What is a Safety Squat Bar?

If you’re looking for a new piece of equipment that has the potential to improve your leg day workouts, look into getting a safety squat bar from Titan Fitness. But what is a safety squat bar? A safety squat bar is a specialty bar designed to help improve your squats, making it the perfect alternative to a regular barbell. So, why should you consider switching to it, and what can it do for you? Here are some safety squat bar benefits and why it’s the perfect addition to your home gym.

What is a Safety Squat Bar?

First, it’s important to understand what a safety squat bar is, including how it differs from a standard Olympic barbell that you might be used to. Simply put, it is a steel-cambered bar with padding in the middle and handles on both sides. The padding makes it comfortable to rest the bar on your neck and shoulders during squats. The handles on both sides allow you to get a good grip on this specialty bar throughout your movements and support people with shoulder mobility issues.

Safety Squat Bar Benefits

Now that you know the difference between a safety squat bar and a standard barbell, you may wonder why these features are beneficial. What can the safety squat bar do that a regular barbell can’t? There are many benefits of this type of barbell:

• Better Spine Alignment: One of the most important benefits is that it can protect you from back injuries. That’s because when you use a safety squat bar to squat, your spine is in a more vertical position than it is with a straight barbell. This can minimize the impact on your lower back by putting more pressure on your quads and glutes, reducing the chances of back injuries while doing squats in the home gym you’ve built. 
• Improved Form: If you’re a beginner at working out, you’ll especially appreciate that a safety squat bar can reduce the chance of injury. The cambering of the bar can help steady your center of gravity and help you maintain proper form, and the grips on both sides make it easier to hold on to the bar comfortably. This way, you’ll feel more secure as you hold it and can worry less about dropping it while exercising.
• Support for Shoulder Mobility: Not only can a safety squat bar help prevent new injuries, but it can also give you the chance to work out if you’ve lost mobility due to a previous injury. In particular, if you have limited mobility in your shoulders, the shape and padding of the safety squat bar will let you comfortably do squats without having to rotate your shoulders too much. This way, you can still do leg day even if your shoulders recover from an injury.

The main purpose of a safety squat bar is to provide better support for your back. As mentioned above, one of the main benefits of a safety squat bar is that it puts less pressure on the lower back, allowing your quads and glutes to do more of the work. This is especially true if you are a beginner and need to build up your back muscles in the gym. It’s also helpful if you are at an intermediate or advanced level but have back injuries you don’t want to worsen.

This is especially true if you are a beginner and need to build up your back muscles in the gym. It’s also helpful if you are at an intermediate or advanced level but have had back injuries in the past that you do not want to worsen.

So, why is this bar better for your back? In short, it has a different camber, or curve, from the typical barbell. With a straight barbell, its weight is directed along the path of where the bar lies against your back. A safety squat bar pushes you slightly forward, so you have to fight to stay upright as you would in a front squat. This puts more weight on your legs and less on your lower back, creating a vertical and slightly horizontal pull that puts you in a different position than the straight barbell.

The result is that your lower back is less likely to end up injured. At the same time, you’ll get a better range of motion through the knees, hips, and ankles when you use a safety squat bar.

Can You Squat More With a Safety Squat Bar?

Another question people ask when considering buying a safety squat bar is whether they’ll be able to lift more. The answer is that it depends. Some studies have examined this, each coming to slightly different conclusions. While some studies have shown that people can squat more with a safety bar, the difference isn’t much, usually a few pounds.

People who can squat slightly more with this bar are likely to have limited shoulder mobility or similar injuries. They may be better able to handle the safety squat bar’s feel than a regular barbell, so they can use it longer. This can lead to increased gains over time, as they can work out more when using this bar than a straight barbell.

Safety squat bars aren’t designed to increase the number of squats you can do as much as they’re designed to make squatting safer, although they may help you increase your reps if it’s back pain that’s holding you back.

Safety Squat Bar Exercises

One of the best things about the safety squat bar is its versatility. You can do many exercises with it in your home gym (if you already have one, check out our tips for improving your home gym). Whether you’re a beginner looking for a variety of ways to use a safety squat bar or just want some new variations on the typical squat to try, you can do any of the following exercises with this equipment:

• Hatfield squat
• Good mornings
• Front rack position
• Step-ups
• Box squats
• Walking lunges
• Bulgarian split squats
• Explosive box squats with chains
• Single-leg Romanian deadlifts

How to use a Safety Squat Bar

Here are the steps to effectively use a safety squat bar:

• Setup and Positioning:
  • Place the safety squat bar on a squat rack at about chest height.
  • Ensure the bar is evenly positioned and secure the safety handles.
• Getting Under the Bar:
  • Stand directly under the bar with the padded section resting comfortably across your upper back and shoulders.
  • Grip the handles firmly. The handles should be pointing slightly forward, allowing you to hold them comfortably.
• Lifting the Bar:
  • Engage your core and lift the bar by pushing through your heels to stand up straight.
  • Step back from the rack carefully, ensuring you have enough space to perform the squat.
• Performing the Squat:
  • With your feet shoulder-width apart and toes slightly pointed out, initiate the squat by pushing your hips back as if sitting on a chair.
  • Keep your chest up and your core tight, lowering your body until your thighs are at least parallel to the ground.
  • Ensure your knees are tracking over your toes and not caving inwards.
• Ascending:
  • Push through your heels to rise back up to the starting position.
  • Keep your movements controlled and maintain a strong core to prevent your back from rounding.
• Re-Racking the Bar:
  • After completing your set, carefully step forward to re-rack the bar.
  • Lower the bar back onto the rack hooks and ensure it is secure before releasing your grip.

By following these steps and tips, you can effectively incorporate the safety squat bar into your workout routine, enhancing your strength and stability while reducing the risk of injury.

What to Consider Before Buying a Safety Squat Bar

If you ever notice discomfort on your back and shoulders while you use the barbell for squats, you should try a safety squat bar to see the difference it makes. It might let you do more reps at a time or more sets during your workout overall. That alone would make this piece of equipment worth investing in! Once you’re ready to buy a safety squat bar, you should consider what to look for.

• Weight: First, note that most safety squat bars weigh more than a standard barbell, usually about 60 pounds. So if you pick one up, don’t be surprised if it feels heavier than you’re used to.
• Padding: As you consider the safety squat bar you want to buy, note how much padding it has. The more padding it has, the more comfortable it will feel on your shoulders and neck, allowing you to use it longer during your workout.
• Capacity: Finally, ensure the bar you buy has the necessary weight capacity. Preferably, these specialty bars should hold much more than you can lift. The average safety squat bar has a weight capacity of about 1,000 pounds, but the higher-rated ones can hold up to 1,500 pounds.

Order a Safety Squat Bar from Titan Fitness

Are you ready to see what a safety squat bar can do for you? Get our all-new black Titan Series Safety Squat Bar made with American Steel and see the improvement in your leg day workouts. Or, if you’re looking for new gym equipment, check out our dumbbells, plates, and other weights.