There is absolutely nothing inherently dangerous or injury prone in lifting a barbell. It is the second part, the desire to slide on huge plates that gets peopl

There is absolutely nothing inherently dangerous or injury prone in lifting a barbell. It is the second part, the desire to slide on huge plates that gets people in trouble. One could say the same thing about someone who decides they are going to run a marathon, slide on their 5 year old Nikes, and heel strike their way to a knee replacement. I do say, once you have had the experience of 400 pounds loaded on your back, there isn't a muscle in your body, stabilizer or otherwise, that isn't 'activated'. There are not many other movements out there, and none that can be progressively loaded and trained, that will match a back squat to proper depth for engaging more of the body's muscle systems.