right up to last week i was working out at home. i still dont have my squat rack built, but i was using garbage bins set ontop of chairs to hold the bar so that i didnt have to pick it up from the ground. anyway i got sick of using those and decided to go to the gym thinking i can use a squat rack there and everything will be fine. on my first set, with 40lbs less than what i normally use, i couldnt get my form right. i felt like i was going to fall forward. now if i was trying to add weight i wouldnt be overly concerned about this, but since i was using less than i would at home, felt like i was going to fall forward and couldnt even get down as far without getting stuck, im worried. i thought it might have been the size of the bar, since im used to a short light one and this was a very long heavy bar, but im not sure. has this happened to anyone? does anyone know why this could have happened?
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And major action will certainly make you feel a bit uncomfortable, which is absolutely fine. You've gotta get excited about feeling uncomfortable, you've gotta love feeling slightly uncomfortable, because you know that you're stepping outside the boundaries that you used to create.
Zach Even-Esh
I've made some huge mistakes, but they were necessary, because without them I wouldn't have learned anything.
-Dave Tate
Maybe you werent lifting as much as you thought at home. I would definitely make sure your form is down before adding anymore weight. It took me a couple of weeks to get the proper romainian deadlift form down, I was almost just using the bar because my back was rounded, once I got the form down I can do alot more weight now and I wont f**k up my back.
When you squat in a rack, the bar move straight up and down. Without the rack, the bar travels in a slight arc (which some people believe is more physiologically correct... but that is beside the point).
So, your form at the moment sounds like it is suited to rackless squatting. A good way to adjust is to do a couple of slow, steady sets with max concentration in the rack with no weight. You might find you have to have your feet a little further forward, and stick your ass out even more than usual.... but I'm sure you'll figure it out. The very light weight will help a lot.
PS. That bar in the rack could be 30 lbs unloaded, or more. It should say at the top of the rack.
If your bar is shorter it probably weighs less. The olympic bar at the gym is probably 45 lbs. Your shorter bar at home may be only 15 lbs.
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"So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable."
- Christopher Reeve
ya my bar at home is only 15 lbs. i knew the bar at the gym would be heavier i just never thought it would be 30lbs heavier. im definitely going to take the weight off and focus on perfecting my form first. btw its not the type of rack that only allows the bar to move straight up and down, its a free weight. i know putting the bar on the chairs wasnt the best idea, i did what i could to make it as safe as possible and i didnt use too heavy of a weight load. but like i said i got sick of it and decided to go to the gym. thanks for all your replies guys
__________________
And major action will certainly make you feel a bit uncomfortable, which is absolutely fine. You've gotta get excited about feeling uncomfortable, you've gotta love feeling slightly uncomfortable, because you know that you're stepping outside the boundaries that you used to create.
Zach Even-Esh
I've made some huge mistakes, but they were necessary, because without them I wouldn't have learned anything.
-Dave Tate
hooper, a rack is a cage or device to re-RACK the bar when the movement is complete. I think you are refering to a Smith machine as a Rack. They are very different...
:p 
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