At most gyms, there’s a cylindrical pad on the floor somewhere near the squat rack. (If it’s not there, check the Smith machine.) When I first started squatting, I needed that pad on the bar—or thought I did. How else would I protect my bony neck?
But the truth is, you don’t need that pad. And if you’re planning to lift more and more over the years (which you will, you beast, you), you’ll have to ditch it.
The pad I'm talking about looks like the one below. I'm sharing this with you for educational purposes, not because I think you should go buy one for squats. (It's not a bad idea at all to use one for hip thrusts, though, if you're looking for something for that exercise.) The bar pad wraps around the center of the barbell, and usually has a velcro flap or a pair of straps to hold it on the bar.
Look, you can use a bar pad if you want. I'm not your mom. But I'd argue that you shouldn't, or at least that if you use one your first day in the gym, you work on weaning yourself off of it as soon as you can.
The purpose of a bar cushion, in theory anyway, is to keep the barbell from pressing into the back of your neck. But if the bar is pressing in like that, you probably have the bar too far up your neck, and you're not squeezing your shoulder blades together to make the "meat shelf" that holds the bar in place and protects your neck bones.
The one upside of the pad is that, on your first day squatting, it probably helped you get more comfortable. Great! But there are downsides, and you’ll notice them more as the weight gets heavier:
A cushion around the bar makes the bar unstable. When you have hundreds of pounds on your back, you don’t want any squish. (This goes for your feet, too; get proper shoes.)
It also holds the weight an inch off your back, which some folks find is enough to shift your center of gravity, and thus alter your form.
If you intend to compete, there are no barbell pads on the platform. Train like you compete.
The only time a pad does make sense is if you’re using light weight and the bar feels totally under control, and the pad helps you feel more confident about squatting at all. If you just squatted for the first time, maybe the pad helped you get used to the exercise. Great. Now let’s take off the training wheels.
The bar should not be resting on the bone at the base of your neck. It also should not be on your shoulder bones. If it’s hurting either of these areas, all you need is a little adjustment.
For high bar squats, the bar will rest on your trapezius muscles. These are the muscles on either side of the base of your neck. Place your hands as narrowly as you can on the bar (somewhere just outside shoulder width), and squeeze your shoulder blades together. That will make your traps into a sort of meat cushion for the bar, and it won’t be resting on any of your bones.
For low bar squats, the bar will rest below shoulder level, so it shouldn’t be pressing on any of those bones. (If you don’t know what low bar is, you’re probably not doing it.) Alan Thrall has a video showing good low bar positioning here.
Once you get the positioning right, you’ll probably find you don’t miss the pad at all. Save that pad for hip thrusts, where it makes a lot more sense.
Nope, I wouldn't recommend it here either. When you do front squats, you need the bar to sit on your shoulders, but in front of your neck. There isn't much room there! A bar pad is going to take up space and make it impossible to get the bar in a good position. If you find front squats uncomfortable, read this guide and make sure your positioning is correct.
There's one more thing to consider, though. Sometimes people will do front squats with a safety squat bar, which comes with a built-in pad. It's not just a barbell with a pad, though; the ends of the bar are shaped at an angle, which changes the balance and positioning entirely. Some people do prefer doing front squats with this bar. But don't confuse a safety squat bar with a straight bar pad.
