Doing curls in the squat rack? That's nothing compared to what I'm watching this very second. I work in a gym and I'm currently watching a group of four 40ish year old mom's doing situps.... in front of the squat rack. Some old school bodybuilder just walked in and I know he won't be happy if its his leg day. He'll have to ask them to please move and at least one of them will whine about how there is no room anywhere else and he'll have to wait his turn. Oh the drama.
That's okay. The class I am helping out with had a student telling me this new way of lifting called stacking that he does. "It took him months of research to come up with it."
By stacking, of course, he meant pyramiding. I told him a guy wrote a book on pyramiding in 1943 (about). He also said he had been doing this routine for almost 2 yrs now.
I posted this here once befor: I once saw a guy doing BEHIND THE NECK Incline Bench Presses in the squat rack. He was actually using a fair amount of weight.
I don't mind people curling at the squat rack if no one is squatting.
What absolutely hate is when people insist on WORKING IN their bicep curls while someone is squatting. They remove your plates, put these 10 pounders on each side, and curl like there's no tomorrow.
Myths from weight training I had to hear today from the coach.
You need more lower Ab work.
a. There are no such things as lower abs. They do not exist.Saying you can specialize in a portion of a muscle is erroneous. Can you flex the bottom of your bicep ? No. Look at anatomy chart and point to the muscle group called lower abs. They do not exist. You can either contract a muscle at varying intensities or you can't. It is all or nothing. You might feel
localized blood flow or pump, but there are no lower abs.
Direct lower back work is bad.
b. If your lower back is weak, why do exclusively abdominal work to further the imbalance ? I heard "focus on your lower abs to strengthen your lower back" . Flexibility is an issue, great. I understand. I prescribed some stretching exercises. Athletes need to strengthen their lower backs, too. People need posterior chain work ! I was verbally smacked down for suggesting some light good mornings by someone who got a degree in PE in 1983.
Do cyclical movements with your shoulders while shrugging. C. Nuff said.
When squatting on a smith machine. ( I know, it is all the class has. I try and do trap bar deadlifts when I can ). Keep your legs way out so that you are leaning against the bar and pushing. D. That is a great way to focus on quads, but a horrible way to teach someone to squat. When you squat your sit almost straight down, like in a chair. Do you propel yourself backwards into a chair, NO ! Of course, they also require us to use a belt ( which I don't, because it's a god damned smith machine ).
I agree. Weight lifting breeds a lot of "experts". I am going for my degree in Dietetics/Nutrition and my workout partner is about a class away from his Kinesiology degree. Of course, being 25 in a class full of 19-20 yr olds is a trial enough.
The class about froze when I was doing trap bar deadlifts. I think my routine has opened some eyes though in the class. They are stepping away from the preacher curl infinity sets, finally. I actually coached someone on how to properly do a push-press. I'm so proud.