Manta Ray for Squats

    I have never heard anyone discuss this and was wondering if anyone owned one or has tried one. It is a blue piece of plasticish material that sits on the top of your shoulders and on the upper back while squatting. It makes squats A LOT more comfortable than a wrap around pad on there as it fits to the contours of your back. After using it for all this time I am unsure of whether it has any negative effects. Any information on it?

it hurts my traps... i just go with the bar...

I use the manta ray everytime. I find it it be a great little addition to the squat. I have a bad right shoulder, and this nicely fits on my traps and takes away all discomfort I had with the rotator.

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    So is there anything I should know about using it? Does it have any negative long term effects? I am farmiliar with it and have used it many a time but wanted to know if there was any downside to the comfort it offers. I love the feeling compared to nothing at all or a foam pad.

No there are no negative effects. It made to alleviate pressure from the trapezius and shoulders. It doesn't assist in the left, or negate anyhing about it, it just supports the groove to your neck that some people just cannot create without serve pain. I being one of them.

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    Thanks for the info, couldn't agree more with the painful normal squats.

I would avoid using the manta ray.  Try doing low bar squats. 

"True genius, in many fields of human endeavor, is often revealed in elegant simplicity."

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I completely understand the pain you're referring to...  when I do back squats.. My arms hands are all the way out to the plates due to the pain in my RC and not being able to bring them in closer, as they should be..
 
 

ORIGINAL: PearlJammer919

I use the manta ray everytime. I find it it be a great little addition to the squat. I have a bad right shoulder, and this nicely fits on my traps and takes away all discomfort I had with the rotator.

There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing

 

haha.. theres a thing for it.. haha..


I put a towel under the straps of a book bag.. stops the heavy pressure nicely.

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ORIGINAL: brihead301

I would avoid using the manta ray.  Try doing low bar squats. 

Why's that?

With the low bar position there is very little pain from the bar. There's actually a bit of an art to taking up the weight of the bar on your back so that it's secure and painless.

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    Well if that works well for me, why shouldn't I do it? I thought he was hinting that using it is bad.

I am going to tell you that all the Manta Ray does is assist you in positioning the bar correctly on your traps and it also removes the pain from them as well.  The Manta Ray actually forces you to do your squat safely and correctly because it doesn't allow you to mis-position the bar in a way that will force your torso forward during the squat movement.  I say keep on using it. I use one myself and have found it to be an incredible tool. 

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    Thanks I think I figure that it is beneficial now and will continue using it! My favorite lifting tool by far.

ORIGINAL: MikeMahony

I am going to tell you that all the Manta Ray does is assist you in positioning the bar correctly on your traps and it also removes the pain from them as well.  The Manta Ray actually forces you to do your squat safely and correctly because it doesn't allow you to mis-position the bar in a way that will force your torso forward during the squat movement.  I say keep on using it. I use one myself and have found it to be an incredible tool. 

 
Your torso should go forward when you squat.  That's how you maintain balance and keep the bar directly over mid foot during the entire squat.

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ORIGINAL: poisondart90

ORIGINAL: brihead301

I would avoid using the manta ray.  Try doing low bar squats. 

Why's that?

If the bar is hurting you while squatting without the manta ray then you are doing something wrong.  The manta ray will cover up your problem, but it won't fix it. 

People can hold over 1000 lbs. on their back with no pads or additional aids.  I obviously can't do this, but I can comfortably hold any amount of wait that I can squat with absolutely no pain whatsoever.

Low bar squatting (bar rests on your rear delts) protects your knees and back from injury.  Holding the bar in the low position forces you to lean forward a bit more, stick your butt back more, and it uses the hamstrings a lot more to protect the knee joints. 

Low bar position also shortens the distance between the center of gravity of the weight and your hips, making a shorter lever arm (less torque at the hips).  This results in less stress on your lower back. 

The manta ray will not allow you to learn how to properly squat.  If you are serious about learning how to squat, which I'm guessing you are, you wouldn't want to use this device to cheat.  Read Starting strength to learn how to squat correctly. 

Very bad idea using that thing, IMO.

"True genius, in many fields of human endeavor, is often revealed in elegant simplicity."

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ORIGINAL: brihead301

ORIGINAL: poisondart90

ORIGINAL: brihead301

I would avoid using the manta ray.  Try doing low bar squats. 

Why's that?

If the bar is hurting you while squatting without the manta ray then you are doing something wrong.  The manta ray will cover up your problem, but it won't fix it. 



Very bad idea using that thing, IMO.

i agree and disagree.. my problem has nothing to do with my traps or rhomboids experiencing pain while squatting..due to holding the weight.. my pain derives from my RC.. and pressure it receives when pulling back my arms behind the bar... the closer the grip to my body, the worse the pain is.....  even just holding a 45lbs bar causes pressure and it hurts..

But you're 100% correct on it not being a fix.. I've never used one but can see how it would help eliminate RC pain due to the positioning of the hand bars.. no pressure at all.. to help the issue I have.. I squat with the bar low, and although it's not ideal.. I just widen out my grip.. it's not a fix but it helps and my squat form is still above average..

There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing

 

I have the same problem as Smoundzou, so I agree it doesn't correct the mistake but it will assist if there is a lagging injury such as a rotator cuff.

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Ya, I can see how having RC issues could be a problem for you, but you are still able to squat by simply taking a wider grip.  In my opinion, that's perfectly fine.  I watch Youtube videos of PL's squatting close to 1000 lbs., and their hands are all the way out near the weights.  Whatever works.  But I definately think that the manta ray is not a solution. 
 
I was having some pain in my RC's too.  They're getting better, but they were both bothering me.  That's actually the reason why I took a break from the SS program and started doing higher reps again.  I was OH pressing with bad form, so it caused this pain.  I have to retract my shoulder blades more when I press, which I wasn't doing before.
 
How did you hurt yours anyway?  That seems to be a common injury, and I want to make sure I avoid it.

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ORIGINAL: PearlJammer919

I have the same problem as Smoundzou, so I agree it doesn't correct the mistake but it will assist if there is a lagging injury such as a rotator cuff.

 
True, but if the only reason he is using it is just to avoid the pain of having the bar resting on your back, then I don't think it's a good reason to use it.  If he is using it for something like a shoulder injury, then I think it should only be used temporarily until the injury is healed.  I think that the OP is healthy though since he didn't mention any injuries.

"True genius, in many fields of human endeavor, is often revealed in elegant simplicity."

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I blew out my right RC back in june... the initial reason for the issue was my left shoulder had some severe atrophy due to being out of the gym for 15 or so months and when I finally was physically able to start training again, the entire left side was shot to hell...
 
I started training with nothing but DB's to try and even everything out but went back to the bar too soon.. and simply over-compensated with my right side on incline bench.. I managed to go years without ever having a single RC issue and Bam.. As of June I was stuck with lagging left side and a blown out RC on the right.. Doesn't get any better than that..
 
The good news is.. the RC is slowly getting better from some exercises i've been doing and the left side is almost par to the right.. if I had to guess I would say my right side can still out press by maybe 10-15lbs..not to shabby considering back in April of 07 it was approximately 40% weaker than my right.. The long head of my left tri was so riddled with atrophy I could barely do a 20lbs DB extension 10X's.. Once it would reach the bottom of the lift.. it would drop like a rock.. like there was no muscle present at all.. Pretty scarry..

There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing

 

Ouch.  That doesn't sound like fun.  Do OH presses hurt for you to do?  That is the only exercise that really bothers me to do, so I can't do full range of motion with heavy weights.  I can only bring it down to about eye level or slightly lower without pain.

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Incline bench literally kills me.. But I do the same as you with the OH presses.. I bring the bar down to about eye level.. right about to where both upper arms are slightly lower than horizontal.. any lower and it's like hot molten lead inside my right shoulder..
 
It is getting better since I've started doing the RC exercises with DB's but until I take off for a month or so.. I doubt it will ever be 100%...
 

ORIGINAL: brihead301

Ouch.  That doesn't sound like fun.  Do OH presses hurt for you to do?  That is the only exercise that really bothers me to do, so I can't do full range of motion with heavy weights.  I can only bring it down to about eye level or slightly lower without pain.

There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing

 

ORIGINAL: brihead301
True, but if the only reason he is using it is just to avoid the pain of having the bar resting on your back, then I don't think it's a good reason to use it.  If he is using it for something like a shoulder injury, then I think it should only be used temporarily until the injury is healed.  I think that the OP is healthy though since he didn't mention any injuries.

 
Honestly, if he isn't entering into a powerlifting competition, it shouldn't matter since I dont find it to jeopardize the lift at all when speaking of form. I understand your train of thought Brihead, and your correct too. However, as the saying goes, If it doesn't hurt, do it. If it does, obviously dont. Hence, when doing the squat injury or not, if it digs into his back where pain occurs, and he could use the manta to subside the pain and get all the benefits from possibly the best exercise in the world, then I see no problem. If entering a competition however, totally different story.

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"Do not go where the path may lead, instead go where there is no path, and leave a trail."

I guess you're right, but I just have the idea that correct form is most important with complicated exercises such as the squat.  The weight of the bar causing pain is a form error, which can be corrected by other means. 
 
The manta ray does eliminate the possiblity of doing low-bar squats though, which to me, is very important.  I have bad knees, so doing high bar squats puts too much pressure on my knees since they don't have as much hamstring involvement as low-bar.  Using the manta ray would actually hurt me more then not using it.

"True genius, in many fields of human endeavor, is often revealed in elegant simplicity."

- A smart man

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    Fortunatley, I do not have any injuries. I was just asking generically and I will try both with and without it and try to do low bar one's too. Just need to get used to not using it as I had one available at school and bought one because it was so helpful.

The torso naturally goes a little forward, but what I was referring too (not too clearly I see, sorry) is those people you see doing squats who end up almost bending over because the bar is rolling too high on their traps and it forces them too far forward.  The Manta Ray corrects that problem and nicely at that.

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ORIGINAL: MikeMahony

The torso naturally goes a little forward, but what I was referring too (not too clearly I see, sorry) is those people you see doing squats who end up almost bending over because the bar is rolling too high on their traps and it forces them too far forward.  The Manta Ray corrects that problem and nicely at that.

 
That's what the manta ray makes worse.  It makes the bar sit even higher then a high bar squat. 
 
 

"True genius, in many fields of human endeavor, is often revealed in elegant simplicity."

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It has less to do with the position and more with how it distributes the weight. The weight is mostly felt lower on the back for me than when I just use the bar so assuming your logic is right, it is actually helping my form. There's always room for improvement though!

ORIGINAL: poisondart90

....so assuming your logic is right, it is actually helping my form.

It's not my logic, it's physics. 

Do what you like though.

"True genius, in many fields of human endeavor, is often revealed in elegant simplicity."

- A smart man

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