You may not know him by name, but you have undoubtedly seen celebrity trainer Don Saladino’s handiwork on the big screen. Saladino, who owns Drive 495 in New York City, is responsible for building practically every hard body in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with a client roster that includes names like Ryan Reynolds, Sebastian Stan, Scarlett Johansson, Jake Gyllenhaal, and David Harbour.
When it comes to building a superhero body, few are as qualified to offer up advice than Saladino. So we tapped the hero maker for his thoughts on packing on MCU-worthy size, and he mentioned that deadlifting—specifically, with a trap bar—is one tool that he routinely reaches for in his proverbial training utility belt.
“This is one movement that really has a lot of bang for its buck,” he says. “You train the lower body, the upper back and lats, core strength, not to mention your glutes, legs, and grip strength.”
As for why Saladino likes the trap bar—a hexagonal piece of iron that has the trainee lift the bar centered inside of it—he offers up two reasons.
It has high handles, which, according to Saladino, allows a lifter with restricted mobility to get into a safe deadlift position compared with a conventional barbell deadlift, which is closer to the floor and requires a greater range of motion.
The weight is centered. A standard deadlift is loaded in front of you, which, says Saladino, “will pull you forward.” Lifting with the handles at the side keeps the lifter’s torso up, which is generally a stronger position to pull from.
Get the three workouts below, plus some accessory moves you can add to your routine for a well-rounded physique.
This is a standard strength-building set and rep scheme. Warm up and then load the bar with 85% of your one-rep max (1RM). Lift the bar 5 times and then rest for a minute and a half between sets.
Exercise
Equipment
Sets
Reps
Rest
Exercise 1 of 13
Trap-Bar Deadlift
Equipment
Trap Bar
Sets
5
Reps
5
Rest
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% of 1RM: 85%
The Ladder Set
Warm up and then load a trap bar with 90% of your one-rep max. Do 3 reps, then remove some weight so about 85% of your 1RM is on there and do 5 reps. You’ll then do 7 reps at 80% and finally 9 reps at 75%. Once you hit 9 reps, begin to load the bar back up and work to 3 reps. This is technically 1 set, so the only rest you’ll get is when you’re loading and unloading the trap bar.
After warming up, put 60% of your one-rep max on the bar. Set a timer for 10 minutes and do 10 reps every minute on the minute (EMOM), resting for the remainder of the 60 seconds. Keep a fast pace and you’ll get more rest. Go too slow and you’re looking at 10 or so seconds of rest.
Exercise
Equipment
Sets
Reps
Rest
Exercise 3 of 13
Trap-Bar Deadlift
Equipment
Trap Bar
Sets
10
Reps
10 per minute
Rest
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Complete in 10 min. % of 1RM: 60%
Accessorize
If you’ve got some gas left in the tank, tack on these accessory movements to make it a more complete workout. DIRECTIONS: Choose one movement from each category and do 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps. Each week, aim to either add 1 rep or 5 pounds to the lift.
