What Makes the Safety Squat Bar JM Press Special?

The JM Press, named after powerlifting legend JM Blakley, has long been regarded as one of the premier tricep-building exercises for bench press strength. However, the traditional straight-bar version presents significant technical challenges that can limit its effectiveness. The safety squat bar variation eliminates many of these issues while amplifying the exercise’s benefits.

The curved design of the safety squat bar naturally guides the movement pattern, making it nearly impossible to perform incorrectly. This design feature transforms what can be a technically demanding exercise into an accessible movement that lifters can load heavily without compromising form. The thicker grip diameter of most safety squat bars also provides enhanced comfort during extended training sessions.

Essential Equipment and Setup Requirements

To perform this exercise effectively, you’ll need access to specific equipment. A power rack or squat rack forms the foundation of your setup, providing the necessary j-hooks for safe loading and unloading. The safety squat bar itself represents the most critical component, and quality matters significantly here. The Elite FTS Safety Squat Bar stands out as the gold standard, featuring superior camber and construction that optimizes the exercise’s biomechanics.

The camber, or curved design, of the safety squat bar plays a crucial role in the exercise’s effectiveness. A well-designed camber ensures proper hand positioning and allows for the natural rolling motion that defines this movement. Cheaper alternatives with minimal camber may not provide the same benefits and could potentially compromise your training results.

Proper Setup and Positioning Technique

Setting up the safety squat bar requires attention to specific details that differ from standard squatting preparation. Begin by removing the handles from your safety squat bar, as most quality bars feature removable handles that simply unscrew. This step is essential for proper hand placement and bar control throughout the movement.

Position the safety squat bar in your rack with the camber facing away from your typical squatting direction. If you normally face toward the mirror when squatting, you’ll want to flip the bar around so the curve faces the opposite direction. This orientation ensures that when you’re lying on the bench, the bar’s natural curve will guide your hands backward during the movement.

When setting up on the bench, position yourself slightly further back than you would for a standard bench press. This adjustment accounts for the rolling motion inherent in the exercise and prevents collision with the j-hooks during the movement’s eccentric phase.

Movement Execution and Technique Points

The Safety Squat Bar JM Press begins from a position similar to a close-grip bench press. After unracking the bar, position your hands on the curved portion of the safety squat bar, maintaining a grip width that feels natural and secure. Your starting position should place the bar directly above your chest with your arms fully extended.

The eccentric phase begins by lowering the pads of the safety squat bar toward your chest. As the pads make contact with your chest, allow the bar to roll naturally backward toward your face. This rolling motion is not something you force but rather something you guide and control. The bar’s design facilitates this movement, creating a natural arc that targets the triceps through an extended range of motion.

Throughout the eccentric phase, maintain elevated elbows and allow yourself to feel a controlled stretch in your triceps. This stretch position loads the medial head of the triceps particularly effectively, an adaptation that’s difficult to achieve with most other tricep exercises at similar loading intensities.

The concentric phase involves pressing the bar back to the starting position while maintaining the same elbow-high position. Focus on driving through your triceps rather than allowing your chest or shoulders to dominate the movement. The natural path created by the safety squat bar’s design ensures optimal tricep activation throughout the range of motion.

Programming and Training Applications

The Safety Squat Bar JM Press functions as a strength-building exercise rather than a traditional bodybuilding accessory movement. This distinction is important for understanding how to program it effectively within your training routine. Unlike exercises designed for muscle pump or metabolic stress, this movement excels when loaded heavily for moderate repetition ranges.

Effective rep ranges typically fall between three and eight repetitions, with five to six repetitions representing the sweet spot for most lifters. Some experienced practitioners may venture into sets of ten repetitions, but the exercise’s primary value lies in its capacity for heavy loading rather than high-volume training.

The exercise adapts well to various intensity techniques including bands, chains, and reverse bands. These accommodating resistance methods can enhance the strength curve and provide novel training stimuli. Consider incorporating this exercise as a primary supplemental movement following your main bench press work, where it can address tricep strength as a limiting factor in bench press performance.

Benefits and Target Muscle Emphasis

The Safety Squat Bar JM Press excels at targeting the medial head of the triceps, a muscle group that’s notoriously difficult to load heavily with most conventional exercises. This targeting occurs through the unique combination of elbow flexion, shoulder extension, and the stretch position achieved at the bottom of the movement.

The exercise bridges the gap between close-grip bench pressing, skull crushers, and rolling tricep extensions, incorporating elements from each movement pattern. This hybrid nature allows for heavier loading than traditional isolation exercises while maintaining focused tricep emphasis that general pressing movements often lack.

Both equipped and raw powerlifters report significant carryover to bench press performance, particularly in the lockout portion of the lift where tricep strength becomes paramount. The exercise’s ability to accommodate heavy loads while maintaining strict tricep focus makes it invaluable for addressing this common weak point.

Safety Considerations and Modifications

While the Safety Squat Bar JM Press offers improved safety compared to its straight-bar counterpart, certain considerations remain important. The exercise does place the elbow joint in a potentially vulnerable position, particularly during the stretched bottom portion of the movement. Lifters with existing elbow issues should approach this exercise cautiously and consider starting with lighter loads to assess tolerance.

The superior feel and reduced joint stress compared to the traditional straight-bar JM Press make this variation more accessible to lifters who’ve previously struggled with elbow discomfort. However, proper warm-up and gradual progression remain essential for long-term joint health and training success.

Conclusion: A Powerful Addition to Your Training Arsenal

The Safety Squat Bar JM Press represents a significant advancement in tricep training methodology, combining the strength-building potential of heavy compound movements with the targeted muscle activation of isolation exercises. Its foolproof technique and capacity for progressive overload make it an invaluable tool for any serious strength athlete.

Whether you’re seeking to break through bench press plateaus, build impressive tricep strength, or simply add variety to your upper body training, this exercise delivers results that justify its place in your program. The investment in proper equipment and technique mastery pays dividends in both immediate strength gains and long-term muscle development.