Performance Effects Of Footwear And Bar Type During The Deadlift

The conventional deadlift is mainly performed using a straight (traditional) bar; however, variations of the deadlift can use other types of bars such as the hexagonal (hex) bar which shifts the loading to a lateral position on the body. Despite the limited research available, training barefoot has become an uprising training modality that anecdotally suggests improved performance. PURPOSE: To observe the performance differences between a hex bar deadlift (HEX) and the traditional bar deadlift (TRAD) in barefoot and shod conditions. METHODS: On day one, one-repetition maximums (1RM) were assessed for nineteen resistance-trained male and female subjects in only the TRAD condition. At least 72 hours later, subjects performed five repetitions in four different conditions (barefoot and shod for both HEX and TRAD) at 70% 1RM. A 2 x 2 (footwear x bar) ANOVA was used to assess differences in barbell vertical displacement (DISP), peak vertical velocity (PV), peak vertical ground reaction force (VGRF), total mechanical work (WORK), and lift time (TIME) during the concentric phase. RESULTS: It was observed that there was no significant interaction between the footwear and bar conditions (p > 0.05), however, there were significant main effects for the footwear condition (p < 0.001) and the bar condition (p = 0.003). The shod condition was observed to have significantly greater DISP (0.527 m vs 0.497 m; p < 0.001) and WORK (472.8 J vs 450.2 J; p < 0.001) compared to the barefoot condition. The HEX condition was observed to have significantly greater PV (0.895 m/s vs 0.813 m/s; p < 0.001), VGRF (1069.1 N vs 1046.3 N; p = 0.021), WORK (469.9 J vs 453.0 J; p = 0.007) and reduced lift time (1.023 s vs 1.094 s; p = 0.025) compared to the TRAD condition. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that there are no improvements in deadlift performance when lifting barefoot compared to lifting with shoes. However, the removal of the shoe sole leads to a decrease in DISP, which significantly reduces the total work performed per repetition. Deadlifting with a hex bar reduces the total time to complete the lift while enhancing mechanical stimulus and eliciting greater PV, VGRF, and WORK. Athletes and coaches should consider the effects when implementing barefoot training and/or a hex bar as mechanical work is related to the volume of work performed in a training program.