Specialty Bars 101: Purpose and Practicality
Walk into a serious Powerlifting gym, and you’ll see dozens of barbells hanging against the wall. Some may have odd shapes- with different curves, handles, and sizes.
In most commercial gyms, you’ll just find a standard Olympic barbell and maybe a trap bar. But in strength sports, the world of weights goes far beyond that.
Specialty bars can both be confusing and intriguing.
They certainly serve a purpose but can easily become an overused tool for bored coaches & excited lifters.
Let’s discuss when to use specialty bars in training and what the purpose is.
Who should use them in the first place?
There’s a reason you don’t see novice lifters Duffalo-bar squatting on day one.
Specialty bars don’t serve much of a purpose for complete beginners.
When you’re first getting into strength training, or even Powerlifting, mastering the basics is your goal. Doing so will provide the best foundation, so you can continue building & reaching higher numbers long into your career.
More advanced tools simply aren’t necessary when you're starting out. Your body will adapt to nearly any stimulus placed on it, and developing technical proficiency will help you stay healthy, confident, and continue progressing.
Specialty bars are simply variations to your staple lifts. Once you get past that beginner stage, hitting PRs becomes more difficult-and newer methods can be introduced to help break through plateaus.
The body adapts to the stress placed on it. And when the same stimuli are continually applied, over and over, staleness can ensue. A novel variation can prevent stagnation, so you can keep reaching.
As lifters progress, weak points and strength deficits may emerge. For example, a lifter may be weak out of the hole in a squat, struggle off the floor in a deadlift, or find it hard to lock out a bench press. Beginner lifters don’t experience this to the same degree: your deadlift isn’t “weak off the floor,” you’re just “weak.”
But soon, different muscle groups & positions develop more than others, so using variations targeted at those weaknesses can theoretically improve your overall strength in the Big 3.
Additionally, specialty bars often were created in mind of those experiencing injuries. Many Powerlifters undergo pain or discomfort at one point or another due to different factors, and changing the positioning of lifts can help you train through these times. By removing some stress from the shoulders, lower back, elbows, etc., you can continue getting stronger while feeling good.
But remember, specificity is key. Using specialty bars as the foundation for programming will be counterproductive to the goal in the first place: improving SBD strength. There are no cambered bars or trap bars on the platform, and your training should reflect that. These are simply variations to help strengthen your main lifts.
Let’s go over the different types:
5 Different types of specialty bars + their uses-
Safety Squat Bar
What it’s used for: Squats, can also be used for Good Mornings, single-leg work, etc.
Exercises with this bar: SSB Squats (can add pauses/tempos/chains/pins for more variation), Hatfield Squats, SSB Good Mornings
Benefits: The SSB bar is one of my all-time favorite squat variations. What do a lot of raw lifters struggle with in squats? Upper back strength. Maintaining tension out of the hole. The safety bar targets these weaknesses. Additionally, it removes some shoulder stress that may occur from lots of low-bar squatting.
With the handles, lifters are forced to *push up* into the bar, reinforcing that upright torso position & lat engagement, as well as bracing. This positioning also requires more leg drive out of the hole- a weakness for many.
Hatfield Squats are also performed with an SSB bar-a variation to target quad strength as well as overload. This can help the body adapt to heavier weights while reinforcing squat mechanics.
This bar is a phenomenal variation in many training phases and can significantly improve squatting technique and strength. Many lifters can benefit from the SSB.
2. Cambered Bar
What it’s used for: Squats, Front Squats, Bench Press, also can be used for Overhead press.
Exercises with this bar: Cambered Bar Squat, Cambered Bar Front Squat, Cambered Bar Bench, Cambered Bar Overhead Press
Benefits: The Cambered Bar has slightly different benefits depending on what you’re using it for.
With a back squat, this bar allows you to emphasize your upper back strength & tension out of the hole. Again, this is an essential component of raw squatting and one that many struggle with. A lot of lifters “stripper squat” on their way up or lose that tension in the upper body, weakening squat strength. The Cambered bar trains this directly; it’s much harder to cheat your way out of a squat with this variation. The imbalance increases core involvement and can help improve technique. It also removes some shoulder stress, since the hands rest lower on the bar.
For Front squats, bench presses, and overhead presses, the bar adds an element of instability. It shakes as you move, requiring you to provide more internal stability in the lift. With bench, many have trouble maintaining lat engagement & upper back positioning. If you don't create that tension with the Cambered Bar, you’ll immediately fail the rep. It forces you to address faulty movement.
With the front squat, this element of instability requires a lot more core-another essential aspect of squatting. And for overhead press, this further targets those stabilizing muscles in the shoulder, helping you move better overall.
This is a fun specialty bar- certainly versatile; and one with many potential benefits to your training.
3. Trap Bar
What it’s used for: mainly Deadlifts
Exercises with this Bar: Trap Bar Deadlift, can also be used for RDLs, carries, etc.
Benefits: The one Specialty bar you may find in a commercial gym-the trap bar.
Whether a Sumo or Conventional puller, *pushing* off the floor can be a weakness. This severely limits strength, as the quads can produce a high degree of force.
The trap bar is far more leg-focused, almost a hybrid between a squat & a deadlift. It requires a more upright torso position & greater knee flexion, increasing the quad involvement. The bar also removes some lumbar loading. This is a noteworthy benefit as the lower back can quickly become fatigued with high squat & deadlift volumes. It also changes the center of gravity and decreases the range of motion, which means greater loads can generally be used. All in all, it’s a great way to get lower body volume in, mitigate lower back fatigue, and improve positioning off the floor.
4. Duffalo Bar
What it’s used for: Bench, can also be used for Squats.
Exercises with this Bar: Duffalo Bar Bench, Duffalo Bar Squat
Benefits: The Duffalo bar is shaped like a rainbow, with a significant curved shape. This changes the mechanics of typical squatting & bench-pressing. For bench press, this bar is a great way to hammer lat engagement. Because of the curve on the bar, lifters can reinforce the cue “breaking the bar apart,” and are required to recruit the upper back for stability. Plus, the range of motion is increased-improving strength off the chest-where most raw lifters tend to fail. This helps improve bar path, efficiency, and maximize tension.
For squats, the curve in the bar can help with shoulder & bicep fatigue, which can occur with high squat volumes. The shape makes it easier to get under the barbell if shoulder mobility is an issue. The Duffalo can also reinforce upper back engagement and torso positioning, ensuring you stay rigid & braced during the rep. Plus, because of the arch, the ends of the bar-(where plates are placed) are lower than the center of the bar, bringing the weight closer to your center of mass, so theoretically, greater loads can be used.
This oddly shaped Specialty bar is primarily used for squats & bench presses- a helpful variation for some lifters.
5. Swiss Bar
What it’s used for: Bench presses, floor presses, Accessories
Exercises with this Bar: Swiss Bar Bench Press (can also add pauses/chains/bands), Swiss Bar Floor Press, Swiss Bar Seal Row, Swiss Bar Row, etc.
Benefits: The Swiss Bar is a great variation to remove some load off the shoulders. Because of the freedom of movement, the neutral grip, less stress is placed on the shoulders- a significant benefit to those with shoulder pain. The grip allows your shoulders to be more easily placed in a retracted and depressed position- exactly where we want to be when benching. Additionally, this grip emphasizes the triceps, as the elbows are forced to tuck, not flare- helping to improve bench press strength.
Not only can one bench with the Swiss, but it can also be used for rowing. We all know the importance of back work-and variation there is beneficial, too. We perform tons of overhand and underhand grip accessories - so a neutral grip can provide a different stimulus. This bar can help with proper rowing technique and increase lat recruitment.
Swiss bars are a versatile training tool for those in pain- and as a variation in general- and can be used on many different upper body exercises, from benching, pressing, rowing, and curling.
Specialty bars can be a valuable training tool - for those with restricted movement or injury, building weak points, improving technique, and adding in variation. However, they shouldn’t be overused. As a raw lifter especially, specificity is key- and lack of it will hurt your overall strength gains. Use specialty bars sparingly, only to supplement your main lifts, when it makes sense for you as an individual- and they may provide that stimulus you need to keep reaching on the path to PRs.
