Maxing out on squats (because the bar hurts me)

If you have to use a pad then who cares. It is so stupid that people frown on that. If they want to have a sore neck because they want to look cool or follow the pack then let them. If the naked barbell gives you pain then use the pad. would you bounce the bar off your chest on bench because that is what is cool ? No!! it is your max, it is your body, you have to deal with the pain. **** what anybody tells you. BTW I do not use a pad because I hold the bar on my lower traps, this may help you. I have used the pad when my spine is bruised from squating to infinity.

Should not feel pain from a padded bar at relatively light weights. Video and post wherever. Might even figure out the problem for yourself just by looking at the video.

I think this could be because of bar placement, but it's hard to say for sure.

If you are doing high bar, it should rest across the padding of your traps and supported all the way out to your shoulders.

You could also look into the low bar position (I prefer this). It will rest right below the spine of your scapula, on the meat of your deltoid. There is a nice shelf there when you bring your elbows back. Mark Rippetoe has a good youtube video explaining this.

I would say keep practicing the positioning until you find the most comfortable spot.

Your skin might eventually toughen up a little where the bar rests. I know I usually have a little bit of a bruise where the bar sits.

I don't give two craps about using the bar pad. I'm squatting for muscle strength... not skin strength and looking cool. I use a bar pad I bought off of amazon. It wasn't too expensive, and it's a pretty dense foam. It helps a lot. I don't know if it's any better than the blanket you're using... but if the blanket is too soft, it's not really doing much to help soften the bar.

I agree that you could have a placement issue, but I'm inclined to think people know what feels comfortable. Just try different positions until it feels right. From what I see, people seem to put the bar too high, but again, do what feels comfortable.

do you train back too? Buy a barbell pad for your shoulders.

You probably just have the bar situated improperly. Do you squat high bar or low bar?

Hard to diagnose without seeing you squat, but I would guess improper bar placement and/or not making a "base" with your shoulder blades.

Yep

It takes a bit of getting used to but the soreness should go away, so something with the placement is probably off.

Should not feel pain from a padded bar at relatively light weights. Video and post wherever. Might even figure out the problem for yourself just by looking at the video.

I should mention that my "pad" is an old baby blanket wrapped around the center of the bar. I realized it is not all that padded. I just beefed it up a bit and it was a little better.

I will try to get some video though as well.

Wrapping a blanket around the bar is not a good idea. It will impact the stability or the bar on your back and therefore the safety of the lift.

The best bet is time and practice. Get used to the feeling of the bar on your back and it will get better. There is nothing wrong with working at a slightly higher rep range with the same weight so you feel more comfortable.

The other point is 'tightness'. Make sure you are in the best position and tightly bracing from the second you are under the bar. There are several videos on good squat setup out there. This will differ depending on whether you are squatting low bar or high bar, but find what works for you with your grip distance etc as well.

With a bit of time the bar will feel fine and you will get used to the feeling of having it on your back.

I started doing stronglifts 5x5 in January and my latest squat weight is 120. I can squat this weight and I am sure I can squat more, but I am getting worried about how much more my shoulders can actually hold. My arms and shoulder/back area feel it more than my legs/butt. It hurts.. and it's not a good hurt either!

I am already doing something that I think is frowned upon, and that is padding the bar. If I wasn't doing that I would've been posting weeks ago about this issue.

I am sure I am not the only person to have experienced this. What do you do when you just can't put any more weight on your shoulders?

It also sounds like you are using your arms to push the bar up to support it? You should be supporting the bar by pulling your elbows way back to bunch up the flesh on your upper back. It takes some practice to get that to be a habit.

I had to use a pad for a long time because I had a nerve or vessel on one side that got pinched and would shut off my whole arm on that side within seconds. The pads are expensive but I found that a pool noodle works just as well and costs a fraction of the price. (Just cut off a section and then cut a line along the length of it so you can put it on/off the bar. Then make sure the 'hole' is not where the bar is going to just slide down through it.)

ETA: do try without the pad here and there because, all other things being equal, you are better off without it.