What's wrong with benching in the rack?

distinctlybeautiful

I couldn't filter through that gym etiquette post to find a consensus.

I fully intend to use the rack for benching once my husband goes away for work. How else am I supposed to safely increase my weight without a spotter?

I'm not sure what the number of racks or how busy the gym is has to do with it. If I'm using it for a legitimate reason, I feel I have just as much right to it as anyone else. My not using it in the most typical way doesn't make my need for it any less than anyone else's need. Isn't it called a power rack, not just a squat rack anyway?

I fully intend to let other people work in if asked. And to move my bench out of the way and unload my weights. It sounds like that makes it more acceptable, but I got the sense from that other thread that it's generally frowned upon.

giantrobot_powerlifting

There is nothing wrong with benching in the rack and when I am at GloboGym™ I work exclusively in the rack.

Death, not interested.

It's bro-curling in the rack which sets many people's hair afire.

hill8570

OK, two different scenarios here:

First: benching at home alone. Yeah, of course you lift in the power rack with the safeties.

Second: benching at the gym. It's a judgement call. IMHO, if the gym is crowded enough that there are folks waiting for a power rack, it's more polite to ask for a spot if you're not sure you're going to make all your reps -- you can safely bench without a power rack if you have a spotter (hell, I never use a spotter -- that's what the roll of shame is for), but it's nearly impossible to safely spot a squat, so a power or squat rack is the only option.

SonyaCele

if there are bench presses at your gym, and you tie up a squat rack benching, you prevent people from squatting and they dont have the option to use the bench to squat. But if you gotta bench in it, its first come first serve at most gyms everyone man for themselves and screw everyone else.
However if i had to bench in the squat rack and others were around waiting to squat, i'd have it set up so they could squat between my sets. its easy enough to pull out the bench so they can take a turn.

SonyaCele

hill8570 wrote: »

, but it's nearly impossible to safely spot a squat, .

huh? we safely spot squats all day long.

chocolate_owl

There's one squat rack and one power rack in my gym. They're both heavily used by people doing rows and leg work - since we don't have individual Oly bars, deadlifts usually get done there as well. But we have three flat benches, 2 incline, and 1 decline set up for bench press. If someone were to tie up the power rack to bench, especially if they're benching a weight that could be easily spotted, it would be annoying. If your gym has more than enough power racks to go around or if you're working out at an off-peak hour, it's not a problem.

(I don't think the issue is as much spotting the squat as being able to get your body under a really heavy bar. There's a limited number of places you can rack a bar high enough to get under it safely.)

hill8570

SonyaCele wrote: »

hill8570 wrote: »

, but it's nearly impossible to safely spot a squat, .

huh? we safely spot squats all day long.

I'm probably generalizing way too much. At my gym, I can't think of anyone other than the trainers who I would trust to do a single-person spot on the squat, and they tend to be pretty busy. Pretty much any random bro can do a sorta-kinda OK spot on the bench, even tho it seems like most of them can't help but fondle the bar after the hand-off. But I digress...

DavPul

meh. don't worry about that thread. don't worry about the made up rules in other people's minds. you get to the rack first, then go ahead and bench in the rack and don't worry about. you can bench there safely and that's what it's for. and overhead press there if you want. and bro curl and inverted sit up in there, for all i care. if it wasn't in use before you got there it's yours to do as you wish.

Shawshankcan

I used the rack and I'll do inclines in it too. I don't trust anyone but my training partners, who I can't always train with, to do it correctly.

Willbenchforcupcakes

Absolutely nothing wrong with benching in a rack. Back when I was at a commercial gym, I would just tell people I trust metal more than humans. Now, I spend most of my time benching on a competition rack and the point is mute. If I can't for whatever reason (either someone is squatting or has bands set up), I just set up in one of the power racks. No big deal.

SonyaCele

sometimes you gotta bench in the squat rack just for fun, even with a spotter

Willbenchforcupcakes

SonyaCele wrote: »

sometimes you gotta bench in the squat rack just for fun, even with a spotter

Lmao. Reverse bands and chains at the same time. My system gets confused just looking at that. Lightest at the bottom and then the bands kick in at the same time as chain weight.

SonyaCele

i know huh! i don't know why she had that on the program for the day, she said it would be fun, and it was . i suppose it did something good for my chest, but who knows.

distinctlybeautiful

Thanks for y'all's opinions I don't think I'd ever ask a stranger to spot for me for a few reasons. One, I don't think I'd trust it as much. Two, I don't like to ask people for help, especially strangers, so I'd be more worried about taking up their time than my own lift. And last, I don't think anyone would have the patience to spot me! I can be pretty slow when it comes to increasing my weight because I'm gonna get all my reps in no matter how many times I gotta put it down in between!

I do appreciate the perspective on using the rack when I could just get a spotter. I guess I just figure if you're going to be annoyed instead of asking me to work in, I don't have much sympathy. No offense intended. That's just how I feel.

beautifulwarrior18

There's nothing wrong with benching in the rack so long as there are enough racks to go around. If you go to a gym that has one squat rack and multiple bench press areas set up don't bench in the rack. The reason people criticize it is often times people benching in the rack doesn't allow others to squat in it. But if you go to a gym with multiple racks it's really not a problem. Though to be fair you don't really need a rack to squat either. The gym I go to just has rigs. No safeties. If you need a spotter you ask someone or two.

beautifulwarrior18

SonyaCele wrote: »

hill8570 wrote: »

, but it's nearly impossible to safely spot a squat, .

huh? we safely spot squats all day long.

I was thinking the same thing. It's super easy to spot a back squat especially if you have two spotters.

ArmyofAdrian

distinctlybeautiful wrote: »

Thanks for y'all's opinions I don't think I'd ever ask a stranger to spot for me for a few reasons. One, I don't think I'd trust it as much. Two, I don't like to ask people for help, especially strangers, so I'd be more worried about taking up their time than my own lift. And last, I don't think anyone would have the patience to spot me! I can be pretty slow when it comes to increasing my weight because I'm gonna get all my reps in no matter how many times I gotta put it down in between!

I do appreciate the perspective on using the rack when I could just get a spotter. I guess I just figure if you're going to be annoyed instead of asking me to work in, I don't have much sympathy. No offense intended. That's just how I feel.

So you understand you could simply ask for a spot, but you're going to hog up the squat rack for something other than squats anyway. I don't have much sympathy. That's just how I feel.

distinctlybeautiful

ArmyofAdrian wrote: »

distinctlybeautiful wrote: »

Thanks for y'all's opinions I don't think I'd ever ask a stranger to spot for me for a few reasons. One, I don't think I'd trust it as much. Two, I don't like to ask people for help, especially strangers, so I'd be more worried about taking up their time than my own lift. And last, I don't think anyone would have the patience to spot me! I can be pretty slow when it comes to increasing my weight because I'm gonna get all my reps in no matter how many times I gotta put it down in between!

I do appreciate the perspective on using the rack when I could just get a spotter. I guess I just figure if you're going to be annoyed instead of asking me to work in, I don't have much sympathy. No offense intended. That's just how I feel.

So you understand you could simply ask for a spot, but you're going to hog up the squat rack for something other than squats anyway. I don't have much sympathy. That's just how I feel.

No, sir. I'm going to use the power rack and share with whoever asks to work in

StealthHealth

distinctlybeautiful wrote: »

Thanks for y'all's opinions I don't think I'd ever ask a stranger to spot for me for a few reasons. One, I don't think I'd trust it as much. Two, I don't like to ask people for help, especially strangers, so I'd be more worried about taking up their time than my own lift. And last, I don't think anyone would have the patience to spot me! I can be pretty slow when it comes to increasing my weight because I'm gonna get all my reps in no matter how many times I gotta put it down in between!

I do appreciate the perspective on using the rack when I could just get a spotter. I guess I just figure if you're going to be annoyed instead of asking me to work in, I don't have much sympathy. No offense intended. That's just how I feel.

I understand your reluctance to use a spotter but, I've met some pretty nice people, and learnt some good stuff about training by asking folk to spot me. If I see someone struggling or going for a max lift, I'll proactively volunteer to spot for them, the way I see it, they are much more likely to spot for me when I need it.

Challenge yourself to grab a spotter and have a conversation with them next time - you might love it.

As for using the squat rack for stuff other than squatting - if you need that piece of kit you need it and should use it. I use it for OH presses because I struggle to clean, what I can OH press. As @nakedraygun says - curls in the rack = No.

Shawshankcan

StealthHealth wrote: »

distinctlybeautiful wrote: »

Thanks for y'all's opinions I don't think I'd ever ask a stranger to spot for me for a few reasons. One, I don't think I'd trust it as much. Two, I don't like to ask people for help, especially strangers, so I'd be more worried about taking up their time than my own lift. And last, I don't think anyone would have the patience to spot me! I can be pretty slow when it comes to increasing my weight because I'm gonna get all my reps in no matter how many times I gotta put it down in between!

I do appreciate the perspective on using the rack when I could just get a spotter. I guess I just figure if you're going to be annoyed instead of asking me to work in, I don't have much sympathy. No offense intended. That's just how I feel.

I understand your reluctance to use a spotter but, I've met some pretty nice people, and learnt some good stuff about training by asking folk to spot me. If I see someone struggling or going for a max lift, I'll proactively volunteer to spot for them, the way I see it, they are much more likely to spot for me when I need it.

Challenge yourself to grab a spotter and have a conversation with them next time - you might love it.

As for using the squat rack for stuff other than squatting - if you need that piece of kit you need it and should use it. I use it for OH presses because I struggle to clean, what I can OH press. As @nakedraygun says - curls in the rack = No.

There's no excuse to curl in the rack.

Although a friend of mine did in a gym that was dead at that time. A curl mockingly gave him grief for it. My friend just said "when you can squat more than I can curl, you can have it."

Shawshankcan

ArmyofAdrian wrote: »

distinctlybeautiful wrote: »

Thanks for y'all's opinions I don't think I'd ever ask a stranger to spot for me for a few reasons. One, I don't think I'd trust it as much. Two, I don't like to ask people for help, especially strangers, so I'd be more worried about taking up their time than my own lift. And last, I don't think anyone would have the patience to spot me! I can be pretty slow when it comes to increasing my weight because I'm gonna get all my reps in no matter how many times I gotta put it down in between!

I do appreciate the perspective on using the rack when I could just get a spotter. I guess I just figure if you're going to be annoyed instead of asking me to work in, I don't have much sympathy. No offense intended. That's just how I feel.

So you understand you could simply ask for a spot, but you're going to hog up the squat rack for something other than squats anyway. I don't have much sympathy. That's just how I feel.

I could, but no matter how direct I am with my instructions, people don't listen. It's really
Bloody simple - unless the bar is ok my throat and I am turning blue, don't touch my bar.