The shoulder is like the bar pressing down on the bony point of my shoulder. It’s definitely not a good feeling pressure and its worse than discomfort because like it’s the force is in the kind of direction that could pop my ac joint or at least it feels like that.
The movement itself feeling weird for balance and bar path is a minor issue. My only gripe is it’s a bit inconsistent if you know what I mean? Like some reps I feel it challenging me in the right places then the next I get thrown forward like the weight is suddenly forward.
My squat is at 190kg and I can SSB 130 for a few reps ez so my ratio is like 70% + of back squat. Front squat I haven’t tested in a long time but it won’t be more than 120 I think.
Why do you feel that straight is wrong? From what I understand, SSBs were originally made with the camber at the same angle as the handles but EliteFTS and Rogue decided to put it on an angle. The “regular SSB” setting on the Transformer bar has the handles (or at least the top part and the pads) at the same angle as the camber as well.
As far as badly made SSBs, I have one that I no longer use (since I got the Transformer bar) that I bought at the same time I got my power rack, it was on sale for $100 Canadian. Aside from the camber and handles being at the same angle, the straight part (as in the part you put on your back and the ends go on the rack hooks) is just slightly too short for a regular power rack. The cambered part is at a 45 degree angle so you can actually still rack it but you have to mess around with it to get it straight, which is obviously problem when you have enough weight on it. I was pissed off when I got it but I still ended up using it for several years. Rather than safety squat bar, I called it the danger squat bar.
You can substitute “different” for “wrong” here. My intent in my communication was to explain that there ARE in fact SSBs out there built differently than what has been the standard for many, and will result in different outcomes.
I have also seen SSBs that are designed to give the same leverages as a back squat with a straight bar. At this point I think the best SSB is the transformer bar.
I consider the transformer bar something different from a SSB for that reason. My mind classifies the SSB specifically as the elitefts/rogue design, different from the Hatfield bar with a straight camber, different from a transformer bar. Similar to how the Gerard bar is different from a hex bar which is different from a deadsquat bar.
I think technically any SSB which isn’t just a barbell with handles isn’t a SSB but a Cambered/Yoke SSB but I don’t think anyone actually makes those anymore so that is a pretty technical technicality lol
Anyway, a SSB is wrong when the bar is too thin for the camber angle and anything over 150kg feels like you are squatting on a boat lol
From what I understand, people started calling the SSB a Hatfield bar because Hatfield was such a big proponent of it and it was originally made with a straight camber, it’s just that Rogue and EliteFTS decided to change the design slightly. The transformer bar is pretty much in a league of its own because you can set it up so many different ways.
Dude! Stop majoring in the minors, eat big, work hard, and in a few years you’ll be big and strong and then…oh, wait, thought this was the beginner’s forum, and a different guy…I’ll exit stage left now…
Regarding the direction this thread has gone: I like turtles
As far as zerchers go, I actually do like them better than front squats. Mostly because front squats are hard on my wrists and elbows and I can’t afford that with MMA practice on top of that.
A zercher feels the same in the legs to me, but it is a different stimulus to the back than front squats. By different, I don’t mean in magnitude but more where in the back it’s felt.
Hi! Do you have pictures of the “Hatfield Bar”? I have never seen a “straight” Safety Bar although I have seen photos of Dr Squat teaching the “Hatfield Squat” with a 0º angle bar.
