Squat Plug: What Is It? Real Or Fake?

While scrolling through your social media feed, you might have encountered a strange apparatus called the ‘Squat Plug’.

While it may sound like a joke created within the fitness community, you might be surprised that it may have real usage while lifting weights.

In this article I will explore what the squat plug is and if it has real value to your gym session or if it’s just weird & useless equipment.

What Is A Squat Plug?

The squat plug is a device where you insert it inside your body through your rear end.

The theory behind this is that as you go heavier in weight, you might lose control of your bowel movement~ potentially causing Feces to be excreted through the rear end.

It’s also supposedly meant to provide additional support while squatting. The plug allows you to get a better contraction of your gluteal & abdominal muscles, giving you that extra edge to lift the weight up.

However nothing has been proven, these are just discussions from individuals within different forums.

What Are The Benefits Of Squat Plug?

Before I go through with the benefits, it’s important to emphasize that none of these have any scientific research backing.

Can Help You Lift More Weights

During squats, it’s crucial that you contract your core, as it plays a crucial role in stabilizing your spine and pelvis.

When you engage the core, you create intra-abdominal pressure, which helps you control the weight throughout the lift.

Most people might find it difficult to fully brace their core. So the logic is that when you insert the squat plug, you have an object to which you can shift focus and press your muscle against it.

The plug acts as a guide to give you a better idea of how your core should be contracting. By doing so, you will feel more stable under the bar~ allowing you to push heavier weights.

Prevent Gas & Feces Excretion

Not every time, but on rare occasions while lifting heavier weights during squats, it can lead to unintended bowel movement or gas.

This is because as you have to tighten your core muscle, this increased intra-abdominal pressure can put excess pressure on your intestines and rectum. Therefore in some cases, this pressure can trigger the urge to have a bowel movement or even lead to involuntary bowel movements.

If this situation occurs, having the squat plug will stop any unwanted feces or gas from coming out and prevent an awkward circumstance.

Possibly Prevent Rectal Prolapse

Rectal prolapse is a medical condition where the rectum, the last part of the large intestine, sticks outside the anus. It occurs when the rectal wall becomes stretched or weakened, causing the rectum to slip or fall out of its normal position.

During heavy squats, it can lead to increased intra-abdominal pressure. This pressure can result in chronic straining during bowel movements. Prolonged chronic straining can weaken the pelvic floor muscles and the rectal wall over time, potentially increasing the risk of rectal prolapse.

Furthermore, squatting requires a strong pelvic floor, if these muscles are weak or compromised due to factors like pregnancy or old age~ heavy squatting may exacerbate this weakness. Straining aggressively while having a weak pelvic floor muscle can contribute to rectal prolapse condition.  

Therefore, wearing a squat plug can prevent you from experiencing rectal prolapse. 

Is Squat Plug A Real Thing?

It’s hard to get a real definite answer.

By thinking logically, the concept of it seems really weird, on top of that by browsing through the internet, most people just use it as a form of meme (joke).

However, there are a few comments which explain the squat plug usage for weightlifting competition purposes.

With that being said there’s no professional coach or athletes that have come out and talked about the usage of squat plugs. But to be fair it’s quite an awkward topic to openly talk about to the public.

Even though, like most people probably, I think that the concept of the plug sounds so absurd, there’s a little part of me that thinks people can sometimes go to extreme lengths to add a couple of pounds to their bar.

All in all, it seems as though someone came up with a joke that has spread around the internet and is not to be taken seriously.

Conclusion

Squat plug is a weird product that has been circulating around the internet.

Some say that it can help with your lifting journey, making you push heavier weights and prevent pooping your pants while squatting. But, I think it’s clear to see that this is not true. 

However, in conclusion, if you really think you might need a squat plug for whatever reason, please consult with your healthcare advisor beforehand.