Olympic Weights Standard Weight Rack Tips

Weightlifters use standard weight racks to perform the most common weightlifting exercise, the squat, as well as the most popular strength-training exercise, the bench press. Olympic weight racks can include weight benches and usually have extra attachments and adjustments to perform various exercises, such as dead lifts, incline presses and shoulder presses.

Squats, Shrugs and Dead Lifts

When using the standard Olympic weight rack for back or front squats, make sure the flat bench has been removed and that the safety bars and barbell hooks are adjusted to the appropriate height for the lifter using the rack. The same can also be said with the safety bars when using the weight rack for dead lifts and shrugs as they will be lower in this case. In addition, the barbell hooks and safety bars need to be adjusted accordingly when performing barbell lunges. The barbell must be at chest level for the starting point for any exercise that involves racking and re-racking the weights.

Bench and Shoulder Presses

While using the standard Olympic weight rack for pressing exercises, make sure that the adjustable bench is centered inside the cage while the safety bars and barbell hooks are lowered to perform these exercises. The bench press will have the lowest settings as the bench itself is flat. The incline press will have intermediate settings as the bench is adjusted to a 45-degree angle. The shoulder press will have the highest settings as the back of the seat is moved to an upright position. The head of the bench will be closer to the side of the rack with the barbell hooks for racking and re-racking purposes.

Storing Olympic Weight Plates

Standard Olympic weight racks usually have arms for loading barbell plates for storage. These are optional and not essential for the rack itself. However, if you wish to put them to use, this would require additional work to load and unload the weight racks. Though it may save you time when transporting plates to and from weight trees, you may have to lift the plates higher off the floor when re-racking the weights. Try organizing them with the heaviest on the bottom arms and the lightest on the top arms of the rack.

References

• Strength Online: Homebuilt Power Cage