Quick Question about Barbells

At my gym there's two squat racks, two bench presses, one angled bench press and two overhead bench presses. I was just curious, what's the gym etiquette for taking a barbell to do deadlifts in? I've seen a lot of posts saying that taking a barbell from the squat rack is really annoying to some people.

Well, when I go in the morning there's usually only one or two people in the weights area actually using the machines, so no problem then. But what about the times when I'm forced to go in the afternoon, and all of them are being used?

Replies

  • giggitygoo
    giggitygoo Posts: 1,978 Member
    At my gym there's two squat racks, two bench presses, one angled bench press and two overhead bench presses. I was just curious, what's the gym etiquette for taking a barbell to do deadlifts in? I've seen a lot of posts saying that taking a barbell from the squat rack is really annoying to some people.

    Well, when I go in the morning there's usually only one or two people in the weights area actually using the machines, so no problem then. But what about the times when I'm forced to go in the afternoon, and all of them are being used?


    I'm bumping your post because I've faced the same quandary.

    Would you feel safe using regular dumbells? If you're not lifting super heavy yet, this could be an option.
  • roz250
    roz250 Posts: 23
    Deadlift in the squat rack. It'll help get the barbell to the right height while you're building strength and form for heavier weights. No need for a dedicated area :)
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    Squat racks are for squats and deadlifts, so if there's an open squat rack, that would be the best place to do deadlifts. If both squat racks are taken, the next best place to grab a bar would be one of the overhead presses as they are the least used which is why most gyms usually on have one if any. Try not to take a bar from either of the bench presses or the incline bench press if you can help it.
  • RhineDHP
    RhineDHP Posts: 1,025 Member
    Thanks for the replies! This helps out a lot!
  • steve0820
    steve0820 Posts: 510 Member
    Deadlifts can be done anywhere you have a floor to rip it from. I would avoid taking up the squat rack for deadlifts if you can, if its not busy, then go ahead. Doesn't your gym have extra Olympic bars off to the side???? You shouldn't have to steal an oly bar from any bench or rack to do deads.
  • RhineDHP
    RhineDHP Posts: 1,025 Member
    Deadlifts can be done anywhere you have a floor to rip it from. I would avoid taking up the squat rack for deadlifts if you can, if its not busy, then go ahead. Doesn't your gym have extra Olympic bars off to the side???? You shouldn't have to steal an oly bar from any bench or rack to do deads.

    Unfortunately no. My gym is very small, so the only barbells they have are the ones at those stations. In late summer the gym is moving to a new location (closer to me, yay!) and will be, according to the floor plans, infinitesimally larger, and I probably won't have a problem then. But yeah there's pretty much no extra anything. Hence why hoarding equipment is such a problem (I wrote about that in a post awhile ago).

    Gotta make do to get toned and whatnot :smile:
  • steve0820
    steve0820 Posts: 510 Member
    Deadlifts can be done anywhere you have a floor to rip it from. I would avoid taking up the squat rack for deadlifts if you can, if its not busy, then go ahead. Doesn't your gym have extra Olympic bars off to the side???? You shouldn't have to steal an oly bar from any bench or rack to do deads.

    Unfortunately no. My gym is very small, so the only barbells they have are the ones at those stations. In late summer the gym is moving to a new location (closer to me, yay!) and will be, according to the floor plans, infinitesimally larger, and I probably won't have a problem then. But yeah there's pretty much no extra anything. Hence why hoarding equipment is such a problem (I wrote about that in a post awhile ago).



    Gotta make do to get toned and whatnot :smile:

    I understand that! My gym is really small, and only has 1 bench and 1 squat rack. Luckily they have 2 extra Oly bars to use.