Question about squats

[Needhelp]

I'm squatting with no rack, and no spotter. So far, it's worked good. Of course, i'm just getting my form back with REALLY LIGHT weight (~100lbs)...

I figure all the rack does is:
A.) If it falls, the supports near the bottom catch it--So it doesn't scrape up the FLOOR

B.) If you fally foward you dont kill yourself

I do them near a doorway though, so assuming I was stupid enough to let the weight fall foward, I wouldn't be trapped. If the weight gets too heavy, I'll just drop it off the back...

Sound good?

I'll be moving up on weights soon, probably another week or so before I get my form good enough to move up to 180 or so (I'm weak, my max squat a year ago was 220).

 

[Welsh power house]

I can imagine how you can use any serious weight without a rack or smith machine. when i first started lifting...training at home....i used to power clean the weight up to my cheat and push press it so that i could position it on my neck.....could not do that with the weight i use now and im a shite squater so.....GO TO A GYM!!!!!

 

[Needhelp]

Well, I rack the weight off my bench, it inclines to about my height so I just squat slightly under it, then go up and then just squat like normal....

And, I wish I could go to a gym...Nearest one is 45 minutes--If I didnt work and have school, I could possibly do that but unless I drop out of school or quit my job (And then come up with a magic way to pay for gas and other shit) it aint gonna happen.

 

[gymtime]

Long as you stay light, you're ok. But as you get stronger, you're gonna want to add more challenging weight. And IMO, it's a mistake to do real squats w/o a rack.

 

[Needhelp]

I was thinking that too, but really.. What does the rack do?

The support bars near the bottom don't really do anything. The actual cage is the only thing that protects you from killing yourself. And to be more specific, IMO, the front bars are the only real safety feature. And for me, I have a doorway lol

I don't care about my floor, so dropping weight BEHIND isn't a problem (This will probably be rare anyway).

 

[gymtime]

First of all, falling forward isn't particularly likely, neither is falling backward for that matter. The trouble comes most often when you lose balance, pull a muscle, whatever, and the weight goes straight down on top of you. I've actually seen that happen and it's pretty damn unpleasant.

In all my years of lifting, I've never dropped a weight on the squat rack. But I'll tell you what, I'm damn glad it's there if I ever do. Squatting in front of a doorway is of little help. If you were to fall forward, the bar would land directly on your legs. The rack is there to protect you, period. If you want to squat without one, that is up to you. But again, I think it's a mistake, especially for a newbie.

 

[Needhelp]

Well, know of any CHEAP squat racks that would be safe?

I have about $600 now, but I need a lot of it for other stuff...

 

[The Dude]

Oil drums. No rack for safety, but you can always stay a little higher on reps and go one or two reps short of failure. It's not ideal, but if you have little cash, it can work. Otherwise, check the classifieds on the internet for cities around your area and places like ebay.

 

[gettinlarger]

ive seen equipment with a rack for a barbell for squatting as low as 200 bro. saw a smith machine for about the same too. since you dont have the proper machinery, it may be a good idea, or when you go heavy, you might kill yourself or send the weight through the floor.

 

[b fold the truth]

Oil drums.

I dropped 300+ and a lot of band tension a few months back...wow...thought I was gonna be killed or even worse. I survived though. There were a few other things in my gym that didn't (scales, old refrigerator, etc...).

B True

 

[Hannibal]

I dropped 300+ and a lot of band tension a few months back...wow...thought I was gonna be killed or even worse. I survived though. There were a few other things in my gym that didn't (scales, old refrigerator, etc...).

B True

Been there....done that....got the battle scar. Dumping a bar is one thing...dumping a bar with tons of bands is a whole other ballgame.

 

[b fold the truth]

When 130lbs or so of band tension comes off one side of the bar and shoots across the room...it gets really exciting..haha

B True

 

[Hannibal]

OR...the first time you ever use bands...which was a couple years ago. And you have the band attached under the power rack...and you dont weight the rack down....as soon as you unrack the weight the bands pull the bottom of the rack up and you are STUCK!!!

Be glad you werent in a Strength Speed phase....blue and green

 

[Geno_O]

B fold the truth, what happened? Did the band break?

Hannibal, I ordered the power rack as you suggested. Based on
what you said here, I think I will build a platform and bolt my
rack to it.

 

[Arioch]

I am probably the only one here who has done Olympic style pulls with bands just to see what it would be like. Dropping the bar is even worse, becase the bands cause it to accelerate so much on the way back down that it bouces back up off of the deck when using bumper plates. And it bounces fast. And, if the bar was out in front of you, it tends to bounce back. Hard. Or so I'm told.

 

[b fold the truth]

B fold the truth, what happened? Did the band break?

Hannibal, I ordered the power rack as you suggested. Based on
what you said here, I think I will build a platform and bolt my
rack to it.

I had a 110lb steel block holding my bands down...wasn't enough. When I stood up for my first rep...it flipped the block over and the bands on the right side shot across the room. All the sudden I had all this band tension on one side of the bar and not the other...it was wild...like a rodeo.

I survived...and found some heavier stuff to hold the bands down with.

B True

 

[Hannibal]

B fold the truth, what happened? Did the band break?

Hannibal, I ordered the power rack as you suggested. Based on
what you said here, I think I will build a platform and bolt my
rack to it.

Sweet....hope it works out for you. I'm sure it will.

 

[Lord_Suston]

You can alwasy make your self a squat rack from some 2 by 4's use 3 2x4s for each side and at the bottom a little below you normal squat position use bolt inserts to put reinforcements the horizontally and use cement foundation block to support this beam on each side no more than 80-90 dolars...