Thread: Squats out of the Cage

It's all psychological... You probably just don't feel as safe/confident outside the cage.

Ummm...what exactly is a cage? Is that the rack combined with saftey bars on the side incase you fail squatting?

Yup.

I used to squat without any kind of safety or spotter (I'm not saying it was a good idea but I had to do what I had to do). Now I use sawhorses and I know to just tap them and go back up. I wouldn't really try squatting without it. Even though I front squat and I could probably just drop the bar, it still wouldn't be too much fun to get stuck at the bottom.

Originally Posted by Squaggleboggin

Yup.

I used to squat without any kind of safety or spotter (I'm not saying it was a good idea but I had to do what I had to do). Now I use sawhorses and I know to just tap them and go back up. I wouldn't really try squatting without it. Even though I front squat and I could probably just drop the bar, it still wouldn't be too much fun to get stuck at the bottom.

Yeah, I would have been stuck on the floor awkwardly trying to figure out how to drop the weight several times if I didn't have the cage. Usually noone around to spot or atleast know how to.

Luckily I was doing back squats at the time - I would get about half way up, not be able to do anything else, and take one hand off the bar and push on my knee with it to get it up the rest of the way. Not the most fun of experiences, but needless to say I'm glad I have my sawhorses now. I'd really recommend them for any home gym - it's about $40 for a pair and they're steel and adjustable. What else do you need? Oh, and you can easily move them to do deadlifts, cleans, etc. or use them as a safety when benching.

i squat outside a cage when i have to. i even max out when my program calls for it. as long as you don't freak out, you can just dump the bar whether your tipping forward (tilt head down, dump it in front) or you just get stuck in the hole (let go and let it drop back). i've dumped 405 onto the floor and some
one from the staff came to tell me not to do that, and i said "look at that assfuck curling 95lbs in the cage, tell him to move and i won't have to make this much noise"

Originally Posted by Yanick

i squat outside a cage when i have to. i even max out when my program calls for it. as long as you don't freak out, you can just dump the bar whether your tipping forward (tilt head down, dump it in front) or you just get stuck in the hole (let go and let it drop back). i've dumped 405 onto the floor and some
one from the staff came to tell me not to do that, and i said "look at that assfuck curling 95lbs in the cage, tell him to move and i won't have to make this much noise"

Bahahaha. Stick it to the man Yan.

i have a bench that has removable pegs so what i do is when i squat i just flip the pegs to the outside of the bench so i can squat..
its pretty fucking ghetto but it enables me to squat so all the power to it

obviously i wont be like maxing out on it though

I went to a local powerlifting show last year and was surprised that the squaters didn't use a cage (or any safety device at all) when squating. Yet, when warming up off to the side where everyone could see, they were using a cage.

When one guy was going for a record (no cage), he couldn't make the lift and the room fell silent as all us spectators watched, expecting the guy to be hauled off in an ambulance. How he didn't break his back or neck is beyond me. He actually rolled the weight (over 600 pounds) over his neck and head and let it fall to the floor. His neck was pretty damn red all day after that, but at least he walked away relatively unharmed. It could have been a lot worse.

Why don't they use a cage when competing? This still confuses me.

Originally Posted by Evil ANT

I went to a local powerlifting show last year and was surprised that the squaters didn't use a cage (or any safety device at all) when squating. Yet, when warming up off to the side where everyone could see, they were using a cage.

When one guy was going for a record (no cage), he couldn't make the lift and the room fell silent as all us spectators watched, expecting the guy to be hauled off in an ambulance. How he didn't break his back or neck is beyond me. He actually rolled the weight (over 600 pounds) over his neck and head and let it fall to the floor. His neck was pretty damn red all day after that, but at least he walked away relatively unharmed. It could have been a lot worse.

Why don't they use a cage when competing? This still confuses me.

people squat to different depths? the cage is limited and would take up time? Not really sure why they don't use the cage but they always have a bunch of spotters (one on each side and one in the back) to make sure that he has help if he gets stuck.

The guys rolling the bar over his neck was just because he got scared. that is a freaky thing. i guy who works out at one of the gold's in long island was working out one day and was warming up with 225 (very very light for him) and he was telling a story to his training partner, laughing and not paying attention and he lost his balance and fell forward. He tried to roll the bar over his head like that, hit the back of his neck and now walks with a cane.

Back Squat in a Cage or Angled Rack

Front Squat wherever you damn-well please!
(because you can dump the bar)

Originally Posted by CowPimp

Bahahaha. Stick it to the man Yan.

lol, i just like making noise in the gym. so when an opportunity arises i take it, but i don't look for them cause i work out in pussy gyms where they yell at you for using chalk and shit.

Originally Posted by P-funk

The guys rolling the bar over his neck was just because he got scared. that is a freaky thing. i guy who works out at one of the gold's in long island was working out one day and was warming up with 225 (very very light for him) and he was telling a story to his training partner, laughing and not paying attention and he lost his balance and fell forward. He tried to roll the bar over his head like that, hit the back of his neck and now walks with a cane.

yea thats some sick shit, i feel bad for the guy...can he atleast squat still?

when i'm lifting i never talk, for that reason alone. i've also learned how to zone out when people insist on talking to you during your set. my warmups are actually done with lots of concentration on form, because those are my sets to find my groove for the day if you could call it that.

i still say, as long as your back is strong enough to let your chest come up first you will almost never have to dump the bar in front of you because you'll be upright, more or less, and will just sink back down into the hole where you dump it onto the pins or the floor. another thing i do naturally when i'm tipping forward too much is take a step forward and lunge the weight up the rest of the way...seems to work for me

Originally Posted by Yanick

yea thats some sick shit, i feel bad for the guy...can he atleast squat still?

squat still? the guy can barely walk still! Squating is the last thing on his mind, I'm sure!

Originally Posted by P-funk

squat still? the guy can barely walk still! Squating is the last thing on his mind, I'm sure!

wow, thats horrible. now i really feel bad for the guy.

Originally Posted by Evil ANT

I went to a local powerlifting show last year and was surprised that the squaters didn't use a cage (or any safety device at all) when squating. Yet, when warming up off to the side where everyone could see, they were using a cage.

When one guy was going for a record (no cage), he couldn't make the lift and the room fell silent as all us spectators watched, expecting the guy to be hauled off in an ambulance. How he didn't break his back or neck is beyond me. He actually rolled the weight (over 600 pounds) over his neck and head and let it fall to the floor. His neck was pretty damn red all day after that, but at least he walked away relatively unharmed. It could have been a lot worse.

Why don't they use a cage when competing? This still confuses me.

The uprights in the stationary racks are just high enough that I occasionally smack them on the way down when squatting. I sometimes consider squatting outside the rack if the adjustable one is taken.