The safety squat bar is a specialty barbell commonly used for squatting.

However, unlike standard Olympic barbells safety squat bars vary a lot by their manufacturer and their type. There is really no “standard” when it comes to this bar.

All this variation comes from the different material use designs and handles among the bars.

Since many of you purchased this bar for the specific reason of enhancing your squatting experience, we’ve gone ahead and made a detailed guide on the exact weight of each bar for every brand out there.

Safety Squat Bar Weight: Brand Breakdown

There is no standard protocol for manufacturing a safety bar, so there is a lot of variation from manufacturer to manufacturer. You should still be aware of weight though so you can accurately track your workouts. Most safety squat bars weigh between 45-70 pounds. Here we break it down by brand, type, and weight:

How Does A Safety Squat Bar Differ From A Regular Barbell?

A safety squat bar may look a bit alien to those that have never seen one before, but is essentially a barbell with two key differences:

The Yoke: This is the paddock section at the center of the bar. It has stands that extend over both your shoulders and has two neutral grip handles.

Cambered Sleeves: Secondly, unlike a regular barbell the safety squat bar is designed with cambered sleeves designed to move the center of gravity forward. You will see that towards the ends of the bar, the bar forms an L shape so that the weights sit lower.

How Is A Safety Bar Squat Different From A Regular Barbell Squat?

The addition of the yolk and cambered sleeves means that the weight of the bar is distributed differently from a straight bar squat.

Generally, the weight is centered further forward causing a slight lean forward when you squat. The slight change in form allows you to target different parts of your body and limit strain on others.

Safety Squat Bar Benefits

The safety squat bar is a specialty bar with various benefits to its unique design.

Neutral Grips

The neutral grips of the safety squat bar let you take lots of injury-prone joints such as the shoulders, elbows, and wrists out of the movement. This way if you have any kind of pain or injury you can continue to squat anyway.

It is undeniable and an unfortunate reality that somewhere along your lifting journey you will run into an injury with your shoulders, elbows, or wrist. These are just some of the most common injuries no matter what kind of prevention you do.

The ability to push through and continue to train your legs despite what is happening with your upper body is a tremendous benefit that you will need to rely on at some point.

Upper Back Focus

Secondly, the safety squat bar changes the position of the weight from your shoulders more toward your upper back.

This change in weight distribution forces your upper back to get stronger and toughen up as you use the safety squat bar more and more.

The benefits here are clear your upper back is necessary for proper posture and injury prevention.

Quad Focus

In terms of more hypertrophy or bodybuilding benefits, the safety squat bar places more emphasis on the quads.

Regular barbell squats simply do not work your quads as much as you think. The bulk of the movement can be attributed to the hamstrings and glutes with some quad work. Unless you are doing front squats, you are probably not stimulating your quads nearly as much as you think.

As we have already mentioned, the safety squat bar shifts your weight forward so that your center of gravity is leaned forward. This increases the tension on the quads tremendously. If you have ever done a goblet squat, it is a very similar feeling except that you can go much heavier with a safety bar squat.

Considering that many of you find quads to be a weak point. This bar can provide a new dimension to your training.

Variation & Versatility

Lastly, many people find that the safety squat bar is a tremendous addition to their home gym or everyday gym routines due to the versatility and variety it provides. The traditional barbell back squat done with an Olympic bar is a time-tested incredible movement. However, after doing it for months, or years there will come moments where you plateau or simply get bored with the exercise.

The safety squat bar allows you to throw some variation in there once in a while when you need it. Not to mention the increased comfort and stability provided.

On top of that safety squat bar is not just for squatting. Many people find this bar to be incredibly useful. For doing good mornings, yolk walks, and lunges.

How To Squat With A Safety Squat Bar?

Many people are understandably scared of using a safety squat bar mainly because it looks so foreign to them. But trust me once you get under the bar you will find that it is a lot more comfortable and intuitive than a regular barbell was when you first started.

How To:

1. Much like a traditional squat. You’re just gonna you’re wanting you’re gonna want to brace your entire body, step under the bar and grab the neutral grips and pull them forward onto your shoulders.

2. From here you’re going to want to walk out of the bar and just like a regular squat. You will notice a slight lean forward.

3. Squat down, you may find that it feels a little bit different. Your quads may feel a bit more strained and you may be leaning forward a bit more. This is all perfectly normal.

4. Once you reach the bottom of your app, go ahead and explode back up to get back to a lockout position.

What Factors Should I Consider When Buying A Bar?

If you look at all these benefits just like us and decided that you may want to consider a safety squat bar, there are a few key factors you should consider.

Like with everything, a barbell and a safety squat bar is just a piece of equipment or a tool meant to allow you to reach your fitness goals faster.

And while it may seem that any bar will do there are still a few things you want to check out first.

Padding

The first thing that I look at when looking at any safety squat bar is the padding used on the arms and the bar for your shoulders.

Considering that many people get the safety squat bar because they cannot tolerate the pain of a regular barbell on their shoulders and upper back. You need to make sure that there is enough padding and that the padding is properly made.

This padding will be meant will be under lots of stress, and lots of weight during your exercises. You want to make sure that it will last.

Build Quality

You should evaluate overall build quality when looking at a bar, the welds near the yolk should be nice and tidy. Furthermore, it is generally a safer bet to go with well-known brands if you are buying a bar for yourself.

These brands simply have a long history of quality and more support if you have trouble with a product down the line. If I was recommending a bar to someone, I would tell them to take a look at the titan safety squat bar and the rogue safety squat bar as some good options.

What Determines The Weight Of A Safety Squat Bar?

There are several factors that influence how much a safety squat bar weighs:

Steel Used

First up is the type of steel used. A safety squat bar is used either solid bars steel or pipe steel depending a lot on the bar type in the manufactory go with. Generally speaking, solid bar steel is a lot heavier than pipe steel.

This is due to the fact that solid steel is much more heavy-duty in terms of construction and that shows in the weight

Handles

Next up we handled. Safety squat bars have lots of different handle options. There’s how long handles short handles, chain handles, and many others.

In addition to the type of handle and how long it is they can also vary in how thick they are and the materials used.

is also worth considering that for most safety squat bars you can actually remove the handles so you can also take this into consideration when seeing how much they weigh or even swap them out. If you find that there are certain handles that you’d like more.

Length

Length is also a factor in a safety squat bar weight. Most fall between 84 and 94 inches. But generally, as you can imagine longer bars are heavier and longer bars orals also tend to be built with solid steer solid steel for more durability. So these are typically heavier.

Camber Drop

Next up is the Cambridge drop. This is the distance between the top of the bar to the bottom portion. This is like the critical difference between a regular barbell that creates the difference in weight distributions and feelings when using it. Most bars have a Cambridge drop between four and six inches. But as you can imagine bars that have a bigger drop that use more material and therefore weighs more.

How Can I Weigh My Safety Squat Bar?

If you have a safety squat bar that you aren’t sure where it came from, you aren’t sure what manufacturer it is if you just bought it used, you may be hard to find the exact weight from the manufacturer.

The easiest way to do this is just a step on a scale yourself and see. You’re gonna want to weigh the bar exactly how you use it with the correct handles, padding, and so on so you have the most accurate measurement.

How To:

1. The first step you’re gonna weigh yourself just your body weight.

2. Next up, step on the scale again with your safety squat bar

3. Subtract your body weight from the weight you just got it. Now you know how your safety squat bar weighs.

Final Thoughts

In terms of how much safety squat bar will improve or enhance your training and physique. I think you should have realistic expectations. This bar is great because it adds variation and excitement to your training.

But don’t expect to blow up in leg size just because you have this bar now. It’s still just a squat.

To sum everything up the safety squat bar is an incredible specialty bar. I happen to think it is one of the most useful specialty bars out there.

When looking at all of the bars though, you have to take into consideration the weight of each bar for you and the brand so you know exactly how much you’re squatting each time.

A high-quality safety squat bar is a great investment. You just want to make sure you look at all your options before you take the plunge for your home gym.

FAQs

Michael K.

Daniel Mesa, CPT, is a trusted fitness expert and founder of  FitDominium. With his extensive experience and commitment to helping others, Daniel is the go-to source for reliable fitness advice and recommendations.