The elitefts™ Swiss Bar provides the option of having an angled grip, or multiple neutral grips that vary in width. This lets you perform a variety of exercises and variations that you just can't do with your typical barbell. The elitefts™ Swiss Bar has numerous strength and safety benefits.
Watch NFL linemen go at it in the trenches; their shoulders and upper arms are much more nearly adducted. They keep their elbows in tight to their bodies. The same is true if you are trying to push a car that is stuck, or pushing anything with 100% effort, for that matter. When you bench press a traditional straight bar, your shoulders and upper arms are much more abducted, which can compromise the safety of your shoulders in the long run. That is why the elitefts™ Swiss Bar is much safer.
The many neutral grip options allow your shoulder to be oriented optimally. Angle grips, approximately 30 degrees, are also an option to add variation to your workout and comfort to your joints. The different grips will strengthen your muscles at different angles, which in turn makes you more functional. Demonstrated below are several exercises that can only be performed with an elitefts™ Swiss Bar.
elitefts™ Swiss Bar Incline Front Raise
Josh Bryant uses an eliteftsSwiss Bar on an incline bench for front raises to burn and isolate the shoulders.
Put your bench at an incline and lay your chest flat on the bench. With a slight bend at the elbows, raise your arms until they are at eye level. Throw some plates on to get more resistance.
According to the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, front shoulder raises show the greatest activation at the anterior and middle deltoid, upper trap, infraspinatus, and serratus anterior. (Jakobsen, 2012).
A video posted by Jailhouse Strong (@jailhousestrong) on
WATCH: Swiss Press Bar Triceps Extension with Chains
Scott Yard performs a lying triceps extension with aneliteftsSwiss Press Bar with two chains on each side.
This particular exercise increases strength for pressing while using accommodating resistance to decrease stress on the elbow joint.
On the concentration motion of the lying triceps extension, the resistance becomes more difficult, but with accommodating resistance using chains, Scott creates the most resistance at the top of the strength curve.
The elbow joint is also in a less vulnerable position when using a neutral grip provided by the eliteftsSwiss Press Bar.
Great triceps movement and another one that is very low risk for the elbows. - Scott Yard
Elitefts Founder Dave Tate performs the JM Press with the Swiss Bar and chains. The bar puts your hands in a perfect position for the JM press.
Keys to Success:
- Grip the bar at shoulder width with the elbow slightly wider than the hands (30-45 degrees).
- Lower the barwithout moving the upper armwith the wrists flexed (co*cked).
- Once the forearm is in contact with the upper arm, press the bar to the extended position.
- The upper arm should not come forward or backward to keep maximal tension on the triceps.
- The wrists should stay flexed until lockout to alleviate unwanted strain on the elbow.
The chains are a great addition to this exercise because it decreases the weight at the bottom of the motion, taking much of the stress off the elbows and increasing stress on the triceps.
]Scott Hayes demonstrates the JM Press using theelitefts™ Swiss Angle Grip Press Bar while Director of Education Mark Watts explains the execution of the lift. This bar allows better execution of the JM Press due to:
- The angle of the handles to preform the lift with the upper arms closer to a 45-degree angle without stress on the wrists.
- The width of the bar, the lower portion will contact the forearms reinforcing proper range of motion.
elitefts.com™ Founder and CEO Dave Tate performs cage presses with the elitefts™ Swiss Press Bar and Fat Gripz™ Extreme. The cage press is beneficial to keep stress on the front delts while minimizing impact on the shoulders. Combining the advantages of a regular cage press with the neutral grip provided by the Swiss Press Bar, which minimizes sometimes problematic external rotation, in addition to the Fat Gripz™ Extremes, which reduce impact on the elbow and recruit more motor units, makes this exercise a great choice for maximizing hypertrophy while minimizing joint stress.
Dave Tate on the cage press:
"This isn’t your normal shoulder press because you’re not pressing back and over your head; you’re pressing forward and away. This will make it an easier movement for those who may be training around shoulder injuries. (Note: If you have a shoulder injury and this still hurts, don’t be a moron and keep doing it. Find something else to do.)
This isn’t a movement that you’ll need to go really heavy on. I like to prescribe multiple sets of 10 to 15 reps with this exercise. Stripping the rack also works very well for bench presses, close-grip bench presses, curls and extensions."
elitefts.com Sponsored Pro Powerlifter Julia Ladewski performs sets of push-ups and bodyweight rows on the elitefts™ Swiss Press Bar. Perform a set number of reps at each had position to increase hypertrophy and work capacity. Multiple grips are used to hit targeted muscle groups at different angles. The most common variation is to go from narrow to a wider grip through the set. You can also adjust the rack height and foot position for variation.
Check this out. Dave takes the new Fat Swiss Bar and uses it for a set of assisted chins. This is a great way to utilize the neutral grip advantage a monkey bar attachment has without the need of a Collegiate Power Rack. Get your swiss bar attachment and blow up those lats!
Using the Swiss Bar attachment for the classic lat pull down:
