Safety squat bars are used a lot in powerlifting training. They're much easier on the shoulders, neck, wrists, and elbows. Also, they don't require the same degree of upper body mobility as regular squats.
Problem is, most gyms don't have them. No worries, you can use wrist straps to create your own makeshift safety squat bar that's actually superior to a standard safety bar in many ways. Simply take two lifting straps/wrist straps, loop them onto the barbell, and space them an equal distance from the center knurling.
The straps can be gripped as high or as low as feels comfortable. The lower position is more unstable but easier on the shoulders. They can be adjusted as wide or as narrow as you need them. This makes it very effective for any size lifter and varying anthropometrics.
It keeps you locked into a very precise and rigid position that not only keeps the bar locked onto the upper traps, but causes a degree of constant tension strong enough to trigger growth in even the most stubborn legs.
This same setup can also be used for good mornings as demonstrated here by NFL defensive tackle, Lawrence Virgil. Many of my larger athletes prefer this setup because it doesn't require the same degree of shoulder mobility and flexibility as standard good mornings do.
Many lifters are unable to keep their shoulders retracted and depressed when doing good mornings, which not only makes them ineffective for taxing the posterior chain, but also makes them trickier on the spine, shoulders, and neck. But the neutral shoulder position reinforced by the makeshift safety squat bar eliminates this issue.
As a result, they're much more effective in keeping ideal spinal positioning and postural alignment, not to mention being highly effective for crushing the glutes, hamstrings, and spinal erectors.
This is also great for lunges, split squats, and Bulgarian squats because it reinforces the hip hinge. You have to keep your hips set back almost maximally throughout to create a slight forward torso lean. In other words, it promotes ideal lunging and split squat mechanics.
It also forces you to stay in the bottom three-fourths of the movement because locking out or coming up too high at the top of the lunge will cause the torso to become overly upright, resulting in bar slippage. The amount of constant tension is incredibly high, making it very effective for spurring gains in functional strength and hypertrophy. Just be prepared for a serious burn.
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