Safety Squat Bar Alternative

Don t sit down on it fully like in a regular box squat.

Safety squat bar alternative.

It s more of a luxury purchase for gyms rather than an all out necessity. The belt squat is a squat accessory exercise that reduces the level of spinal loading and compression compared with a traditional barbell back squat. As a result they tend to be much easier on the shoulders neck wrists and elbows. Using a safety squat bar for this workout is a great alternative to both straight bars as well as dumbells.

It s a very versatile implement that has carry over to many different training modalities including powerlifting strongman bodybuilding etc. However a belt squat machine is an expensive piece of equipment and not many gyms fork out the cash to pay for one. Just touch the box. For this reason i many times will use a goblet squat to teach the squat pattern that should translate to a safety bar squat and the feeling of using the weight to counterbalance.

Zerchers are another great squat variation for taking stress off the lower back. Low bar squats low bar squats are a lesser known variation of the squat which is most often done as a high bar squat. Safety squat bars are one the best alternatives for the traditional straight barbell. What most people first notice when using the cambered squat bar is how unstable the bar is.

Cambered squat bar this is probably the oddest looking bar and like the cambered bar great for relieving stress off of the shoulders. If you want to continue with your regular squat form simply use the box as a measure of depth. Why it s sub worthy. Here you re using your hands against the rack to maintain tension and position while pulling out of your sticking point.

Use a regular bar if your shoulders are fine but if you have shoulder pain from squats or a lot of bench pressing the safety bar is your best choice. Safety squat bars are used in many powerlifting circles primarily because they don t require the same degree of upper body mobility. You can use hatfield squats for both higher rep work and max effort low rep work. However by using wrists straps you can actually create your own makeshift safety squat bar that in many ways is superior to standard safety bars.

As such the safety bar squat more closely mimics the bar placement of a high bar squat but the horizontal pull and weight displacement of a goblet squat. But the bar is much more than shoulder relief it really turns squatting into a different movement. The safety squat bar is an amazing piece of equipment that produces massive benefits in terms of strength gains injury prevention and upper extremity preservation.