Why You Should Always Use Safety Clips When Doing Barbell Squats

It just might prevent weight plates from sliding off the barbell like a stack of metal pancakes.

Photo by Sven Mieke on Unsplash
I’ve seen my fair share of accidents in the gym in what seems like a lifetime of working out.

Luckily, no one was ever severely injured or seriously hurt.

It’s why I always stay observant, cautious, and careful whenever I step into the gym to work out.

I am constantly looking for any possible dangers, unnecessary risks, and potential hazards.

One of the most common mistakes I see is someone not putting safety clips onto the barbell whenever squatting.

I once witnessed over 500 pounds crashing down to the floor in my first powerlifting competition while warming up before his upcoming squat attempt.

A powerlifting competitor had just loaded the barbell with 5–45 pound plates on each side of the barbell on the squat rack.

Whenever you see someone load that much weight on a barbell, it catches your attention.

Then it happened.

After unracking the barbell from the squat rack, one of the 45-pound plates began to slide off just a little bit toward the end of the barbell.

Then, on his next step back, another 45-pound plate shifted slowly toward the opposite end of the barbell.

It was too late.

With each step, more of the plates started to separate and slide apart.
Until one side of the 45-pound plates came crashing down, then the same thing happened on another side.

Leaving two stacks of 45-pound plate pancakes on each side of the squat rack.

The problem was that he didn’t put any clips at the end of the bar to secure the weights.

This is one of the most common things I see in the gym today, especially when people do barbell squats.

Always secure weights on a barbell with clips whenever possible. Regardless if it’s over 500 pounds or 50 pounds.

Often most gyms won’t have clips, which is an issue itself. And when they do, they don’t work properly.