
Rogue Fitness is one of the largest American distributors and manufacturers of strength and conditioning equipment.
From CrossFit and military to collegiate and professional sports teams, Rogue has become a household name to all North Americans that want trustworthy and reliable sports equipment.
Their Rogue Fitness safety squat bar has a classic design with a cerakote finish, improving the overall durability. This reduces the amount of chipping that most cheaper brands face.
Their padding uses a closed-cell foam, making it very comfortable across your back and traps. It is built to take any abuse and perfect for people who are intermediate to advanced lifters.
Their bar is long enough to have your arms be in a comfortable position when you’re performing good morning, squats, or any other related exercises. The Rogue safety squat bar is a high quality piece of equipment that is perfect for your home gym. They are balanced, built to last, and deliver what it promises.
As a collegiate athlete who has trained in several small to world-class gyms, I’ve been able to test out The Rogue Fitness Safety Squat Bar and will be revealing my findings, pros and cons, and thoughts throughout this article.
Pros
- Black Cerakote finish ensures longevity especially if it’s subject to different unconventional climates like a garage.
- Balanced throughout the bar providing stability when you perform your exercises
- Heavy duty stitching, ensuring that the closed cell foam padding is resistant to any friction your body as you adjust the bat into the perfect position
- Reliable and Well-Known Brand with a great customer service
- Can lift heavy weights without taxing your shoulders and ligaments
Cons
- Versatile to do a leg workout, however, there are limitations to the other exercises that you can perform
- Not ideal for beginners
Things to consider before buying a Safety Squat Bar
The safety squat bar (SSB) is a piece of equipment designed to avoid stressing the shoulders, wrists, and elbows when squatting.
As some powerlifters and athletes have poor mobility or previous injuries in their upper body, it makes it harder for them to maximize their strength as they wouldn’t be able to go the full range of motion.
Most Safety Squat Bars are a regular barbell with handles, cambered design, and pads to support the traps and back. Because of how the bar is loaded on your body, it provides a different postural demand compared to a standard barbell.
Rogue Fitness SB-1 Padding

Quality padding is important as it provides the comforts you need when you’re squatting or performing exercises at a higher weight. It also distributes the weight down your upper back to your bigger muscles reducing injury.
Without quality foaming, the bar is likely to be pressing down on your vertebrae, forcing unnecessary weight on your neck.
Make sure to look at the stitching and test out the foam inside to ensure that you will be comfortable when you’re using the bar.
Rogue Fitness SB-1’s Safety Squat Bar uses a closed-cell foam that is extremely dense. It has a thick feeling that allows your head to sink in without losing its support. Allowing you to lift with confidence without any harsh pains on your neck, back, and traps.
Made with vinyl that is well stitched and durable, ensuring that the foam is protected for a long time.
Rogue Fitness SB-1 Cambar

The camber is the differentiator between a bad, good, and great safety squat bar. The handles should be at a rough 45 degree angle towards the floor and away from the bar.
It should come down off the bar while aligning parallel with your body. A great camber should sit on your shoulder and essentially hold the weight comfortably.
Cambers that are in line with the handles will throw the bar off the center like gravity pulling into you and tossing you backward. This will create too much torque to your spine and neck especially when you start lifting heavier weights.
The Rogue Fitness SB-1’s camber is roughly 45 degrees angle towards the floor and away from the bar. It helps you have an upright posture that reduces the strain on your lower back and the distance your knee travels forward.
Rogue Fitness SB-1 Handles

Safety Squat Bars are made with different handles. They can be straight, long, short, bent, or have stubs with chains. There is no right or wrong choice, it is more of a preference in terms of your injuries and what muscles you’re looking to build.
Shorter handles mean your elbows are going to be bending more. Longer handles mean your arms are going to be more straight, but they can get in the way more.
Handles are important because they allow your shoulders to hold onto the bar without being externally rotated behind the bar. Reducing the strain off your rotating cuffs, essential for those who squat and bench multiple times a week.
The Rogue Fitness SB-1 has straight long handles. The difference between their handles is the padding on the handle. This protects your shoulders and reduces more stress being placed on your smaller muscles.
By having this extra padding, you’ll reduce any future shoulder issues in the future.
Rogue Fitness SB-1 Weight Capacity

The more weight a bar is able to hold, the more expensive the bars usually are. With that in mind, it’s crucial to consider what you’re squatting now and how much you could squat in the future.
Also, see the size of the barbell as some bars may not be designed to fit the 2” Olympic bumper plates.
Rogue Fitness SB-1’s Safety Squat bar can handle 1000 lbs on the bar very easily. This ensures the barbell is strong and durable. Perfect from beginners to professional power lifters.
Rogue Fitness SB-1 Quality
To ensure you are getting a quality safety squat bar, make sure you look at the padding and material. Most quality barbells are made from steel, chrome plating, knurled, and a finish that prevents rust and erosion.
Rogue Fitness SB-1’s Safety Squat Bar is made with a fully welded design and machined with Olympic sleeves. It has a heavy-duty vinyl and closed cell foam pads with a cerakote finish to increase the bar’s resistance against corrosion.
Why You Should Consider The Rogue Fitness SB-1 Safety Squat Bar
Reduce Overload Stress On The Shoulders and Upper Body
The safety squat bar removes the shoulders, wrists, and elbows out of the movement, allowing you to continue to squat if you have an injury on one of those joints. Shoulder pain, tennis elbow, or wrist pain are common in many athletes and individuals as they spend sitting and working on a computer all day.
It also places less stress on the lower back as you are in a more upright trunk angle. An injury is common when you are squatting with a normal barbell.
Posture and Form
When performing a straight barbell squat, beginners may find it hard to keep the back straight and the core tight when performing the lift.
The safety squat bar sits higher than a normal barbell as the camber pushes you forward, forcing you to stay upright. The more upright your torso, the less pressure it puts on your lower back.
When performing leg exercises with the safety bar, the pressure will be distributed through your larger muscles such as the upper back, glutes, and quads without putting your lower back in a bad spot.
This prevents your core from collapsing allowing you to have a stable and tight body when performing your lifts. Allowing you to open up your knees and hips more freely, lowering your chances for injuries.
As the safety squat bar places the load on your center of gravity, maintaining form is easy as your hips, knees, and spine will easily be locked in place.
Comfort
The Safety Squat Bars have big pads to provide cushioning for your neck and shoulders.
For most beginners, squatting with a straight bar can feel uncomfortable against your shoulders and upper back. As they lack mobility, this may start to make their elbows begin to point backward instead of down, resulting in your whole upper body collapsing.
Safety Squat Bars is a better alternative to perform squats as you can do the exercise without any shoulder rotation. This allows you to stay securely positioned and work on good form.
If you tend to have pains in your shoulders, then this bar can reduce the discomfort.
Versatility
The Safety Squat Bars provides some unique exercises that you can perform outside of the back squat that standard Olympic barbells cannot.
These can open up new opportunities for your training and work different muscles and loads onto your body.
Exercises include Good Mornings, Front Squats, Walking Lunges, Box Squats, and Zercher Squats.
The FAQs
Is Rogue Fitness A Good Brand?
Rogue Fitness is one of the largest American distributors and manufacturers of strength and conditioning equipment.
From CrossFit and military to collegiate and professional sports teams, Rogue has become a household name to all North Americans that want trustworthy and reliable sports equipment.
What Is The Difference Between Safety Squat Bar Vs Barbell
Squats are one of the best exercises to build leg strength. It is one of the most natural movements and activates most leg muscles.
When you load the weight with a standard barbell and squat, the barbell’s position is different in comparison to the safety squat bar. You are more naturally leaning forward than the safety squat bar where you will be more upright like a front squat.
They are both beneficial in their regards; however, as a beginner, you’re able to refine your squat form faster than using a standard barbell.
A study done in 2019 found that the safety squat bar uses more upper back while standard squats use more hamstrings, abdominals, and lats. However, both were beneficial in training leg strength.
How Do You Use A Safety Squat Bar?
1. Begin with the barbell at the top of your traps and shoulder and have your hands on the handles. This will feel less secure than a normal barbell squat because your shoulder blades aren’t supporting the bar.
2. In this position, take a step back and be in your regular squatting stance position. Keep the entire back and core tight and begin to squat down. Use the quads to push the floor down to keep the hips out as you go back up.
3. When you return to the starting position, you’ve completed one rep. Make sure to keep your hands in a neutral position while avoiding pulling down to your chest.
Our Final Thoughts on The Rogue Fitness Safety Squat Bar
Rogue Fitness is one of the largest American distributors and manufacturers of strength and conditioning equipment.
From CrossFit and military to collegiate and professional sports teams, Rogue has become a household name to all North Americans that want trustworthy and reliable sports equipment.
Their safety squat bar has a classic design with a cerakote finish, improving the overall durability. This reduces the amount of chipping that most cheaper brands face.
Their padding uses a closed-cell foam, making it very comfortable across your back and traps. It is built to take any abuse and perfect for people who are intermediate to advanced lifters.
Their bar is long enough to have your arms be in a comfortable position when you’re performing good morning, squats, or any other related exercises. The Rogue safety squat bar is a high quality piece of equipment that is perfect for your home gym. They are balanced, built to last, and deliver what it promises.
If you’re looking for a quality and durable Safety Squat Bar that has all the features, accessibilities, and usability, then we recommend you checking out The Rogue Fitness Safety Squat Bar.