Is
the "Super Deadlift Bar" weight bar a
worthwhile training
equipment investment or are you better off with
a regular
straight bar your deadlifts? Find out here.
The Barbell Deadlift is by far one of the most productive,
total-body exercises a person can do. But many people,
due to biomechanical, structural or sometimes even
motivational reasons, simply find the exercise too
awkward or just too hard or painful to perform properly.
This takes an extremely valuable exercise out of
a person's training repertoire.
The
"Super Deadlift Bar" aims to change that.
The question we're asking here today is: "does
it perform when put to the test?"
The Problem It Claims to Solve:
Let's
examine the mechanics of the deadlift and how the
"Super Deadlift Bar" works. When you do
a regular barbell deadlift, in order to minimize
torque on the lower back, you need to keep the bar
as close in line to your center of gravity as possible
(this is the point in your body where the combined
weights of all your parts are balanced). For example,
when you're standing, your center of gravity is
(depending on how your bodyweight is distributed
and what your posture is like) normally just slightly
forward of the ankle joint.
When
the weight you're deadlifting is outside your center
of gravity, it exerts torque on the lower back during
the movement. Reducing this torque involves keeping
the bar as close to your shins as possible during
the first half of the movement until the bar clears
your knees.
Unfortunately,
keeping the bar close to your shins can also mean
having to drag the bar up your shins when using
very heavy weight. Speaking from personal experience,
I've walked away from numerous deadlift sessions
with my shins scraped and bleeding (even under sweat
pants).
No
matter how close you keep the bar to your shins,
however, you'll never get it close enough to fully
reduce the torque on the lower back.
How the "Super Deadlift Bar" Works:
The
"Super Deadlift Bar" addresses this problem
by moving the bar out away from your shins but at
the same time moving the center of mass of the bar
back in line with your center of gravity. This is
accomplished with a bent-bar design that opens up
the area right in the center of the bar to allow
your knees free movement.
The
bend in the bar allows you to basically stand directly
inside the bar, placing the center of mass of the
bar directly in line with your center of gravity.
This
configuration allows you to pull the bar directly
up rather than having to work around your knees
and shins as you pull the bar up. This purportedly
eliminates a significant amount of torque on the
lower back during the movement as the bar is able
to stay in line with your center of gravity all
the way up.
Also,
pulling the bar straight up rather than having to
go around your knees may eliminate a significant
loss of upwards force compared to the conventional
deadlift. Practically speaking, it means you should
be able to lift more weight.
Does It Actually Work?
In
a nutshell, yes. In practical testing, I've found
that trainers using the "Super Deadlift Bar"
were better able to perform the deadlift exercise
and maintain far better lower back position as they
performed the movement.
The
result: using this bar allowed the tester to use
heavier weights with far less lower-back discomfort.
The lifter was better able to maintain the lordotic
(lower back) curvature of the spine during the lift,
increasing the safety of the exercise. It's important
to maintain this curve during lifting in order to
allow the muscles of the lower back to properly
stabilize the spinal column.
A
very nice added benefit of the bar is that the neutral
positioning of the handles (palms facing in) completely
eliminated the tendency of the bar to roll as it's
lifted. This problem in the regular barbell deadlift
is normally addressed by using a mixed grip (one
hand over, one hand under). The technique, however,
can lead to uneven torque on the shoulders and the
lower back during the movement as well as rotation
of the bar as you lift it.
Gripping
with a neutral grip (palms facing into your body)
eliminates rolling and unbalanced loads on the skeleton
and muscles.
One
thing of note about the grip on this bar, however,
is that you must be careful of where you place your
hands on the handles. If you grip the handles dead
center, the bar will have a tendency to tip backward
(this is due to the anatomy of the human hand).
In order to work around this, all you need to do
is set your hands back a little on the handles.
Summary:
Thumbs
up! The "Super Deadlift Bar" is very effective
for the purpose for which it was designed and I
highly recommend it if you are interested in increasing
your lower back and total body strength through
deadlifting. The bar is also very effective for
performing shrugs, lunges and bent-over rows as
well.
If
you have any questions or feedback about the bar,
feel free to contact me at betteru@fitstep.com.
If
you are interested in purchasing a "Super Deadlift
Bar," you can do so directly from the company
that manufactures the bar using the link below.
Click
here to get your "Super Deadlift Bar"
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