Coach Camm: The Safest Squat Out There
Safety Bar Squat
The Safety Squat Bar (SSB) is a tremendous specialty bar that every gym should have and everyone should try to use at some point in their training.
Why use the Safety Squat Bar?
It’s very simple – the SSB allows you to keep your hands in front of your body which shifts your center of mass back and allows you to stay more upright when you squat.
Try something real quick. Hold your arms to your sides with your forearms perpendicular to the floor. Now drive your elbows backwards behind your body.
Notice your chest comes forward and your ribs probably flared up towards the ceiling.
This is the position your arms are in when you squat with a traditional barbell on your back.
This is problematic for most people for a few reasons, most notably they lose the stack position of the ribs and pelvis. Ribs come up, pelvis tips forward and we end up lurching forward and putting undue pressure on our lumbar spine.
Remember the spectrum of squatty to hingey – if you need a refresher read THIS -we want to make these as close to the squatty side as possible. That means keeping our ribs stacked over our hips for as long as possible.
Then there’s the potential issue of shoulder mobility with back squatting.
Most people have a hard time getting their arms above their head without flaring their ribs and crushing their low back. They also have problems externally rotating their arms. The back squat bar position requires you do both of these things.
Two wrongs don’t make a right.
The SSB allows you keep your arms in front of you much more comfortably - regardless of any shoulder mobility restrictions.
You also get a comfy pad which is nice - while still looking like a badass.
If your gym has this bar, give it a try and see for yourself. Be careful getting it set up, as most weigh 70 pounds compared to a traditional 45 pound barbell.
Stay Safe out there,
Coach
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