Failing on purpose..

distinctlybeautiful

How many of y'all have done the smart thing and practiced failing on back squats? What tips can you give me? I know what I need to do and that I just need to do it, especially because after some time off I'm coming back up to the weight I stalled at before. I know if I had experience failing properly I'd be more comfortable pushing forward. I just haven't made myself do it yet. So again, what tips might help me? Thanks!

Lizarking

after you fail down to the safeties, don't get mad and stand it back up again....

quiksylver296

Make sure the safety bars are set at the right height. I've never failed on purpose, but I have failed. You want the safety bars to catch the weight before your butt hits the ground, but not be so high that you touch them during a successful squat.

What's the saying? If you haven't failed, you aren't lifting heavy enough.

not_a_runner

I would work up slowly until you are comfortable attempting the weight... I have never practiced bailing on a squat, and I have never had to do it. With time you should be able to tell when you are getting close to failure, and stop just short of it. Save working to complete failure for a different exercise.

Sued0nim

Don't put the safeties on upside down

That bugger will roll right off and knock you on your avocado

And people will run from all directions to rescue you

And your face will light up like a Belisha beacon whenever you remember

Or so I've heard

DeadliftsandDonuts

Set the safety bars at an appropriate height so they are just an inch or 2 below the barbell when you're at the bottom of your squat. Then, if you get stuck in the hole, just lean forward a bit and let the bar rest on the safeties so you can crawl out from underneath it. It's safe and you don't have to worry about getting crushed or having to dump the barbell off your back. It just sucks having to strip off all the plates to move the bar back up to the hooks and then reload it for the next set!

JoRocka

I think it's important to know how to properly fail a squat.

If for you that means doing it once or twice with a manageable weight- or even the bar- then by all means do so.

I used to train to failure frequently- it wasn't smart- but I did do it.

Ultimately you just sit down- the trick is you don't want to fall forward or backwards with it- because you can crack your noggin- so learning to sit down in a way that isn't a full flop is useful.

distinctlybeautiful

Thanks y'all I think I'm avoiding it because I don't want to call attention to myself. Ridiculous, I know, but there it is. Maybe tomorrow morning.

@quiksylver296 I've heard, "if it doesn't scare you it isn't heavy enough."

@TresaAswegan Squats are just as much mental for me as they are physical. Your plan sounds good, and while I don't plan to intentionally work to failure, I won't know for certain whether I can increase the weight until I try. If I'm afraid of failing and have never practiced it I'll be hesitant to try, and hesitation is a squat-killer for me.

Willbenchforcupcakes

JoRocka wrote: »

I think it's important to know how to properly fail a squat.

If for you that means doing it once or twice with a manageable weight- or even the bar- then by all means do so.

I used to train to failure frequently- it wasn't smart- but I did do it.

Ultimately you just sit down- the trick is you don't want to fall forward or backwards with it- because you can crack your noggin- so learning to sit down in a way that isn't a full flop is useful.

Agreed. Knowing that the safeties are really right there and all you have to do is drop a little lower gives all sorts of mental confidence. Practising a time or two takes all the mystery away.

JoRocka

distinctlybeautiful wrote: »

Thanks y'all I think I'm avoiding it because I don't want to call attention to myself. Ridiculous, I know, but there it is. Maybe tomorrow morning.

@quiksylver296 I've heard, "if it doesn't scare you it isn't heavy enough."

@TresaAswegan Squats are just as much mental for me as they are physical. Your plan sounds good, and while I don't plan to intentionally work to failure, I won't know for certain whether I can increase the weight until I try. If I'm afraid of failing and have never practiced it I'll be hesitant to try, and hesitation is a squat-killer for me.

then you need to fail a squat- even a bar. You can "fail" a bar squat- it won't have the same feeling- but when you're done with your work out- load up your working weight- and squat to depth.

Then just sit.

You absolutely need to know what that feels like- and sounds like. who cares if people look.

jolive7

distinctlybeautiful wrote: »

Thanks y'all I think I'm avoiding it because I don't want to call attention to myself. Ridiculous, I know, but there it is. Maybe tomorrow morning.

@quiksylver296 I've heard, "if it doesn't scare you it isn't heavy enough."

@TresaAswegan Squats are just as much mental for me as they are physical. Your plan sounds good, and while I don't plan to intentionally work to failure, I won't know for certain whether I can increase the weight until I try. If I'm afraid of failing and have never practiced it I'll be hesitant to try, and hesitation is a squat-killer for me.

Could you maybe go at the quiet time?? Sunday??

distinctlybeautiful

@jolive7 Yeah, that's probably what I'll try to do. Just gotta face it!

CarlKRobbo

I'm Mixed on this..

IMHO - You could practise all you like, but it'll always be a hard thing to replicate. For Example:

Squat Fail 1 - Lets say it's a Quad Blow out. The Body will respond A way.
Squat Fail 2 - Lets Say Core Caves in, The Body responds B way.
Squat Fail 3 - You've walked out wrong, feet are incorrectly placed, and the bars twisting. Yep... The Body reacts yet another way..
And so on, and so on....

You'd require bail out\fail method would be different for all 3, and any other variation. All 3 are possible fails, by even the best in the world - Benni Magneson Blew His Quad in WSM, ON the Squat for example.

Also - The best laid plans can also fail. I failed a 220KG squat. I wanted to bail backwards. My Spotter wanted me to fail Forwards. I had no room, and was stuck in both. I had to fail forwards, which was uncomfortable and awkward.

Training-wise.

Nail Form. Video it. Pick it apart. Nail it again, Rinse and repeat until it's perfect (For you). Never count a dodgy rep, even if it flew up. Ego at the door, and if, part way through, your struggling on the 2nd, WHY take the third when you'll fail it? Stop. Re-Rack, Do more accessory work, and go back another day for that "Missed Rep".

Nail the setup of the Rack\Kit. Same everytime. No Excuses. IF you have good spotters, Use them. Tell them exactly what YOU want, and that nothing else will do. Fire them if they do it wrong.

Works fine for me. Don't think i've failed a rep since that last 220KG(About 490LB's or so), certainly can't remember.

distinctlybeautiful

I finally practiced a bit. A couple times with the bar and then with some weights. It wasn't nearly as loud as I thought it'd be. It's not exactly pleasant on the knees though..

canadianlbs

distinctlybeautiful wrote: »

@jolive7 Yeah, that's probably what I'll try to do. Just gotta face it!

i kind of admire it actually. i work out in the public rec centres, and i've been lifting there for more than two years. i can pretty much promise you that learning how to fail isn't seen as mickey-mouse around there. it gets nothing but acceptance and even a kind of impressed respect from regular people. and straight-up respectful respect from the other lifters. to pretty much everyone that i've observed, it's the mark of a serious person who isn't just faffing around.

could be cultural/local, but believe me. there's all kinds of people using the space wehre i lift. so it's a good cross-section of types, if nothing else.