5x5 Stronglifts - what do you do when the squat rack is taken at the gym?
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Don't forget to ask your gym to get with the times and get more squat racks! If enough people ask, they may invest in some additional equipment.
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I ask them how many sets they have left then I do some cardio until they're done. I usually tell them where I'll be and ask them to come grab me before deloading the weights so no one snipes it. Never had an issue.0
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I lift at home with no squat rack, clean for OHP, and do hack squats instead of back squats.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64PFHtq5XO8 1 -
For everyone struggling with people leaving the heavy plates on: Tell the trainers. The should at least help you to remove them and they also should start telling those people about basic gym rules.1
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skymningen wrote: »For everyone struggling with people leaving the heavy plates on: Tell the trainers. The should at least help you to remove them and they also should start telling those people about basic gym rules.
I hate when people do this. Not only is it a PITA but I don't know if you're still USING it... the signal that it's okay to begin using equipment is an EMPTY BAR people haha3 -
For the squats, an option could be to do Zercher squats from the floor. It's basically a front-squat with the bar held in your elbows that you can bring into position in stages without needing a rack.
The challenge is that you'd likely have to reduce the weight you're using due to the different muscles involved.1 -
Definitely clean for OHP. I've started with the bar on the end of a bench press bench before, just to avoid having to bend all the way down to the floor when I only have tiny plates on it! You don't rack it between reps anyway, and if you can OHP the weight 5 times, you can clean it once, right?
Waiting for squats is probably the best option really.
Change up the order of your workout if you have to, ask as soon as you get in to the gym if they're all busy so you can at least get on with something else while you wait, and maybe even jump in as soon as it's free, even if you haven't done all 5 sets of whatever else you were working on instead.
Dumbells are ok in a pinch, but find my grip strength isn't always enough to use as much weight as I would to squat.
Smith machines... well... better than nothing? Maybe? But the entirely linear motion is unnatural. If it hurts your knees, don't do it.0 -
mrsnattybulking wrote: »skymningen wrote: »For everyone struggling with people leaving the heavy plates on: Tell the trainers. The should at least help you to remove them and they also should start telling those people about basic gym rules.
I hate when people do this. Not only is it a PITA but I don't know if you're still USING it... the signal that it's okay to begin using equipment is an EMPTY BAR people haha
Yes! Although there was the week I finally moved up to OHP-ing the empty (full-sized) barbell...I had to watch it like a hawk during my rest period sit-ups (on the floor to the side of the rack) and call out "I have x sets left" whenever some poor sod approached.
When touring potential gyms, whether they strongly enforced re-racking went down on the list as a major pro or con.1 -
If you can't clean the bar for OHP, you can also sit backwards on a bench for bench press and do seated OHP.0
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What can I do if my gym only has one bench press rack and I would have to move that to do bench presses, as it is used as a "storage rack" for all of the barbells people regularly use. And of course one of them is full of weights that at my stage just getting off and putting away would be a workout in itself?
I am training alone, so no one is spotting me and I am a beginner. I am quite scared of doing bench presses without a "safety rack". What if I lose strength and it crashes down on me because I can't put it away?0 -
skymningen wrote: »What can I do if my gym only has one bench press rack and I would have to move that to do bench presses, as it is used as a "storage rack" for all of the barbells people regularly use. And of course one of them is full of weights that at my stage just getting off and putting away would be a workout in itself?
I am training alone, so no one is spotting me and I am a beginner. I am quite scared of doing bench presses without a "safety rack". What if I lose strength and it crashes down on me because I can't put it away?
Use dumbells
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stanmann571 wrote: »
Use dumbells
So I put half the weight I am supposed to do in each hand? Or more/less?
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skymningen wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »
Use dumbells
So I put half the weight I am supposed to do in each hand? Or more/less?
I find dumbbell presses harder because the weight is less stable, so if you *know* your bench press barbell weight, then your dumbbell weight would probably be a bit less than half.
If you're just starting out, and can do half the suggested weight, then go for it and just be consistent about whether you're using dumbbells or a bar. Progression is progression, as long as you're doing the same thing each time.
Also, I've failed barbell bench press without a spotter and not in a safety cage before, and it's never been uncontrolled or a crash down - I was scared about that too. I had someone teach me what to do when I started out - basically take no risks when you're at the bottom of the movement. If you think you're not going to get it up again, then lower it fully onto your chest, roll down to your waist, and sit up. Let one end of the bar fall to the floor, and then lever it off yourself. Hopefully by then, someone will have noticed and come to help!
My trainer taught me to always leave one rep in the tank. If your fourth rep is horrid and shaky, don't try the 5th. Or re-rack, wait a few seconds, take a deep breath, and then go back for the last rep if you think you can. If you're not confident, then don't. It's better to miss one rep, or do a "broken set" (3+2 instead of straight 5) than risk it.2 -
skymningen wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »
Use dumbells
So I put half the weight I am supposed to do in each hand? Or more/less?
I find dumbbell presses harder because the weight is less stable, so if you *know* your bench press barbell weight, then your dumbbell weight would probably be a bit less than half.
If you're just starting out, and can do half the suggested weight, then go for it and just be consistent about whether you're using dumbbells or a bar. Progression is progression, as long as you're doing the same thing each time.
Also, I've failed barbell bench press without a spotter and not in a safety cage before, and it's never been uncontrolled or a crash down - I was scared about that too. I had someone teach me what to do when I started out - basically take no risks when you're at the bottom of the movement. If you think you're not going to get it up again, then lower it fully onto your chest, roll down to your waist, and sit up. Let one end of the bar fall to the floor, and then lever it off yourself. Hopefully by then, someone will have noticed and come to help!
My trainer taught me to always leave one rep in the tank. If your fourth rep is horrid and shaky, don't try the 5th. Or re-rack, wait a few seconds, take a deep breath, and then go back for the last rep if you think you can. If you're not confident, then don't. It's better to miss one rep, or do a "broken set" (3+2 instead of straight 5) than risk it.
A bit less than half. Usually 90% rounded down. So 115 would be 50s 120 50s or 55s. etc.
And absolutely this. It's better to fail at the bottom when you've still got something left to control the bar.. than 3/4 of the way up.
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I ask them how many more sets do they have and that lets me know if I should hang around or go do something else. For some reason at my gym, people act surprised if you ask them if they'd like to work in. 2 times so far while I've been in the middle of my exercise, men have hovered to finally ask how much more do I have (usually they ask when I'm in the middle of the squat portion of 5x5) so I say, quite a bit, do you want to work in? them:
Maybe the gym has a reputation for people who don't want to share the equipment, or they're shy. Idk it doesn't hurt to ask. Either a yes happens or a no happens. It does bring to memory how at my school gym nearly 6 or 7 years ago there were people who didn't like it when you worked in. I went to go do some pull ups and the guy came over asking me if I could just wait until he was done. /shrug/ 0 -
skymningen wrote: »What can I do if my gym only has one bench press rack and I would have to move that to do bench presses, as it is used as a "storage rack" for all of the barbells people regularly use. And of course one of them is full of weights that at my stage just getting off and putting away would be a workout in itself?
I am training alone, so no one is spotting me and I am a beginner. I am quite scared of doing bench presses without a "safety rack". What if I lose strength and it crashes down on me because I can't put it away?
[1] Maybe time to change to a gym with better priorities. That is weird though that no one is regularly using the 1 bench press where barbells are being used regularly.
[2] If you fail at bench press, the weight is going to slowly come down (you're not going to suddenly drop it with full momentum onto your chest). If you are currently too weak to re-rack other people's weights, then you are likely not able to bench press enough weight to actually suffocate underneath it. If you fail, you can just roll the weight down to your lap and then to the bench at this point.0 -
MotherOfSharpei wrote: »You can do a power clean to get the bar up to position and do OHP from there. You can also use dumbbells for OHP. If there's another bar, get creative with locations to rest the bar...I've balanced it on machines, shelving units, other racks...anything sturdy enough to hold the weight and give you room to get under the bar and set up.
I've done this once next to someone using the power rack for a substantial amount of time. They must have been doing a 20x10 or something, because that *kitten* was ridiculous. Instead of squatting my full amount, I put enough on there for me to lift over my head but still work me out.
I picked up an olympic barbell and placed it on the floor right next to the power rack and loaded it up. I power cleaned it and started doing my squats in the open area and then pushed it back up and over before laying it down.0 -
I used the Roman chair (seat for vertical knee lifts, I'm not sure what it's called) to rack the barbell for squats and OHP when the squat rack was occupied. The barbell was at a decent height resting on the handles. This only works at beginner weights though, because the handles are too close to balance when loading heavier weight.0
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Had this happen to me for the first time yesterday. A guy and his gf were using the power racks. Not sure why they didn't just share one. I did my lifts out of order. Did the barbell rows first then the squats. I would use dumbbells but holding up two 50+ ain't easy for me at the moment. The situation is really annoying and it has led me to research buying my own rack for at home.0
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I walk over to the rack and ask how many sets they have left. then I just stand there and stare, and shake my head no with each rep they do!!0
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