Safety Bar Squat

The safety bar squat is a squat variation done with a specialized bar that has padded shoulder supports and front handles. It trains your quadriceps and glutes as the main movers, while your upper back and the muscles along your spine work hard to keep your torso upright. Because your hands stay in front of you instead of reaching back to grip the bar, it can be a useful option when your shoulders are irritated.

Set your feet about shoulder-width apart, or wherever you normally squat. Step under the bar so the pads rest on your upper back and shoulders and the handles sit in front of your chest. Grip the handles lightly, stand tall, and walk the bar out of the rack with two or three short steps.

Take a big breath and brace your midsection. Send your hips back and bend your knees to lower yourself under control. Keep your chest tall and your weight balanced over the middle of your feet. Drive through your whole foot to stand back up, squeezing your glutes at the top.

Breathe in at the top, brace your core like someone is about to push your stomach, and hold that pressure until you come back up. To make it easier, reduce how far you lower yourself by squatting to a box or bench. To make it harder, slow down the lowering phase or add an extra pause at the bottom.

Fault: Letting the chest drop and the torso fold forward as you stand. Fix: Fight the bar's forward pitch with a tall chest and think about leading the ascent with your upper back.

Fault: A soft core and loose upper back. Fix: Brace hard before you descend, keep your ribs down, and maintain that tightness all the way through the rep.

Fault: Shifting your weight onto your toes. Fix: Keep your whole foot in contact with the floor and drive through the middle of your foot as you stand.