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. This specialty bar is the perfect alternative to a regular barbell and is specifically designed to help improve your squats. So, why should you consider switching to it, and what can it do for you? Here are the benefits of the safety squat bar 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 provide support for people who suffer from shoulder mobility issues.
What is the Benefit of a Safety Squat Bar?
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:
One of the most important ones 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 as it puts more pressure on your quads and glutes, reducing the chances of back injuries while doing squats in the home gym you’ve built.
If you’re a beginner at working out, you’ll especially appreciate the fact 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.
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 are recovering from an injury.
Is a Safety Squat Bar Better 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. So the answer to this common question is yes, the safety squat bar tends to be better for your back.
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 from the typical barbell. With a straight barbell, its weight is directed along the path of where the bar lies against your back.
But with a safety squat bar, the weight is directed differently. This creates a vertical and slightly horizontal pull that puts you in a different position than the straight barbell. It pushes you slightly forward so that you have to fight to stay upright as you would in a front squat, putting more of the weight on your legs and less on your lower back.
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 that comes up when people look into buying a safety squat bar is whether they’ll be able to lift more. The answer is that it depends. There have been some studies on 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.
The people who can squat slightly more with this bar are likely people who 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.
In general, you shouldn’t get this equipment just to say you can squat more, as there’s no guarantee you’ll see a difference in how much you can squat with it. Instead, you should get it because of its other benefits, like the ability to prevent certain injuries and improve your form while you squat.
What Exercises Can You Do With a Safety Squat Bar?
One of the best things about the safety squat bar is that it’s versatile. There are lots of exercises you can do with it in 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
What Should You Consider Before You Buy a Safety Squat Bar for the Gym?
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 keep in mind what to look for. First, note that most safety squat bars weigh a bit 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.
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.
Finally, make sure the bar you buy has the weight capacity you need. Preferably, these types of specialty bars should hold much more than you’re able to 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.
Are you ready to see what a safety squat bar can do for you? Check out our Titan Fitness Safety Squat Olympic Bar or our all-new black Titan Series Safety Squat Bar made with American Steel. The search is over, get yourself a safety squat bar today and see the improvement in your leg day workouts.
