Strength II - Rack Deadlifts Substitute?

[Berg77]

I'm going to be starting Strength II the week after next. I saw that rack deads are one of the exercises. My gym doesn't have the traditional type of power racks, so I'm sure about how to do these. The "power racks" have built-in non-movable ledges that come up to about mid-thigh on me, where you can rest the barbell if you're not doing exercises where the barbell is behind your neck. But, since I think rack deadlifts are supposed to start at somewhere around knee level or maybe lower, it's impossible to do them on these "power racks."

The only other thing there is a smith machine. I'd like to be able to do rack deads, but it doesn't seem like there's a good way to do these at my gym. Has anyone else run into this problem that found a workable solution? Are there any good sub exercises to do instead? Thanks in advance.

[Phaedrus49er]

Flat bench (or aerobics step) set to the right height and dumbbells, pronated grip, finishing with the DBs resting on your thighs? Combined weight would be lower than using a barbell, but your grip strength would benefit.

[freefall]

Instead of standing on floor, if you can find some steps to stand, then you can adjust the height as per your needs.

[Phaedrus49er]

Originally Posted by freefall

Instead of standing on floor, if you can find some steps to stand, then you can adjust the height as per your needs.

Isn't that extending the ROM instead of shortening it?

[freefall]

Originally Posted by Phaedrus49er

Isn't that extending the ROM instead of shortening it?

Yes.

If I correctly understood you, currently your rack height is at mid-thigh level and you want to bring it to near knee level. If you use steps to stand, that will bring the rack to near knee level.

Your ROM in this case will be longer than if you stood on the floor and rested the weight at thigh level (but shorter than if both you and the weight rested on the floor.)

[Phaedrus49er]

Originally Posted by freefall

Yes.

If I correctly understood you, currently your rack height is at mid-thigh level and you want to bring it to near knee level. If you use steps to stand, that will bring the rack to near knee level.

Your ROM in this case will be longer than if you stood on the floor and rested the weight at thigh level (but shorter than if both you and the weight rested on the floor.)

Ah, keeping the boxes inside the rack. I'm trackin' now

[Lisa~]

Set up concrete blocks, wooden boxes, or the support parts of a Reebok step to the right height. Set your loaded barbell outside the squat rack on these supports. The plates will fit right in the middle of the Reebok step supports (assuming your not using powerlifter loads, which might be too much for that particular type of support).

I think I'd feel more secure with my feet on the floor and finding something of an appropriate height to set the barbell on. I also don't think using DBs would carry over to your conventional deadlift very well.

We discussed this a little bit in this thread: Strength II Substitutes