Trap Bar, Military Press

[dunebuggy31]

Does anyone really do military presses, seated or standing, on a trap bar? I'm curious because I just recieved one and having done a set of seated 5x5s with it, I think it worked my shoulders differently than a regular barbell.

Any ideas on carryover to MPs on a regular barbell, or pros and cons of doing MPs with it in general?

thankx, rj

[Jedd Johnson]

WE USED A TRAP BAR TO MOCK THE LOG PRESS BACK BEFORE WE HAD A LOG. OTHER THAN THAT, HAVE NOT DONE IT THAT MUCH.

[apttdwler]

I thought about it, but... how do you get it into position? I could never figure an easy way. It doesnt fit right in the rack. Somehow it has to be loaded while overhead in the rack?

[dunebuggy31]

I thought about it, but... how do you get it into position? I could never figure an easy way. It doesnt fit right in the rack. Somehow it has to be loaded while overhead in the rack?

I just hung two ropes off the T beam in my basement. Ropes support the bar.

I would imagine one could do the same with a squat rack. Also, i think PDA makes trap bars that are long enough to fit in squat racks, pricey but should be a good product.

Low cost would be to rig something up with rope.

[House]

This is a great exercise for the shoulders. The trap bar I use actually does fit in a power rack. I found that I personally can do more in this position than I can a regular military press. I do them seated so I can utilize the shoulders and tri's a little more. Usually do 5x5 and then go for 3-4 singles after that working up to a max weight. I progress by either trying to hit a higher single or adding weight to the sets. I feel it helps alot with stabilization in the bench and has not caused any shoulder pain to date. A compitent spotter is needed or some sort of auto-spot system because if you miss the weight I would say it would be little more than difficult to get out from under the weight.