Body-Solid Manta Ray Squat Bar Pad - Barbell Pad for Hip Thrusts and Squats, Gym Accessories for Stress-Free Workout, Hip Thrust Pad Ensuring Comfort & Safety, 12" L x 3" W x 8" H

Bought this product due to having a history of cervical disc disease which required surgery and I'm now back to working out again with free weights. I have been training with weights for about 40 years. As I said in the title, it does what it's supposed to do. I thought I would have a difficult time getting used to it...I first tried it on without weight just to see how you wear it and wondered how this thing was even going to stay on. I have an olympic bench with a 7-foot standard bar and it fits a standard bar perfectly. I attached it to the bar, walked in for my squats and lifted the weights off the upright and was seriously and pleasantly surprised. No pressure on my neck, upper traps, or rear shoulders. It really felt better than the old foam pads I used to use...it fits perfect. When I went down for my squat I was surprised too how I could do a full squat without bending forward as much as I used to. It really allows you to worry less about gripping the bar, or the bar slipping. It's very comfortable and is all around an excellent product. Also of note was there was no low back strain at all. Try it..you can always return it if you want but I doubt you'll want to after trying it. I read all the other reviews and watched some online videos and wondered what the hype was and if it really did what it was supposed to. I'll let you be the judge now.

I will start with the negative: It is not form fitted to your body so there is a little awkwardness initially, and for some people it may not fit well at all. Positive: Although it is not a perfect mold for me, it fits pretty well and does exactly what it says. I am doing squats and standing barbell calf raises 50 pounds more than I was just a week prior to using it, and I am confident enough with the Manta Ray that i can probably go higher next time. By it spreading the pressure across your shoulders, and getting rid of the pain from the bar against your neck as well as helping with your posture, you can finally turn your focus away from pain and uncomfortableness and direct it to your main goal: having a great workout and actually doing reps at the weight you are meant to. Without the Manta Ray I'm not sure when I would ever see much progression in how much I can squat and calf lift because the neck pain prevented me from putting on heavier weights. Great product, I highly recommend it! If it doesn't fit just return it or resell it, it is worth risking the $5 you might have to spend to mail it back for the chance that it will fit and give you a much better lift.

When you first get this, you MAY, like me, look at the size of it and think, "Well that's not big enough to help with anything".But WOW was I wrong.After slotting it onto the bar, loading up the plates and beginning my squats, I had to lower the weight, just to get used to the different body position one needs to get in to. (Using the Manta Ray, forces you to squat correctly). But once I did some warm up reps I was able to adapt to it very easily.I did a full 6 sets, walked away from the squatting area and my legs felt like jelly. (Just like I want them too). But more of an intense feeling in the outer quad muscles than before.This product is superb for maintaining your form and I HIGHLY recommended its purchase if you're struggling with your squats and/or form.

I love this product. I have a thinning cervical vertebrae that can be aggravated when squatting with a bare barbell. I’ve been using a squat pad but it takes away the natural feel of the bar; too much padding. I have two barbells, a men’s and a women’s bar because of the difference in diameter. I use the Manta Ray on the women’s bar and stack it with weight and I don’t feel the bar whatsoever.

I'm a lean build and the product works pretty well for me. After I got used to it it was a very comfortable fit and was sitting soldily on my shoulder. However, my wife who has a small stature, found it painful to use so after a few tries she stopped using it. Right now I'm not using it either because if you place the bar where you are supposed to then it won't hurt your neck or shoulders. I have a feeling that as I go up in weights I may start using it again just to feel safer with the weight.

This product is excellent. The natural hold point for the bar on my back is very low when I perform squats. This puts a lot of stress on my shoulders and elbows. Holding the bar higher alleviates that but puts the bar directly on my spine which causes extreme pain. The manta ray allows me to hold the bar higher up on my back without the stress on my joints. It definitely allows me to use the heaviest weights possible without any joint pain. I have also noticed that I can squat considerably more weight as well as maintain better control of the weight throughout the lift. I would highly recommend this product to anyone.

This product is excellent in distributing the weight from the bar across the yoke of the back instead of having all of that weight focused on a 1"x2" spot. The bar itself starts to kill my back at about 315 and this makes is comfortable enough to where you can focus on the squat and not hurrying to get the bar back on the rack. I have used this for squats of over 555 lbs comfortably and there is absolutely no bend or torquing involved. Very easy to use and comfortable. I get asked all the time about it at the gym. Try it and see. You won't be sorry.

My girlfriend wanted this as she used it in another gym she visited. She's petite (5'1") and it fits her very well, she swears that she can squat higher weights using it. Snaps easily onto a standard barbell.I'm larger (6'1") and have more developed shoulders. I found the hard plastic dug in to my collarbones and traps making the device very uncomfortable to use. I also squat higher weights.I'm back to using one of the padded foam collars kicking around the gym.Apparently if this fits you it's fantastic and if not unusable. I'd consider future models if they provided different sizes or used a softer plastic or foam in contact with the shoulders.