Help learning how to use the racks?

SuperheroSadie

Hey all!
So I'm completely inexperienced in weight lifting. I've bench pressed, used barbells, etc, but I wanna start doing squats and stuff like that.
I don't want to have bad form, because I know that could cause more harm than good, but also I'm too socially anxious to ask someone at the gym to teach me the proper way to do it. So, that's where y'all come in.

Does anyone have a good set of videos (youtube or otherwise) that could teach me proper form? I know that sometimes even those videos are wrong.. so I'm not super gung-ho about choosing the first one that comes up in the search results.


Thanks in advance!

usmcmp

I think the best thing to do is to not start with a barbell. This is a general idea for squat progression that allows you to start with a fairly normal movement and progressively work up to squats. You might feel confident enough to do the first 3 in the first day, but I would make sure to spend some quality time doing the first 4 steps before you add a barbell.

1. Body weight box squat
2. Goblet box squat
3. Goblet squat
4. Suitcase squat
5. Barbell box squat
6. Barbell back squat
7. Barbell front squat

Bret Contreras has a similar progression in this article. He does a good job of breaking down how to do some of the squats. http://bretcontreras.com/wp-content/uploads/List-of-Progressions.pdf

Cherimoose

SuperheroSadie wrote: »

Does anyone have a good set of videos (youtube or otherwise) that could teach me proper form? I know that sometimes even those videos are wrong.. so I'm not super gung-ho about choosing the first one that comes up in the search results.

Youtube tutorials with at least 10-20 times as many thumbs up as down usually give good advice. Watch a few to get different perspectives. The progression mentioned above is good advice. Whatever you do, video yourself to check your form.

upforthecount

On YouTube, I'd recommend videos done by Mark Rippetoe. There is also a book written by him "Starting Strength, Basic Barbell Training". It's important to make sure you use good form to avoid injuries and get maximum benefits. It can be difficult to judge your own form while lifting.