5 Specialty Barbells for Strength and Size

If you’ve been around the fitness scene for some time, you would know that there are many ways to reach your goal. While many people like sticking with the most orthodox equipment, others like to experiment with different gear to speed up their gains.

Trying out new equipment can be a great way to break a plateau. Your muscles hit a plateau and stop growing once they get used to your workouts. Different types of barbells can help you target your muscles from different angles.

Build Strength and Size with these 5 Barbells

Buffalo Bar

To the untrained eye, a Buffalo bar will look like a barbell has curved due to loading enormous amounts of weight. The Buffalo bar is used for squatting and is the only barbell that allows you to have the same form as the standard barbell.

A Buffalo bar takes off the stress from your shoulders which is great for people with injured shoulders or poor flexibility. The positioning and the bar thickness distributes the resistance over a broader plane, and the arc drops the center of gravity which prevents the bar from rolling from the place while squatting.

Barbell 2.0 (A Dorey-Monette Ind. Inc. Product)

Barbell 2.0 is arguably the most innovative bar on this list. The Barbell 2.0 has movable grips which target your pecs like the bench press or dumbbell presses never could. Using half the weights you normally lift in the bench press is enough for complete muscle exhaustion while using the Barbell 2.0.

Most people think the Barbell 2.0 works like dumbbell presses, but it doesn’t. The Barbell 2.0 feels more like using the free weight Hammer Strength machine. Using this bar also prevents rotator cuff and insertion point injuries.

Cambered Squat Bar

If there was an award for the weirdest looking gym equipment, the Cambered squat bar would be the winner. While the cambered squat bar relieves the stress off the shoulders, it turns the squats into a whole new movement.

The cambered squat bar is incredibly unstable. The back and forth rocking of the weights while squatting forces the lifter to stay tight and controlled. Good mornings are another exercise you need to try with the cambered barbell.

Yoke Bar

The Yoke bar or the squat safety bar is a specialty squat bar. Yoke bar is great for strengthening your entire lower body and back. The cambered part of the bar makes you lean forward which forces you to stay upright while performing the squat.

The stress on your legs and back can help you in building your squat and deadlifts. The form used with the SSB is different as compared to the straight barbell. You need to stay tight on the concentric movement but can muscle up with little regard to your form.

Swiss Bar

The Swiss or Football bar is the poster child of pushing movements. You have a neutral grip while using the Swiss bar as compared to the supinated or pronated grip in the straight barbell.

The Football bar is easy on the shoulders and can completely annihilate your triceps in the pressing movements. You can also use the bar for hammer curls or front shoulder raises. While many people like using the Swiss bar for bench pressing, it can be a little awkward to unrack the bar and can place a lot of tension on your wrists.

Do you use any of these specialty bars in your training?

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