Safety Bar Squat
Muscles worked: Quads, Glutes (assisted by hamstrings).
How to do it
- Set the safety bar in the rack at upper-chest height and step under it.
- Settle the yoke on your traps and hold the handles, elbows down.
- Unrack and step back into your squat stance.
- Brace harder than a back squat - the yoke pushes you forward.
- Squat to depth and drive up, fighting to keep the chest tall.
Coaching cues
The two cues IronPack shows on this exercise's card mid-workout:
- The yoke pushes you forward - brace harder than a back squat
- Hold the handles or the rack; elbows down
Logging it
IronPack suggests working in the 4 to 8 rep range, progressing in 5 kg jumps when you own the top of the range. Records are tracked automatically at every rep count from 1 to 12. Loading the bar? Use the plate calculator, and check your estimated 1RM from any hard set.
Related exercises
- Deadlift - back, glutes
- Sumo Deadlift - glutes, quads
- Trap Bar Deadlift - quads, glutes
- Back Extension - glutes
Track the safety bar squat properly
IronPack logs every set, tracks your records at every rep count, shows these form photos mid-workout, and turns the training into a card game you play with your mates.
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Steps, cues, muscle weighting and logging guidance are IronPack's own app data. Last generated 2026-08-16.