Exercises With Squat Rack

by Ezreal Armwrestling Club November 28, 2022

Why use a Squat Rack

A squat rack is excellent for building strength, allowing you to add more weight quickly and push for those PRs.

Squat racks are all about safety. When you train, you know if you may fail a rep, there is a safety bar to catch you.

MANY exercises can be performed with the squat rack but let's look at our top 10.

The Workout

Pull-ups

Pull-ups are great for exercising your triceps and essential upper-body strengthening exercise. They also improve the condition of various muscles in the back and shoulders, so aim to add them to your workout regularly if you want to improve these areas.

Place your hands on the overhead bar with your palms facing forwards, about shoulder-width apart
Bend your legs at the knees to hang from the bar
Pull yourself up as high as possible, trying to raise your head over the bar. (Hy Gym, 2022)

Squats

The king of the squat rack exercises is, of course, squats. They improve your glutes, hip flexors, quadriceps, abs, calves and hamstrings. There are many variations of this exercise, but here is an excellent version for all fitness levels:

Set the barbell on the squat rack just below shoulder level
Step under the bar in a squat position
Position the bar on the back of your shoulders
Place both hands on the bar with your palms facing away from your body
Lift the bar off the rack and raise it towards the ceiling
Straighten your legs and your body and take a step back, making sure you stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart
Tighten your core and keep your back straight
Bend at both the hips and knees, ensuring that your knees remain in line with your toes
Continue bending your knees until your upper legs are parallel with the floor, with your back at a 45- to 90-degree angle to your hips
Do your repetitions before returning the bar to the squat rack.

Remember, exercise doesn't have to be boring, and you're more likely to stick with a fitness program if you're having fun. (Hy Gym, 2022)

Bicep Curls Being

The barbell curl, the next of our squat rack exercises, improves arm strength and your grip. Besides your biceps, you will be exercising your forearms and wrists. To do the bicep curls correctly:

Set the barbell in a low position
With a tight underhand grip (hands facing up), pick up the bar
Take a step back
With a neutral spine, bring the bar up to shoulder height, keeping your elbows in front of your hips
Lower the bar down slowly, keeping your triceps engaged
Once back in the original position, straighten your arms fully
Do your repetitions.

You can also slip into physical activity throughout the day. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, or park further away from the store. Walk up and down the sidelines while watching the kids play sports. Take a walk during a break at work. (Hy Gym, 2022)

Overhead Press

The overhead press is a fundamental exercise in the world of Olympic lifting. It even used to be one of the main events until it was discontinued when some participants started to lean back to make it easier to lift the weight. The overhead press with a squat rack is excellent for shoulder health. To do your overhead press:

Set the bar on the squat rack at chest height and load the bar with your weights
Step under the bar and grip it with your palms facing forward
Place the bar just under your neck on top of the clavicle and re-adjust your grip so that the bar is in your palms (not your fingers)
Lift the bar over your head, ensuring the bar is aligned with the shoulder and your hips
Slowly lower the bar to the top of your collarbone
When you’ve completed your set, place the bar back on the rack. (Hy Gym, 2022)

Deadlift

Performing deadlifts has multiple advantages, including less risk if you can’t complete a repetition. When done correctly, deadlifts are great if you suffer from lower back pain and for training your hip extensors, glutes and hamstrings, and they are effective for teaching your core muscles to keep rack exercises.

Put the bar on the lowest position of the squat rack and load the bar with your weights
Stand with your feet at about shoulder-width apart
Lean forward, bending at the hips and keeping your back straight and grab the bar
With a slight bend in the knees, squeeze your glutes and pick the bar up, keeping it close to your legs
To lower the bar, bend at the hips and lower the weight slowly (Hy Gym, 2022)

Lat Pulldown

The lat pulldown is fantastic for strengthening your back muscles. However, many people perform this exercise incorrectly. It’s important to avoid leaning back too much or taking your elbows back. This exercise comprises a straight bar and adjustable resistance (plates).

Sit comfortably with your feet flat on the floor.
Adjust the bar height if necessary so that you can comfortably grasp it without having to stand up
Grasp the bar with an overhand (hands facing down)
Engage your abs and squeeze your shoulder blades together and pull the bar down
Keep pulling down until the bar is at chin level or a position in which your elbows can’t move downward anymore without moving backwards
Slowly bring the bar up to the starting position
Continue until you’ve completed your repetitions. (Hy Gym, 2022)

Stepping Lunges

Besides contributing to weight loss, stepping lunges are effective for training your balance and stability. This exercise can also correct imbalances and misalignments in your body by balancing your strength and flexibility on both sides, improving muscle overcompensation cases.

Position the bar on the squat rack at chest height

Load the bar with your weights
Step under the bar and grip it with your palms facing forward
Place the bar on top of your taps, on the back of your shoulders
Push the bar out of the rack and step back with your feet hip-width apart
Inhale as you take a long step forward to perform a lunging squat with one leg, keeping your torso upright
Exhale as you step back to raise your torso and go back to the starting position
Repeat the lunge with the opposite leg (Hy Gym, 2022)

RDL's

Hanging leg raises work the abdominals and hip flexors and improve core strength, spine health, and mobility. This is an advanced exercise in which you have to use your muscle strength to hang from a bar with extended arms, and it can be used to vary your ab routine. You will feel your abdominals working very hard (and the higher you lift your legs, the more they will work).

Grab the overhead bar with your palms facing forward.
Lift your legs by bending at the hips.
Either bend your knees (as if you’re squatting in mid-air) or keep your knees straight as you raise them
Slowly lower your legs back down (Hy Gym, 2022)

Bench Press

These squat rack exercises work your chest, shoulders and triceps. Unlike the incline chest press, which uses more of your upper pec, the flat bench builds mass over the entire wardrobe, helping develop more muscles.

With your feet firmly planted on the floor, lie down your back on the bench
Keep your back straight and flat against the bench (you can place your feet on the edge of the bench if that makes it easier for you to keep your back straight)
Lift the back from the rack
Inhale as you bring the bar down, closer to your chest
Exhale and take the bar up as you straighten your arms over your chest (Hy Gym, 2022)

Good Mornings

Yes, ‘good morning’ is the name of the last of our squat rack exercises, which is excellent for training your hamstrings. Remember not to use too much weight at the beginning to avoid injuring your lower back.

Set up for a squat with the bar behind your shoulders (NOT on your neck) and a forward grip
Instead of lowering your butt as you would in a regular squat, bend at your hips and push your butt back, keeping your back straight
Drive your hips forward to return to the starting position (Hy Gym, 2022)

Let us know what you think, and comment on any other exercises you do with the squat rack!

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