Got stuck box squating without a spotter.(kind of a long read)

Brandon Couden · 09-11-2007, 10:36 PM

Just thought I would share something that happened to me monday. I've been doing a little experiment lately doing quite a few low box squats to make sure I'm going low enough on my squats. I have really long legs and have tended to come up early and this seems to be helping. Anyway monday im box squating pretty heavy and pausing when I'm hitting the box (basically sitting down for more than a second and coming back up). Well I had it set in my head that i was going to do 5, my forth rep came up kind of slow, and i figured i had another one in me ( when doing regular squats i would feel more than comfortable pushing another one out). Well when i came down I relax a bit too much and sat way back on the box and stayed on it for a little too long. When i went to come up, i didn't budge. there were people in the gym one 15 year old girl at the desk(her parents own the place) and in the other room where the cardio and machines are, but theres music blasting and they were old as shit. So i didn't want to scream out "help". So I sat there for a good 30-40 seconds resting with alot of weight on my back (for me anyway). I got really jacked up and got the weight up in the most akward fashion ever. I should have dumped the weight off behind me but the "box" was a little old flat bench that would have been split in two. It was pretty scary, do any of you guys had similar thing happen to you.

SteveX · 09-11-2007, 10:38 PM

no rack or cage?

zop · 09-11-2007, 10:43 PM

The first time I ever went to my rec center me and my friend were doing the old isolationist exercises. So we go to the incline bench press and I'm like put 45's on each side. I thought I'd be able to handle it cuz I have this bench at home that can be changed into an incline and I do 45's on it. But th eonly difference is that the one I have at home has a much smaller incline and the bar is really just a barbell which weighs like 5 bls. So anyways we put on the 45's and I tried to lift it and it immidiately falls to my stomach. i start to laugh, cuz i'm like shit this is pathetic, my friend is a bit confused, so i'm like help i need to get this back up. so he gets one one side but we need someone on the other and this guy who was watching, and also looked thoroughly confused came and helped it up.

It was realy painful on my upper stomach but thinking back it must've been so hilarious. The instant I tried to raise the bar it had fallen straight down.

Fight_Song · 09-11-2007, 10:46 PM

I'm always squatting in a rack. I'm not a fan of power racks much but that's my choice. In the rack, I always have the option to lose the weight onto the rack at any point. If I magically passed out and fall forward, the rack would/should catch the bar.

A lot of folks put their box too far back when squatting in a rack. You should have the box right there with you in the rack at the point you would normally be squatting if there was no box. A lot of folks squat in front of the rack and aren't really using the rack at all.

There's a vid of some fool quarter squatting on a high bench who is in front of his rack. needless to say, he fails at the end and face plants forward into the rack itself and loses the weight behind him.

I kinda wish I had an oly platform to use so I would rack the weight or just drop it behind me if I want to..

DieselWeasel · 09-11-2007, 10:49 PM

You should've been in a power rack or squat rack.

Brandon Couden · 09-11-2007, 10:49 PM

i was squating in a cage and forgot to put the safty bars on. It really just ended up me not thinking in general and being an idiot.

DieselWeasel · 09-11-2007, 10:50 PM

Did you learn your lesson? If you did, then don't worry about it. Just use the safety bars, next time.

Brandon Couden · 09-11-2007, 10:54 PM

for sure I typically always use them. When i couldn't move i immediately looked over and to my suprize they were not there. Thats when i was like ohh shit this is going to be interesting.

DEVILsSON · 09-12-2007, 12:29 AM

Yep. For a short while I lifted at my Universitys gym for athletes. Now apparently people who bought those 'racks' were retarded. Instead of getting powercages...they just got a rack wall with adjustable pins......*shrugs as to why*...so i was box squatting on my own and got stuck with 455 which for me was PR....at about parallel maybe a smidge higher box....i tried to stand up and my left leg buckled and I fell on my left knee with the bar swinging down to the left and floor...so then I slowly rolled the bar of my back and it came back with a thunderous boom....with a couple coaches watching......eh...

happens....

was pretty close to getting stuck monday...while doing box squats inside a rack....tho it's a shitty rack with the fixed safety bar set too low....i would have need to roll the bar back off me...

StevenCrowder · 09-12-2007, 12:36 AM

I feel ya... I use a squat rack/power rock kind of hybrid at the YMCA... The safety pins are sketchy at best so I never like to bail the weight.

So if I ever feel like the last rep is going to be too tough... I sit for an extra couple of seconds, rock a little bit and really dig my feet in. Seem to work pretty well.