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ok i've never had to fail on a squat b/c before when i pushed them really hard i always had someone to spot me. now im working out by myself. if i have to drop the bar on a squat can someone tell me exactly what to do. ALSO what do you do if you get it up half way and get stuck w/out a spotter?
Squat in a power rack. Set the pins just below the lowest you go. They will catch you.
yeah i know that but like do you just drop straight to your knees and let the bar go. also can you answer what im supposed to do if i get it up half way and get stuck
[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by sledd [/i]
[B]yeah i know that but like do you just drop straight to your knees and let the bar go. also can you answer what im supposed to do if i get it up half way and get stuck [/B][/QUOTE] Dont drop to your knees. And dont just let the bar go. It will damage the bar and you. If you get stuck, just lower the bar to the safety pins. You should be nowhere close to "dropping to your knees." Thats why they make power racks.
Just keep squating lower until the pins catch the bar. Keep the weight over your heels, and lean back a little. At least that's how I do it...
no offense man, but why do you have to drop the weight? I squat heavy too and when I feel that I can't do the weight I go as far down as I can, push my head and chin up, plant my feet and push push push. This normally always gets me through my last tough rep. Maybe it is because I kinda lose good form but it is better than not completing the rep to me. Good Luck!
yah, I'm with bigbow
'cept one time I was at the end of my sets, and I wanted ta' see if I could put up 3 45's each side just fer sh!ts and giggles....
well long story short, I got to the bottom and that sh!t wasn't goin' back up, so I just slowly took it down to the safety pins.
just stay cool and keep your form and you'll be safe
[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Bigbow [/i]
[B]no offense man, but why do you have to drop the weight? I squat heavy too and when I feel that I can't do the weight I go as far down as I can, push my head and chin up, plant my feet and push push push. This normally always gets me through my last tough rep. Maybe it is because I kinda lose good form but it is better than not completing the rep to me. Good Luck! [/B][/QUOTE] But sometimes the weight is just too heavy.
[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by cobra kai [/i]
[B]yah, I'm with bigbow
'cept one time I was at the end of my sets, and I wanted ta' see if I could put up 3 45's each side just fer sh!ts and giggles....
well long story short, I got to the bottom and that sh!t wasn't goin' back up, so I just slowly took it down to the safety pins.
just stay cool and keep your form and you'll be safe [/B][/QUOTE]
funny **** bro! the same exact thing happenned to me like two years ago. I put 3 45's one day and when I tried to push up I was going nowhere. I was glad I was on the power rack then :)
I have actually failed a squat, not in a safety rack. It was not pretty!!
Thankfully though it wasn't a really heavy set - it was my first day back after a quad strain and I wasn't as well recovered as I had thought.
[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by chris008 [/i]
[B]funny **** bro! the same exact thing happenned to me like two years ago. I put 3 45's one day and when I tried to push up I was going nowhere. I was glad I was on the power rack then :) [/B][/QUOTE] Yeah, i've failed many times. I had what could have been a quite ugly failure with 505, but the power rack saved me.
Squat in the rack, always. It's never worth sacrificing safety with squats, you're dealing with a heavy weight on your back that could snap you in half.
If you get stuck, slowly lower yourself to where you have the pins set, and carefully set the bar down on the pins, watch your fingers :)
Right now I'm in a period of 20 rep squats, last week I hit 335 for 20, this week I'm going for 345. After the last rep of 335, I felt like I was going to die, not even sure how I made it past rep 15. I've found it's actually easier to put the bar down on the pins after your last rep of a heavy set than it is to try to rerack it.
If you've got the power rack or squat stands, use them. If you don't have them, I really wouldn't advise trying to squat.
I like what bluehazard said about not trying to squat if you don't have a rack or a spot... that's sound advice
BUT
I am with you and I know giving up squats for sake of safety is a tough choice...
If you're absolutely going to do it, and you have no rack or spot this is what I suggest. A week ago I failed at 405 (which is a fair amount of weight) and though I had a spot he missed me and was unable to help me up... I was in a deep squat with no chance of getting up. What I did, for lack of options, was let the bar go behind me... yes this might damage the bar but better an olympic bar than your back right??
it will go backwards with very little effort... and it wont roll down your back so there's no worries of that... just let it go behind you and it will fall safely to the ground.. make a big noise, possibly damage the bar (though it didn't in my case) but you'll be safe. It's important to keep cool though, panicing could result in an injury.
Good luck putting up the big weights!
[QUOTE=bluehazard]Squat in the rack, always. It's never worth sacrificing safety with squats, you're dealing with a heavy weight on your back that could snap you in half.
If you get stuck, slowly lower yourself to where you have the pins set, and carefully set the bar down on the pins, watch your fingers :)
Right now I'm in a period of 20 rep squats, last week I hit 335 for 20, this week I'm going for 345. After the last rep of 335, I felt like I was going to die, not even sure how I made it past rep 15. I've found it's actually easier to put the bar down on the pins after your last rep of a heavy set than it is to try to rerack it.
If you've got the power rack or squat stands, use them. If you don't have them, I really wouldn't advise trying to squat.[/QUOTE]
Well said! (Other said it well too.) The power rack is your friend when it comes to squat. Always, always make sure the pins are set correctly before you begin your workout. If you fail during a squat, just lower the weight down on the pins and you're good to go. Watch your fingers, of course, as was mentioned.
If you don't have a power rack, consider doing lunges or maybe Olympic-style front squats (where you clean the weight up from the floor).
[QUOTE=ok ok ok]I like what bluehazard said about not trying to squat if you don't have a rack or a spot... that's sound advice
BUT
I am with you and I know giving up squats for sake of safety is a tough choice...
If you're absolutely going to do it, and you have no rack or spot this is what I suggest. A week ago I failed at 405 (which is a fair amount of weight) and though I had a spot he missed me and was unable to help me up... I was in a deep squat with no chance of getting up. What I did, for lack of options, was let the bar go behind me... yes this might damage the bar but better an olympic bar than your back right??
it will go backwards with very little effort... and it wont roll down your back so there's no worries of that... just let it go behind you and it will fall safely to the ground.. make a big noise, possibly damage the bar (though it didn't in my case) but you'll be safe. It's important to keep cool though, panicing could result in an injury.
Good luck putting up the big weights![/QUOTE]
Still, make sure you know what you're getting into when squatting without a power rack. If you're at the bottom of the lift and you lose balance or your legs just unexpectedly give out, you could rip your quads right off. Look up what happened to Jean-Pierre Fux to see what I mean.
[QUOTE=Bigbow]no offense man, but why do you have to drop the weight? I squat heavy too and when I feel that I can't do the weight I go as far down as I can, push my head and chin up, plant my feet and push push push. This normally always gets me through my last tough rep. Maybe it is because I kinda lose good form but it is better than not completing the rep to me. Good Luck![/QUOTE]
I totally disagree. Whenever I have tried to push through a rep like that I have ended up doing something between a squat and a good morning by leaning forward more and then lifting it more with my back. The result of this has been back pain. I'd rather miss a rep because I couldn't get it up with good form then miss a workout because I got a rep up with bad form and hurt my back. Squats are especially dangerous when cheating or using bad form.
^ I agree with what you said completely. That comment was HORRIBLE advice. You should never push out a last rep with bad form, if you can't get another rep with correct form, you shouldn't be doing another rep, period. There are some exceptions that aren't damaging (example would be cheating on a last rep of curls, but not by swinging your whole body back), but with squats that's a huge no-no. Never try doing some awkward bad formed cheat rep with squats, especially with heavy weight, you will only get injured.
And as everyone has said, it's really easy to just let yaself slowly come back down until it hits the bars and you are fine. The racks are so helpful everyone should use them, without them it's just plain unsafe.
Uhh I can't believe what I am reading on some of these posts, your going to get this guy hurt!
RULES #1: DON'T SQUAT TO FAILURE WITHOUT A SPOTTER
It is dangerous with or without a squat rack I dont care what people say.
If you've been training at a decent gym for some time, i'm sure you know some of the local gym members. Ask them for a spot.
Yea the pins are a decent saftey precaution, but it's worth the risk.