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Comment by lghh | Hacker News Reader

I'd love to buy a squat rack and other lifting tools to keep at home. I don't live close to a gym but have enough space to lift what I'd like to in my garage. Though, I am worried about the potential for injury or getting myself in a lifting situation that I can't get out of where if I was at a gym someone would run over to help.

Is that a reasonable concern? Or am I overthinking it?

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Squatting without a spotter can be perfectly safe if you use a squat rack with safety rails and/or a set of bumper plates. Do you have any experience lifting? It's not a good idea to try to just figure it out on your own!

There are some competent personal trainers who do video-based sessions. Start light, and focus on the form.

A lot of lifts are inherently "safe" if you do them correctly (back squats, deadlifts, olympic lifts). If you want to bench press without a spotter, you need safety rails.

Most at home racks have "safety bars" that you can adjust to act as a safeguard from dropping weights.

The most dangerous for dropping weight imo are bench and squat, and both are easily mitigated with the bars adjust to the correct height.

Ex: https://www.garage-gyms.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/squat...

I think you're overthinking. I had the same fear when I first started going to the gym.

So far my experience has been really positive, I find it hard to put myself in such situations as long as:

1. Always start with low weight and try to check if you're "feeling" the right part of your body, sort of like a form + mind-muscle connection check

2. If you plan exceed a previous maximum, try to

2.1. Do that with someone around you, or

2.2. Do it in really small increments

This is a completely reasonable concern.

I’ve been stuck with 185lb on my chest (modest difficulty at the time). I couldn’t lift it due to fatigue. That particular time, I was able to get it onto my lap.

My solution after a few uncomfortable situations was to buy a squat rack with 1 inch safety increments. Rouge fitness sells one. Most racks have 2” safety holes but that’s not enough granularity for full range and safety imo.

You can also set up the bar without collars and do the roll of shame. Safety rails are 100% the way to go though.

Haha I’ve been there too but it’s scary

In general, no I would not worry much about it. First don't try a lift you aren't sure you are ready for and two increment by 5# max from workout to workout.

Start light, way lighter than you think you should and work almost exclusively on form. Then each workout increase your weight by 5#s. The entire time it's critical to keep watching your form. Then as you get heavier and heavier you will be much more capable of reading your body and deciding of a weight increase is warranted.

Like others have also stated most racks come with safety straps or bars, feel free to use those, especially when you go really heavy. But if you follow the above steps you more than likely won't ever put yourself in a position where you aren't prepared for the weight you have racked.

If you want to test your 1 rep max or something then do it with a friend there to spot you. But that's not something you should be doing every workout, it's more of a once in a while thing.

I don't think you should worry about it. Start small and incrementally work your way up. You shouldn't start with a load heavy enough to prevent getting out of.

A quality adjustable fitness bench with a bunch of free weights can go a long way. Though important to note you can still injure yourself with free weights (muscle injury with long heal time).

The key is to start small and work your way up in reps/resistance over time. Your body will tell you what you can do.

Mostly unreasonable. I assume you want to do the big compound lifts if you want a squat rack. Deadlifts you can just drop if its too heavy. Squats you can push off your back. Benching is a little more embarrassing but you can roll it down your torso to your hips and then get the bar off you. I think just have your phone in your pocket if you're really worried.

Safety bars exist for a reason and personally I've gone until complete failure many times without any issues. The real risk here is an acute injury caused by incorrect form. But if you go light and consciously make an effort perfect your form you'll be safe. A home gym is actually great for this since you can take videos of yourself without looking weird.

It's a reasonable concern, but if you buy squat rack spotter arms and use them correctly, you can avoid these dangerous situations.

Many squat racks and benches come with safety features to prevent that kind of failure. Don’t let that fear stop you from getting a home gym. To avoid really bad situations just always have a safe solution to “what if I can’t finish this rep“. Separately, you’ll get regular injured at some point doing something totally safe. But that just comes with the territory.

For benching you leave the clip off on one side. If you fail to lift you tilt the bar to one side then you are free. I think it shouldn't be a concern unless you are pushing some serious weight.

Dumbbells are a great alternative. You can still get injured, but you can also push yourself knowing that you can drop the weight and not risk it crushing you.

how much do you push yourself?

trying to beat PR or casually exercising?

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