Does anyone use one? How is it? Is development hampered by using a safety squat bar instead of a regular barbell?

free weights make you balance more..

I went through a period using one for quite a long time. It's actually an amazing tool and should have used it more often than regular squat bars.

It takes most of the pressure off your lower back because the weight is distributed through you body instead and not on your lower back.

It's tough to get used to at first because it wants to curl your over. So you really have to work on your bracing and keeping posture otherwise heavier weights will fold you over. I used to use it for 20 reps squats and deadlift stance box squats a lot. I saw a lot of development without wrecking my lower back and ripping my shoulders. Literally the only difference is that your feel for a regular squat goes a way a bit so it is awkward going back.

Thanks for the review, good to hear it’s easy on the back.

As I’ve gotten older, I’m a bit more cautious of injuries. Pulled my back squatting a few years back that took 4-5 months to fully recover so don’t want to go through that again.

I need to be realistic that I’m not competing in any powerlifting or strongman competitions, so if I have a 335lbs squat with the safety bar or a 365lbs squat with the regular barbell, then who cares?

I switched over to a trap bar for the same reason on deadlifts.

Yea before the lockdowns I did the same thing for almost the same reasons. It was a game changer. I realized the same thing about not competing and also realizing staying injury free will always be better than being injured.

The Rock uses one.

I feel like I can use my quads better with it. I would replace barbell squat with it but don't have access to one at the moment.