SAFETY SQUAT BARBELL
The Safety Squat Barbell (SSB) was trademarked in the ’80s by US weightlifting champion, Jesse Hoagland. He condensed in this unique weight lifting bar apparatus his long training experience with straight cambered bars, buffalo bars, and other similar tools.
The Safety Squat Barbell has three main features:
1. The grip handles: a solid tubular structure welded to the barbell and covered in rubber in the final part.
2. The full padding: placed both on the grip tubes and along the bar to support the shoulders during training.
3. The barbell’s sleeves: curled to a 10 cm misalignment distance concerning the main part of the barbell
The primary purpose of this barbell is to reduce some of the critical issues when performing a complex exercise like the squat using a free barbell with a high load. These include the widespread difficulty of correctly positioning the barbell on the back due to limited mobility of the shoulders caused by injuries or specific physical conditions.
The presence of handgrips ensures that the barbell can be positioned and stabilized, preventing the limited joint mobility of shoulders and backbones. High tension in the spine, along with pain and poor posture, would have a very negative effect on the exercise, reducing its effectiveness and increasing the risk of injury.
The presence of generous padding acting as shoulder straps, combined with the grips, determines a greater area of body-to-barbell contact. This equation immediately generates a better perception of the barbell itself and consequently a better control of the load, especially if elevated.
Proper monitoring of the load is fundamental during squat exercises because it represents the precondition for the correct execution of the movement, starting from the research of the centrality of the weight with respect to the body, or better, concerning the foot.
Holding the handles, the load adapters (weight plate holders) progress by about 10 cm with respect to the axis of the barbell, thus determining a forward shift of the weight that is slightly more central than a traditional barbell. The result is a hybrid between front and back squat and, consequently, a more vertical posture. In some cases, especially for beginners, it can help perform the exercises in a correct position and controlling the movement, in particular for what concerns keeping the lumbar curve.
The Safety Squat Barbell, however, should not be considered a barbell for beginners. The word ‘Safety’ could be misleading. The use of this barbell does not reduce in any way the complexity of the exercise or the difficulties associated with performing the movement with heavy weight-loads. The Safety Squat Barbell represents one of the many unique barbells that can be useful in the research of a more challenging workout routine. In this particular case, it can be instrumental in avoiding some limitations derived from joint mobility that could keep some athletes from performing squats. Thanks to the increased control on the weight-load, the Safety Squat Barbell is suitable also for the execution of exercises like lunges, split squats, Bulgarian squats, and a wide variety of other movements.
SPRING COLLARS NOT INCLUDED
Weight: 24 kg
Length: 2270 mm
Internal length: 1300 mm
Diameter of the grip handles: 30 mm
Distance between the grip handles: 375 mm
Marker and knurling: 810 mm, medium knurling
Barbell sleeves: 50 mm, hard chrome, with rotary bearings
Bar: painted, color black
Static load capacity: 300 kg
Use: Training
