Maggie's Farm

Lifting things off the ground is as basic and functional as any exercise gets. I disagree with Dr. Rusin's concern about ordinary barbell deadlifts, but he makes a good case for doing trap bar deads here.

One can certainly move heavier weight with the Trap and, for lower body strength, that's the most important thing. He also says that the Trap deadlift combines aspects of squat too. It does, but is not a substitute for squats.

For what it's worth, I switch from Trap to bar every once in a while, if only to keep it varied and interesting. (Unlike Mrs. BD, I hate deads - which means I need to do them.)

The only wisdom I can impart about the essential Deadlift is to use correct technique, and keep the weight high enough that your max reps are 6-10. With those large muscles, it's not a high-rep game.