Quote:
Originally Posted by seela
ok, so maybe this is a stoopid question, but I'll risk it. In the squat videos I've watched online, the squat racks just look like two vertical poles with hooks all the way down on either side for the bar to rest on at a selected height. Sort of like what the Smith machine looks like at my gym. what I've been using for squats at my gym, the poles with the hooks come off at a slight angle from two other vertical poles and go down to about hip height, where there are two horizontal flat bars that run parallel to the floor and extend out 2-3 feet. Is that a squat rack also? Is it different from what most other people use? Is there some purpose for the horizontal bars (other than people leaving the fully loaded barbell there for me to have to re-rack all of their weights before I can get started)? Let the mocking begin!  |
My gym has this type of squat rack as well. I have figured out that when squatting, if I get the barbell down to almost touching the safety bars, I am at parallel. If I want to go lower, I have to back out of the cage altogether. I only do that with warmup sets, though. I can squat ATG with an empty barbell, but I never try that with my work sets.
We also have a contraption that I have inferred is what people on here call a "power cage". It's four uprights with holes in them to adjust the rest bars to different heights, and there are two poles which I guess act as the safety bars down lower. With this cage, I guess you have to stay within the cage when squatting, because the barbell is too long to go out of it. I haven't figured out how to use it for ATG squats, because the safety bars are too high for me to squat all the way down without hitting them.