Safety Bar Squat (Barbell)

Squat with a padded bar that has handles in front, which keeps the torso upright and eases the shoulders. Also called SSB Squat and Safety Squat Bar Squat.

Pattern: Squat
Equipment: Barbell
Works: Quads, glutes, lower back
Loads: Hips, knees, ankles, lower back

If something hurts

Not medical advice. Sharp pain, numbness or swelling needs someone qualified to look at it.

Each swap below spares one joint.

Lower back Belt Squat

Loads the legs without the bar on the spine.

Hip Sissy Squat

Knee-only movement; the hip barely moves.

When it stalls, these usually help

Hip Thrust (Barbell)

Direct work for your glutes, which this lift also depends on.

Back Extension

Direct work for your lower back, which this lift also depends on.

How Swolver coaches it

This lift is read from your own sessions. When it goes flat for four weeks, Swolver names the likely cause in plain words, such as weekly sets that dropped, and the one change to make. The rules are all on the method page.