I have a problem I never thought I would have. I work out solely at home. I have a weight room, barbels, benches, dumbbells, etc. My problem is with Squats and other leg exercises that I do with a barbell, but especially squats presently. I can no longer...safely...lift the barbell over my head to do my squats. I have to go to a lower weight than I can actually squat because of this. I do not feel comfortable with the weight I can squat being over my head, especially after a set to near failure. Does anyone else have this problem? What other exercises can I do? I am quickly approaching this phase with "step ups" (An alternative to the leg press machine) as well. Please remember that I work out solely from home. I do not have, nor will I have, access to a gym. I do not want to have progress stalled because of this. Currently, I squat the most I can lift over my head until near failure (I don't want to reach failure for safety reasons as I work out alone). This now can take almost 15-20 reps. Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
Actually, yes I have thought of a squat rack. I haven't priced them yet or looked to see how much space they take up...the room is small and shared with scrapbooking supplies..lol But, that was my first thought. I was just hoping for something to get me through until I can afford one.
That's exactly why I first joined a gym. It just became unsafe to continue my workouts at home. But since you say that joining is NOT an option, If you want to continue with regular squats, I'd look at the rack or power cage option. Personally, I think a power cage is more versatile and probably takes up a smaller footprint.
You can challenge your legs with lighter weight if you are stressing one leg at a time: basically a lunge and all its variations. Try using a much lighter bar than you squat, and do "split squats". Or put one leg behind you up on a bench and the other leg out in front. hold the bar in your hands, bend your knee and touch the bar to the floor in front of your toe. Try not to bend your back- you should be using your knee and hip flexors to get up and down. repeat 10 times, then switch legs. This is an intense quad and glute exercise. I hope it makes sense...it's kind of hard to describe.
Ah...another thought. Do your squats AFTER you have pre-exhausted your quads. Make squats the second exercise in a superset. For example, do a 20 rep set of bodyweight "pop squats" or body weight lunges, then do the squats with no rest between exercises. I doubt you'll get as many reps. Additionally, if you've pre-exhauseted your quads, you'll naturally use your glutes more for the squat.
Thanks everyone. I think I will be buying some kind of squat/power rack/cage after Christmas. I will probably go all out and get one that helps me do a million different things. I figure it'll be something I use forever so it's worth the investment. Until then, I will use Mel's suggestions for new exercises. So, thanks again!
Don’t forget to watch ebay, you never know when you will come across something good. Years ago I was shopping for some dumbbells and a bench, etc. and came across this power cage, with pulleys, bench, mat, weights, dumbbells, all the racks to store the weights on, various bars, and cable attachments etc. It was much more equipment then I even knew how to use but I bought it because it was a gonga, I got an entire gym for under $300.00. I had no idea what to do with the behemoth of a power cage so it set out on the patio while I played with the lighter dumbbells. Then I decided to work a little bit with a personal trainer to make sure I learned how to use these weights without hurting myself. Well, now I’ve converted my family room into a workout room and moved all that gorgeous equipment inside so the heat of the summer doesn’t interfere with my workout, I just LOVE that power cage and I had no idea how to use it when I bought it. The only thing you want to watch is to leave yourself enough room for the length of the bar. I measure and moved things around to maximize the space in the room and I didn’t leave as much room as I should have in front of the fire place. As I’m moving forward with the bar there isn’t much wiggle room past the fireplace mantel and I didn’t even notice that would be an issue when we were setting it up. I didn’t have the heart to ask my husband for help to move the cage to the left a few inches once we got it in place so I am just extra careful. So make sure you leave plenty of room on the sides to accommodate the length of the bar beyond the cage itself and leave yourself space to mount your weights and remove them.
Alternatives to Squats
The one and only reason I can see myself venturing into a gym any time soon is for a smith machine.
