Hang power snatch 5-5-5-5-5 reps
Post load to BTWB.
Hello Athletes! Do to this crazy spring Colorado weather, Verve will be closing its doors at 4pm today- Wednesday 3/23/16. All evening classes and 8pm open gym will be canceled. Our last class being held today will be 12:30pm followed by open gym from 1:30-4:00pm. Thank you for your understanding. Be safe out there, and stay warm!
Here we are for Week 2 of our new blog edition of “What Are Those?!”. Here in Week 2, we will be discussing the benefits of the Safety Squat Bar and what populations this bar is targeted for.
First of all, what is so special about the Safety Squat Bar?
The Safety Squat Bar has a camber that creates a weight distribution that falls between the front squat and the high-bar back squat to vary your power output training.
Why would we want to use the Safety Squat Bar?
1. First of all, aside from crushing your lower body, the safety squat bar is great for strengthening your back. The bar is held a bit higher than a standard bar and the camber pushes you forward, forcing you to fight to stay upright. This replicates the back position in a deadlift, and the extra difficulty in this form of squatting will directly improve your pull.
2. The second advantage of the safety squat bar also has to do with the camber pushing the lifter forward. Most people associate a failed squat coming out of the hole with a weak lower back or lower body, when in fact, most of the time the failed lift is due to the chest caving in. Chest caving is due to weak traps and lats and the safety squat bar works to rectify that. You will have much more trunk stability and strength after using a safety squat bar.
Who should use the Safety Squat Bar?
Again, the Safety Squat Bar is great for those with a weak upper back. However, it is a great tool to keep an athlete squatting through an upper body injury (shoulder, elbow) or has certain mobility limitations. This bar is low stress on the shoulders, which means athletes usually find this bar to be a go too choice if the volume overhead has been particularly high lately.
Will the Safety Squat Bar translate to a Straight Bar Squat?
Absolutely. Although this bar is a safer option for intense squat progressions or maximum load lifts, it is also known to increase your maximum working weight when compared to the traditional back squat.
Here is Mark “Smelly” Bell, owner of SuperTraining Gym, giving a quick demo of how to use the Safety Squat Bar:
