Do You Use a BB Pad When Squatting

Training Bodybuilding
41

[quote]Fuzzyapple wrote:
countingbeans wrote:
Nyral wrote:
My traps and upper back were pretty damn sore after a squat workout when I threw the pussy pad away. I think this by itself made my traps grow a lot in a matter of weeks…no need for shrugs really!

That is a joke right?

That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard if it isn’t a joke.

I decided to throw the tampon away once I got to 225lbs on the squat. I just tell people to “Man up” and do it. [/quote]

How so? It worked for me. Having a few hundred pounds on your back without padding does force you to contract your back muscles hard to keep it in place…With the pad, the bar was resting higher on my back, pretty much on my shoulders so I didn’t really have to squeeze my scapulae together. In a way removing the pad forced me to do it correctly because I couldn’t get away with lousy form anymore.

42

[quote]WRPL wrote:
no one in this forum uses a pad…
theyre pointless[/quote]

I wasn’t aware this forum had spokesmen.

43

[quote]B.L.U. Ninja wrote:
Akuma01 wrote:
im curious as to who thinks those little pads actually work though, lol i mean seriously its a piece of < 1 inch, quasi Styrofoam and its supposed help with the 600lbs on your neck? El o El

Dumbass. Its not gonna help you squat 600. If you can squat 600, you won’t need a fucking pad.

Most people who use the pad are beginners, at least in the gyms that I’ve been in.[/quote]

I was being Facetious you putz.

And I still use a pad, even though the thing itself is damn near useless, and in fact is sometimes more trouble than its worth, or atleast becomes annoying, when say, the pad rolls and the bar becomes exposed at the point where its actually needed. Maybe i just have a shitty pad, but w/e.

44

Not sure why anyone would use the pad really, you get used to the bar sitting on your back if you do it for a few weeks.

45

fuck no. my coach lets freshman use them if they’re lil woosie girls

46

[quote]Nyral wrote:
How so? It worked for me. Having a few hundred pounds on your back without padding does force you to contract your back muscles hard to keep it in place…With the pad, the bar was resting higher on my back, pretty much on my shoulders so I didn’t really have to squeeze my scapulae together. In a way removing the pad forced me to do it correctly because I couldn’t get away with lousy form anymore.[/quote]

Okay makes some sense if you did that. I usually have the bar rest on my traps and do not really contract much if any of my back to keep it there. But whatever floats your boat right?

47

A couple of years ago we had a new guy in our gym. As I was walking past the squat rack he asked me if we had a pad for the bar. I knew that we had one, but I never used it so I had no clue where it would be. I asked one of the girls (she was 8 or 9 at the time) on the weightlifting team if she knew where it was. Well obviously she didn’t because she yells across the gym “Hey sis, have you seen the sissy pad?”

If an 8 year old girl doesn’t need one, then neither does anyone else.

48

I do not use it, and I think people who do are pussies. It’s all about pain tolerance imo. What is bodybuilding but pushing your body past what it can handle, and alot of that is your threshold of pain. I’ve never thought it was too uncomfortable, perhaps cuz I’ve always had meat there.

49

[quote]Stuntman Mike wrote:
Brook wrote:
Iron Dwarf wrote:
No.

But last time I checked, no judges at BBing competitions ask that question (the great Roy Calendar used to hold sponges while doing all his barbell work).
Whatever it takes for you to squat, do it. Who gives a shit if it’s for pussies. Nobody will call you a pussy when you carry home a trophy.

x2

It is funny to me that so many of those claiming it is for ‘pussies’ and making jokes about those who use them are absolute weeds themselves.

While i don’t use one usually i have tried one in the past - and from that experience all i found was that it made the free bar squat a little more comfortable, no less effort and no less effective…

Why does that have to be for pussies? I am in the game of building muscle, not enduring unnecessary pain to convince others of my ‘bravado’.

Those who feel the need to do so clearly have little.

Now of course, if we are talking about someone who won’t or can’t squat without it - then sure, man up.
But if it is there, why not use it… some smith widowmakers would go down nicely with that pad IMO.

Unless they are for pussies.

Is it really that bad though? I might be a little uncomfortable at first, but I never though having a bar on my back was painful.

Squatting it is another story, but having the bar there seems to be what nature intended.[/quote]

No of course not, as i said - someone who relies on it (a pad) for any reason needs slapping.

But as anyone who has practised their overload statics in the squat, part of the battle is being able to hold the weight there, getting used to it and being able to complete the movement with hundreds of pounds bearing down on you.

This is one reason why overloaded static holds are so useful in increasing your squat - being comfortable with the weight.

The pad also helps this. No good for a PL, but fine for a BB.

Of course, there is the purist view - which is the main reason i don’t use one myself. I LIKE the iron in contact with me, as i hold my own against it, etc.

But are pads for pussies? Not necessarily so… :slight_smile:

50

I think people having pain in their neck from the bar during squats are just squating wrong. Don’t put the damn bar on your neck!

Since day one I’ve been squating with the bar on my traps. Grab the bar. I said…GRAB THE BAR. Pull it…PULL IT into your traps. The bar, your hands, your traps, should all become ONE.

Push up and I mean PUSH UP against the bar as you come up from the depths.

I’ve done sissy pad squats before and it just feels weird because now the bar is an inch higher. If you don’t think an inch matters you haven’t squat enough.

51

[quote]countingbeans wrote:
B.L.U. Ninja wrote:
Akuma01 wrote:
im curious as to who thinks those little pads actually work though, lol i mean seriously its a piece of < 1 inch, quasi Styrofoam and its supposed help with the 600lbs on your neck? El o El

Dumbass. Its not gonna help you squat 600. If you can squat 600, you won’t need a fucking pad.

Most people who use the pad are beginners, at least in the gyms that I’ve been in.

At 16 years old, how many gyms have you spent significant time in?[/quote]

My HS weight room, The Track and field centre, 2 community centres, Goodlife and YMCA.

I wouldnt say I spent ALOT of time in each gym but I’d say I’ve been there enough in the 2 1/2 years that I’ve been training and I never saw the bigger guys who put up decent numbers use a pad.

Even I dont use the pad and I’m still a relative beginner.

52

I found the pad made it more comfortable if the bar was up high on my neck.

But it made it more difficult to get the bar down lower on my back, which is what I wanted. So I chucked it.

53

the pad puts the bar higher up hence more pressure on your lower back, plus the pad at my gym is all slipperey and lets the bar shift slightly when squatting

54

lol, you are all so fucking tough. I don’t use it, but I used to. Who fucking cares lol.

55

Most people I see using that pad have atrocious form and do shitty reps most the time. I grinded through with out one when I weighed not even a 130 lbs with no traps/upperback whatsoever.

I find it hilarious when I see people using that especially in the smith machine, like c’mon now. My favorite part is when I walk over to a rack, see that shit on there and go “fuck this thing” as I rip that bitch off and chuck it the fuck out of my sight!!

56

I use it for Zercher squats.

57

[quote] Brook wrote:
Stuntman Mike wrote:
Brook wrote:
Iron Dwarf wrote:
No.

But last time I checked, no judges at BBing competitions ask that question (the great Roy Calendar used to hold sponges while doing all his barbell work).
Whatever it takes for you to squat, do it. Who gives a shit if it’s for pussies. Nobody will call you a pussy when you carry home a trophy.

x2

It is funny to me that so many of those claiming it is for ‘pussies’ and making jokes about those who use them are absolute weeds themselves.

While i don’t use one usually i have tried one in the past - and from that experience all i found was that it made the free bar squat a little more comfortable, no less effort and no less effective…

Why does that have to be for pussies? I am in the game of building muscle, not enduring unnecessary pain to convince others of my ‘bravado’.

Those who feel the need to do so clearly have little.

Now of course, if we are talking about someone who won’t or can’t squat without it - then sure, man up.
But if it is there, why not use it… some smith widowmakers would go down nicely with that pad IMO.

Unless they are for pussies.

Is it really that bad though? I might be a little uncomfortable at first, but I never though having a bar on my back was painful.

Squatting it is another story, but having the bar there seems to be what nature intended.

No of course not, as i said - someone who relies on it (a pad) for any reason needs slapping.

But as anyone who has practised their overload statics in the squat, part of the battle is being able to hold the weight there, getting used to it and being able to complete the movement with hundreds of pounds bearing down on you.

This is one reason why overloaded static holds are so useful in increasing your squat - being comfortable with the weight.

The pad also helps this. No good for a PL, but fine for a BB.

Of course, there is the purist view - which is the main reason i don’t use one myself. I LIKE the iron in contact with me, as i hold my own against it, etc.

But are pads for pussies? Not necessarily so… :)[/quote]

yea… uh huh… true… really?..

Pads are for pussies.

58

[quote]Carlitosway wrote:
Most people I see using that pad have atrocious form and do shitty reps most the time. I grinded through with out one when I weighed not even a 130 lbs with no traps/upperback whatsoever.

I find it hilarious when I see people using that especially in the smith machine, like c’mon now. My favorite part is when I walk over to a rack, see that shit on there and go “fuck this thing” as I rip that bitch off and chuck it the fuck out of my sight!![/quote]

lol

59

I’ll give the most logical answer. If it feels natural, makes your squatting experience more pleasurable, and you squat the same weight with some light padding, then go ahead. I personally don’t use.

60

Nothing wrong with using the pad. Guess most people here are hardcore tough guys…