theory, for years, but only
when I actually used the rhombus-shaped gem did all those benefits become
real. Designed by a man who was plagued with back problems (Al Gerard),
it is tailor-made for hard gainers who do not squat as efficiently as they
deadlift.
10.63 e Trap Bar will benefit any type of gainer. It reduces spine stress relative
to that from a straight-bar deadlift, puts the arms into a more efficient position,
and enables users to get the best from the deadlift while minimizing
technique problems.
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