I am sure others have thought of this well before me, but I have never seen it posted on here, so hope it helps someone.
I did STS Squat Rack #1 last week and have the usual "girl" problem of I can squat much heavier weight than I can pick up and lift over my head and place on my shoulders. Therefore, I end up squatting lighter weight. I use a 20 lb weight vest and 4 lb gloves to add 24 lbs total to my barbell weight, but it is still too light for my squats. I did try to up the barbell a bit, but had an intense fear of dislocating my shoulders and ripping my ponytail out of my head trying to get the bar on and off of my shoulders. I then thought about wearing two 20 lb vests, but my breasts are smooshed enough with one vest and I think that would just throw off my balance.
I did STS Squat Rack #2 today and this was MUCH easier and I was able to up my barbell weight:
I had the tower out, I placed the barbell catches on the tower at the highest point, I put my weight bench partially underneath the tower. I then put the barbell on the tower (since the barbell catches were at the highest point, the barbell is now about 4 feet off of the ground), then I sat on the bench.
When I was sitting on the bench, the tower was behind me and the barbell was perfectly lined up with the back of my neck at my shoulders. Then all I had to do was grab the barbell and stand up. When I was done squatting, I backed up to the tower and sat down. The barbell was again perfectly lined up with the tower catches. No need to lift the barbell off of the ground, up over your head, and lower down to your shoulders.
This also worked for a "front squat" (place the barbell in front of you at your collarbone area). For that, I had the barbell in the highest position (about 4 feet off the ground), walked up to it, grabbed it and lifted it just a little to my collarbone (rather than again, having to pick up off the ground, curl up and get to the collarbone).
I must say that even though I upped my total barbell weight by about 20-30 lbs this week, I was much less spent than last week. I think last week I was struggling so much trying to lift and lower the heavy barbell over my head onto my shoulders, that I got more of an arm workout than a leg workout and it just tired me out. This week I really didn't feel anything in my arms, but did feel the burn in my legs.
I would advise the following: try the movement with about a 20 lb barbell to find and adjust the exact placement of the tower and bench before you do this with a heavy barbell. Also to adjust where you place your legs when you stand. The best for me was to sit on the bench and place my legs about hip width apart with a slight plie stance was best to not tweak my knees or back when I stood. Also, remember the barbell catches do move, so when you sit back down on the bench, be mindful not to knock the catches out of place. (I have mirrors in my workout room so I can see where everything is).
Now if you are short, you could probably just stand underneath the tower, but I am tall and that wasn't going to happen without throwing out my back. Hope this helps someone.
I did STS Squat Rack #1 last week and have the usual "girl" problem of I can squat much heavier weight than I can pick up and lift over my head and place on my shoulders. Therefore, I end up squatting lighter weight. I use a 20 lb weight vest and 4 lb gloves to add 24 lbs total to my barbell weight, but it is still too light for my squats. I did try to up the barbell a bit, but had an intense fear of dislocating my shoulders and ripping my ponytail out of my head trying to get the bar on and off of my shoulders. I then thought about wearing two 20 lb vests, but my breasts are smooshed enough with one vest and I think that would just throw off my balance.
I did STS Squat Rack #2 today and this was MUCH easier and I was able to up my barbell weight:
I had the tower out, I placed the barbell catches on the tower at the highest point, I put my weight bench partially underneath the tower. I then put the barbell on the tower (since the barbell catches were at the highest point, the barbell is now about 4 feet off of the ground), then I sat on the bench.
When I was sitting on the bench, the tower was behind me and the barbell was perfectly lined up with the back of my neck at my shoulders. Then all I had to do was grab the barbell and stand up. When I was done squatting, I backed up to the tower and sat down. The barbell was again perfectly lined up with the tower catches. No need to lift the barbell off of the ground, up over your head, and lower down to your shoulders.
This also worked for a "front squat" (place the barbell in front of you at your collarbone area). For that, I had the barbell in the highest position (about 4 feet off the ground), walked up to it, grabbed it and lifted it just a little to my collarbone (rather than again, having to pick up off the ground, curl up and get to the collarbone).
I must say that even though I upped my total barbell weight by about 20-30 lbs this week, I was much less spent than last week. I think last week I was struggling so much trying to lift and lower the heavy barbell over my head onto my shoulders, that I got more of an arm workout than a leg workout and it just tired me out. This week I really didn't feel anything in my arms, but did feel the burn in my legs.
I would advise the following: try the movement with about a 20 lb barbell to find and adjust the exact placement of the tower and bench before you do this with a heavy barbell. Also to adjust where you place your legs when you stand. The best for me was to sit on the bench and place my legs about hip width apart with a slight plie stance was best to not tweak my knees or back when I stood. Also, remember the barbell catches do move, so when you sit back down on the bench, be mindful not to knock the catches out of place. (I have mirrors in my workout room so I can see where everything is).
Now if you are short, you could probably just stand underneath the tower, but I am tall and that wasn't going to happen without throwing out my back. Hope this helps someone.
