The safety squat bar doesn’t seem to get a lot of attention, but it is a great piece of equipment that is used mostly for injured folks. The nice thing about the SSB is it really develops the glutes, hamstrings, quads, and calves. The SSB is also sport specific relatively suitable for powerlifters, and even football players. Due to the load being placed more on the upper back and core it will challenge more of these muscles to stabilize themselves when squatting. If your chest caves in during the squat then trying the SSB may be the equipment you are looking for.
Comfortable for Shoulder Mobility Issues
If you are recovering from some sort of shoulder injury then the SSB may be a great exercise for you as your hands will be placed more in front of you rather than to the side. It essentially eliminates the barrier to entry in high volume squatting if shoulder issues are present.
Single Leg Exercises
I think the biggest benefit of using the SSB aside from helping to strengthen the lock out of the squat (upward motion), is it is phenomenal for bulgarian split squats! The SSB puts more emphasis on the glutes during a bulgarian split squat, and will really show you how strong 1 leg is. You can also do step ups, single leg romanian deadlifts, and goodmornings. If you don’t have access to the SSB, you can look into using a belted squat.
How to Use
Depending on your goals if you are squatting x2 /week a example would be
Monday: high bar or low bar squat, depending on what you are working on this would be your more heavier sets.
Friday: SSB tempo work. If your primary day is on Monday then this day would be a 5/3/0 tempo work or another volume based day. A 5/3/0 tempo work is a 5 second lowering of the squat, 3 second pause.
Incorporating 5/3/0 tempo work on your SSB days will blasts your quads, and will teach you how to control the strength.
For programs tailored to you or questions email espinozi.yelena@gmail.com, or comment below!
Be well.
Yelena
Squat With The Safety Squat Bar