The Complete Guide to Failover Elevators
If heavy barbells scare you, you are not alone. Until you gain experience (both lifting and watching others lift), you may feel mild horror at the thought of the barbell collapsing on you if you don’t lift. Fortunately, failure is no longer intimidating when you learn what actually happens when you fail. So let’s go through it.
The first thing to know is that everyone fails sometimes. I love how Olympic weightlifters don’t use the word “fail” – instead they talk about “fail.” It’s not that you couldn’t pick it up, it’s just that you didn’t .
Another important thing to keep in mind is that you will not suddenly lose all of your strength. If you bench press and fight under a 135 pound barbell, your supervisor should only provide a few pounds of assistance and the two of you together return the bar to the rack.
With that in mind, let’s look at a few common exercises and see what can happen if you can’t finish.
Thrust
It’s simple: if you can’t stand up completely with the barbell, just lower it . Will everyone turn and look at you? Maybe in some gyms. Everything is fine. You will live.
Squats
Squatting is easy, but sometimes you can’t get up again. Most of us have a sticking point that is several inches above parallel, so you might think you’re lifting a weight, but suddenly it won’t lift anymore.
If you’re in a fuse rack, just put a bar on the safes. (Pro tip: Set them to a suitable height before starting the squat. That’s what they are for!) This is a pretty cool way to let go: you just place the barbell on a different part of the rack than you picked it up from. Nothing special.
If you don’t have a rack, it’s okay, the main thing is that there is free space behind you. (Always check if you have a safe way to fail before starting. No objects or people behind you if you squat without fuses!) In this case, you simply let go of the weight and let it fall behind you. It might roll a little down your back. Free massage, as my coach likes to say.
Spotters can also be used during squats, although this is not very common outside gyms (and powerlifting competitions). The belayer usually stands behind you, ready to hook your elbows under your armpits and help you push the weight again. Don’t lose weight if you have a spotter.
Bench press
This is one of the scariest lifts because the bar is right above you. This is why it is good to do heavy bench presses with a spotter. (Remember, they don’t need to be insanely strong; they just need to be able to help you lift the weight again.)
To make sure you can fail safely, it is convenient to use a bench press setting that includes face rescuers (these are safety measures that work in the same way as a power rack), or in many gyms you can simply drag the bench to the gym. rack . Set so that the bar is touching your chest on the bent-back press, but is slightly above the fuses. If you can’t handle the lift, straighten your back and the bar will rest on the belay devices, allowing you to wriggle out from under it.
What if you cannot install protection and have not asked someone for a place? Bad planning, but you don’t deserve to die. Instead, when you realize that you cannot finish the exercise, place the barbell on your chest and roll it towards your hips. Then sit down with the barbell on your knees. (This is often referred to as the “scroll of shame.”)
Or a bench without clamps at the ends of the kettlebell. When your arms are relaxed, just let one arm relax a little more than the other. From this side, the bar will tilt downward, knocking down the plates. Hold on tight, because without these weights, it will swing in the opposite direction. This is the loudest and most frustrating way to fail, but hey, at least you haven’t died. Watch a few videos on bench press failure techniques here .
Lifts
This is another scary category of lifts because there is something heavy overhead. If you’re worried about that, just start following Olympic Weightlifters on Instagram. Not only do they skip climbs all the time in training and competition – remember, it doesn’t really matter to them – they also work with bumper plates and so even after a successful climb they throw them casually overhead.
If you’re doing overhead presses in the gym, you don’t have to be so dramatic, but you can still set up belay belts in a rack just below shoulder level. If you can’t finish your bench press, just put the safety bar on. Remember that you still have enough strength to control the situation.
If you are in a place where you can lose weight, remember that you have two options besides dropping the weight on your head: it can move forward or backward. In whatever direction the bar begins to tilt, simply release it. Give him a slight push – let’s say he falls forward, so you push him forward slightly and the bar will go forward. Thanks to Newton’s third law of motion, you will be slightly pushed back and away from the falling rod.
How to avoid unnecessary mistakes
While lifting weights has a lot to do with strength, skipping a lift can also have mental implications. Sometimes, if you think you can’t get up, you subconsciously tell yourself not to try. Therefore, approach each exercise with the mood that you will do everything in your power to make it happen.
It also helps you plan for a successful climb. If you’re getting closer to the fourth or fifth repetition of six sets, pay attention to how much the bar slows down with each rep so you know if you should shorten the set. And while you warm up, use each exercise as a test for the next. If I, for example, hope to do a 135lb heavy single, I expect 125 to rise smoothly. If that’s not the case, it might mean that I should instead do my best single at 130, or maybe it’s a “high gravity day” as we speak, and 125 will be enough.