Safety Squat Bar in 12 wk Strength Template

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hi,

I’ll be starting the 12 week Strength Template shortly (a 3 day mod). There are 3 squat days. I still sometimes suffer pain in my forearms and/or elbows after heavy sets of low bar squatting. Usually not the first week, but the pain builds up until I can’t bench press anymore. The source of the problem lies in my shoulders (notably the left one), which are very hard to get more flexible. I take a lot of care on my grip and closely follow the low bar grip technique as explained by your friends further on the internet.

Long story short: although it’s getting better I don’t want to ruin my squat and bench once again because of this. I want to use the SSB for the squats on day 2 and 3. I wonder if there is something I should take into account. Does it affect anything negatively? Should I replace the excercises with something else or will using the SSB just be fine?

Thanks,
Arthur

2

Using the SSB in those slots should be fine :slight_smile:

3

Austin,

How does weight on the Safety Squat Bar squat correlate to weight on the bar for a back squat?

If a program calls for back squats @ 100kg, what would the loading look like for a SSB 90%?..80%?

Thanks.

4

It’s usually a bit less, but we can’t predict with any degree of accuracy, because:

  1. the differential between the two will be different for everyone based on individual proportions, strengths & weaknesses
  2. the differential between the two will change over time due to skill & motor learning effects, as you get more “practiced” with the SSB

Just like with any other supplemental movement, we like just working up to an RPE target on the first day and using that as a “ballpark” of your strength on that lift to guide future decision making.

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