Safety Squat Bar vs. Barbell Squats?

[psychor]

Are Safety Squat bars more effective for leg growth versus regular barbell squats? For those that have used a Safety Bar is their difference or change in whether there is more or less stress placed on the quads or hamstrings?

What are the advantages/disadvantages of using a Safety Bar versus Barbell squats? What are the differences? Thanks in advance!

 

[thehazzle]

Feel ssb squats more in hams and glutes than quads.

 

[Mike Hunt]

Did these last night actually. My hams and glutes are fried from ssb sqauts. My buddy and i had this convo...the ssb forces ur body fwd mode so u need to use more lower bck to balance..due to the angle it forces ur body to be in the hams and glutes come into play more

I was able to sqaut heavier with the ssb but i feel it more in my quads with a reg bar

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[pieguy]

If you low bar squat, you'll notice SSB squats more in your quads. If you high bar, you'll probably feel it more in your hams/glutes.

 

[psychor]

Feel ssb squats more in hams and glutes than quads.

Did these last night actually. My hams and glutes are fried from ssb sqauts. My buddy and i had this convo...the ssb forces ur body fwd mode so u need to use more lower bck to balance..due to the angle it forces ur body to be in the hams and glutes come into play more

I was able to sqaut heavier with the ssb but i feel it more in my quads with a reg bar

Sent from my SPH-L520 using Tapatalk

If you low bar squat, you'll notice SSB squats more in your quads. If you high bar, you'll probably feel it more in your hams/glutes.

Thanks to you all! You all answered my questions and helped me to understand, without having used a SSB yet, the differences in the "feel" between those and barbell squats. I don't have any difficulty barbell squatting but was just wondering if the SSB offered any growth advantages in the quads. I'll stay with my barbell squats.

Thank you ALL once again!

 

[GS]

I use both bars to hit all areas, but i also the front squat harness also.

 

[TheDeceiver]

I always get a better pump in the quads with the barbell squat.I feel to many other muscles come into play trying to stay in the upright position with the safety squat bar.

 

[jallphin5]

Smith machine for me bro, only way I go.

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[bbg420]

forget the smith machine ,does more damage ,just use free barbell squat, your lower back will thank you, only thing I use smith machine is calf raises

 

[maxwkw]

There's also a bit of a learning curve with the ssb.

It took a couple times using it to really get a groove and was able to go heavy without feeling unstable.

Great tool though.

 

[benchmstr]

Feel ssb squats more in hams and glutes than quads.

Flip it over...

 

[Fluffy_XL]

Flip it over...

Caution: very different weight distribution and therefore balance ...I injured my knees because I lost balance ...plan was to get it more quad dominant and less taxing for the core ...bad idea for me personally but it works (quads)

 

[Biggerp73]

I wish my gym had one of these. Im not flexible enough to comfortably wrap my arms back behind me with a regular barbell.

 

[BALDNAZI]

Put this on the Christmas list for my home gym. After my upcoming shoulder surgery it’s going to be awhile til I can back squat comfortably with a BB so this will be important to speed up the comeback process. I’m going to very limited as to what I can do upper body wise but if I can squat safely, I won’t just be building up my legs but back and core will get hit hard. Looking forward to this.

 

[maldorf]

Put this on the Christmas list for my home gym. After my upcoming shoulder surgery it’s going to be awhile til I can back squat comfortably with a BB so this will be important to speed up the comeback process. I’m going to very limited as to what I can do upper body wise but if I can squat safely, I won’t just be building up my legs but back and core will get hit hard. Looking forward to this.

Good idea. I don't think you could do front squats either. Too much stress on shoulders. If you have heavy dumbbells you could use those for high reps.

 

[Fa Seeshus]

There's also a bit of a learning curve with the ssb.

It took a couple times using it to really get a groove and was able to go heavy without feeling unstable.

Great tool though.

Yeah, and I think the best technique is different for everyone. What works best for me is pulling the handles in hard at the top and as I go down I push the handles up. Doing it this way makes it feel more like a front squat.

 

[Wildcat37]

One reason to use the SSB that hasn't been mentioned.....

From time to time, my shoulders have mobility and bursitis issues from decades of overuse. Using the traditional back squat with a barbell puts my shoulders in a vulnerable position with the load no matter how high or low I place the bar. The SSB allows me to squat with little to no shoulder discomfort.

 

[Pericles]

Feel ssb squats more in hams and glutes than quads.

Makes 0 sense. Probably not squatting likely doing something that looks like a good morning

 

[Anabolic_Beast]

Rich Piana describes the pros and cons of the free weight bar and the machine type exercises perfectly well.
Personally for me..im a 100% pure barbell free weight guy all the way. I feel that it hits my core very well and all of my lifts go up in synergy with the increased core strength that I develop from the barbell free weight exercises (Incline benchpress, front squat, standing overhead barbell presses, deadlifts). With machine..I can go much heavier and take a lot of stress off my lower back..but its not gonna hit my core enough (for me personally).

 

[comedycentral]

For someone with a glass low back I use an ssb and grab hold of the uprights of the power rack so it keeps my back nice and upright. The yoke of the bar keeps itself balanced on the shoulders.