The Squat Harness Review

Learn More About the Squat Harness here

(The one I tested is the Premium Adjustable.)

 

What Is The Squat Harness?

The Squat Harness is a simple design...a pair of straps that loop over your shoulders and back with clips on the front for attaching bands or a cable.

The Squat Harness is SOLIDLY built...overbuilt, in fact, so that you never have to worry about any of the components failing.

I found it fit pretty well on me right out of the box and I didn't have to make any adjustments, but it does have some simple sliders (like a backpack) where you can easily adjust the loops to your body size.

All you need to do to wear it and use it is to put your arms through the loops and set it on your back! There are also a couple of loops to grab onto on the front to help lock the harness onto your body.

 

What Is The Squat Harness Useful For?

The Squat Harness is primarily for squats but because of how it works, it opens up a tremendous variety of exercise options both with bands and cables...and even free weight!

Here's what the regular band squat with it looks like...

Very simple and it allows you to do squats without needing free weight.

You can also use the Squat Harness with actual squats in order to do banded squats, taking advantage of the increase in tension of the bands as you come to the top of the exercise. The band sits on the harness without any issue, in my experience.

As well, you'll notice when you step on the bands and stretch them out to the sides, this actually locks in the hips very effectively for squats. I found it actually made my squat feel more solid because of this.

In the video, I show and talk about how to safely get this set up.

 

This leads me to the "perfect" squat...

This is a Reverse Band Squat Harness Safety Bar Squat.

I've got the Squat Harness giving me maximum resistance as I come to the top (where the leverage is the best in the squat). I've got bands coming from the top-down, reducing the resistance as I come down into the bottom, where leverage is the worst.

As well, you get the locking-in effect of the bands stretching between the feet for hip stability.

All together, when you squat, your legs get NO break from top to bottom during the entire set. My legs were sore for days after doing just a few sets of this.

I'm using a Marrs Bar here (which is a unique squat bar), but a regular safety squat bar would be very effective here as well. Using a safety squat bar allows you to hold onto the rack with one hand so that you can get the bands into position under your feet once you're in position and ready to go.

I have the demo for getting into position in the video above.

In my opinion, this is the BEST strength-curve focused squat I've EVER done. It's almost magical.

 

Other exercises you can do with the Squat Harness

The Squat Harness also comes with a couple of extension straps, that you can clip onto where the bands would clip on. This allows you to bring the straps together in the front, which lets you clip onto a low pulley cable weight stack.

And that opens up a ton of options for you, such as Cable Split Squats...

Cable Good Mornings...

And if you have a weight stack near a pull-up bar, cable weighted pull-ups or chin-ups.

And if you have a cable weight stack inside your rack (more likely in a home gym situation), you've got weighted push-ups.

You can also get a calf block or a Ripped Ramp, also made by the same company, and do cable standing calf raises.

And if you DO have the Ripped Ramp, you can use it in conjuction with the bands to do heels-elevated squats (this ramp is perfect for band work because it has rounded surfaces on the bottom to prevent damage to the bands).

To do that, set the bands under the rounded sections.

Then stand on the ramp and squat.

Note: don't step off the ramp when you're in the top position...squat down a bit so that you release the band tension, then get the bands out from under the ramp.

In the video, I'll also show you how to use regular training bands (42 inch) with the Squat Harness by running them through a carabiner, then clipping that onto the Squat Harness.

This allows you do much heaver band squatting. The tubing bands that come with the Squat Harness are good but don't provide a tremendous amount of resistance.

And again, what I've showed you here is only just the beginning. Having the ability to connect your body to weight without using your hands is the key benefit of this piece of equipment.

 

The Bottom Line

After using and testing the Squat Harness for a good stretch of time, I have to say, this piece is a standout. I use it almost every single time I squat now because how effective it is for matching the strength curve of the exercise and locking the hips in.

It will take a bit of practice to use with cables and it'll be helpful if you have a short length of additional chain to make it easier to get into position (if your gym doesn't have that, you can get some at the hardware store for a couple of bucks).

I did notice when doing some cable exercises that pull forward on the harness, you can get a small amount of pinching, enough to notice but not enough to be super uncomfortable or make me not want to use it like that.

The Squat Harness is built tough...I didn't feel any indication that any part of this was going to give out, even when I tested it with heavy loads.

This is a piece that is going to last you a very long time and really opens up a wide variety of training options, especially in a limited-equipment, home-gym situation.

And it's an absolute standout for getting more out of your regular squats.

Absolutely worth getting.

Get Your Squat Harness Here