What the hell do you mean the squat rack is out of order?

BoxerBrawler

OMG...
I walked into the fitness center at my work this morning to do my usual 30 minute burn followed by SL's and there is a big sign on the squat rack that reads "Do not use!" It seems that the ceiling over the rack had developed a big leak overnight so it was "shut down" while they repair the ceiling. I swear I almost cried! I was pissed... lol!

What would you do in that situation?

I ended up doing 5x5 combination squat with an overhead press using a 45 LB plate. It wasn't much but it was at least something. It at least got my heart pumping

auddii

I usually will stead a bar from somewhere else and just work without a rack. If there's a seated OHP machine, it usually has safety bars that aren't too bad for getting under the bar for squats. You could also just do goblet squats until the rack is free again (hopefully they move faster than my gym where repairs usually take 2-3 months).

nordlead2005

Depending on the size/weight of the rack and the room available and how many people were in the fitness center at work I'd probably just move the rack out of the problem area. If that wasn't an option I'd ask facilities to move it if the ceiling wasn't going to be repaired soon (as in within a day or so).

I also wouldn't have bothered with 45lb squats and just skipped them for the day. Even 45lb press isn't enough for me, so skip that too. I possibly would have seen if I could clean a decent weight off of the floor, but I don't really do those so I'd have to be desperate.

erickirb

wait a minute.... You do a 30 minute burn prior to SL???? I would suggest doing a heavy lifting program that you always lift first. The last thing you want when going heavy is to be fatigued (wont be able to lift as much, harder to keep form, easier to get injured) Save the cardio for after the workout, or better yet, a different day!

BoxerBrawler

erickirb wrote: »

wait a minute.... You do a 30 minute burn prior to SL???? I would suggest doing a heavy lifting program that you always lift first. The last thing you want when going heavy is to be fatigued (wont be able to lift as much, harder to keep form, easier to get injured) Save the cardio for after the workout, or better yet, a different day!

Well.... today I did because my whole routine got screwed up due to the issue in the weight room! Jerks! LOL! I usually just do the standard warm-up before I lift and then if I still want/need some cardio after I'll get it then. Thanks!

BoxerBrawler

Yeah... I wasn't going to bother but I still wanted to lift today so... oh well. I just did that one exercise and will move my schedule to tomorrow. I think it should be fixed by this afternoon and no I wasn't able to move the rack, it's huge and no I couldn't ask facilities. But what a bummer!

icemaiden37

I feel your pain OP and I'm very grateful my gym is just about to take delivery of a 4th squat rack! Not bad considering there's only 450 or so members!

jimbosrugers

Power cleans!!

ROBOTFOOD

This is why I bought my own and powerlift at my house. Gym for accessories and cardio.

Qskim

The real reason....

Cherimoose

cushman5279 wrote: »

What would you do in that situation?

Keep calm and do one of the dozens of other leg exercises that exist.

Inkratlet

I'd probably use one of the other 3 squat racks, or the hack squat machine.

BoxerBrawler

all great responses thanks!
The fitness center where I work is awesome, full service, all of the good equipment and a lot of group-X. Only problem is that they are not very big so they can't fit multiple machines. There's only one rack damn it! It's still out of service today so I grabbed a couple of plates, hiked them up on my shoulders and did squats that way. It worked out pretty good but still not the same. Oh well! I am thinking of buying my own barbell set for at home so I don't have to rely on the ones at the gyms I go too.