I was accustomed to using the safety squat bar at my gym that was much more expensive and I gambled on buying this Vevor bar for my house but it paid off. I feel like this balances out even better on my shoulders to the point where it’s not even necessary to hold the handles. I initially started using this type of squat bar after a shoulder injury made it difficult to reach back to secure a straight bar. I realized that with the plates being shifted forward it allowed me to stand up straighter putting much less strain on my lower back when squatting. The safety squat bar is the only type of bar I now use for squatting to preserve the health of my lower spine.