Being Scared of Squatting

[ZZuluZ]

I'm having a real dilemna concerning squatting. I'm scared of doing it. I train at home and so far it's never hindered me before, however now that I'm finally squatting 200+ pounds ultra wide on the box it's become a concern.

If I get stuck at the dead bottom position of a squat....I'm literally a dead man. It's really taking a toll on my training; I always have to hold back, and severely. I'm sure it's also had a physchological and physiological impact. I mean, if you're scared of lifting the weight...you'll probably lift a lot less then you can.

My question is: is it possible to remedy this by NOT squatting? I'm thinking of a few possible solutions here: speed squats, reps VERY FAR from failure, assistance exercises. I can also do quarter squats (not to train my quads or anything, but to stimulate the nervous system and to stay accustomed to having heavy weights on my back). I'm willing to spend a few bucks to go the gym a few times a year and do some actual squats to track my progress.
I just feel like I can't squat heavy without a squat rack, my positioning is all off (I used a squat rack once and it felt GREAT) and I'm just really freaked out.

Any advice would REALLY really be helpful.

Thx a lot guys,

-Zulu

 

[Deciever]

buy yourself a cheap power rack.. i saw one from kmart for 229..or get a membership at a gym... you have to squat...
and good job on squating 200+

 

[ZZuluZ]

Thanks a lot, I know it's really pathetic especially compared to the pros on this board, but I've only been squatting a few months and I'd really like to improve.

I've saved up the money to buy a power rack, but.... I live in ~apartment~. There's no space at all for a power rack. I barely have space as it is. All I use is an adjustable bench and free weights. I know it's not ideal, but I'm convinced I can still make gains with what I've got, and I'm motivated to do so.

It's not that I don't want to squat, but I've come to the very brink of failure while squatting and it really wasn't funny. I almost seriously injured myself several times.

Buying a membership here at a gym is too expensive. I live in Quebec, there aren't cheap gyms everywhere, and I don't have 60$ a month, plus I already most of what I need at home.

I still think I can make this work with the things I've suggested. I just want to know if it's possible. I mean, I can still do almost ALL the assistance exercises...those are bound to increase my squat. I mean, if I increase my back, hamstring, glute and ab strength, my squat should go up in no time at all with just a few squat sessions.

-ZUlu

 

[Deciever]

just popped into my mind.. ever think of building your own little thing incase you get stuck at the bottom.. like a mini rack just at the level that your at at the bottom of your squat... it would be cheap (50$ worth of materials im guessing), and get the job done. You could even add a spot to rack your bar...

but if you dont want to , you could do heavy dumbell squats, lunges, im sure you could find a way to do some kinda makeshift gluta ham raise...

im only squatting in the 200's too, so dont feel bad about it

 

[ZZuluZ]

You're squatting 265 which is a lot more than me, not too mention you're 2 years younger and 25 pounds lighter, damnit

Interesting suggestions for alternative exercises...any opinions on which are best for actual squatting would be most useful. That's actually a good idea about making my own squat rack, I'd need more info however on how to build it and stuff...

BTW, I never understood how dumbell squats would work. They always felt more like deadlifts to me. I could probably dumbell squat more than I could with a barbell :{

Thx a lot for your help man,

-Zulu

 

[Deciever]

what i found works good, from my own experiance, dumbell squats against a wall with a swiss ball.. it gives you graet form, and you really feel it.

dumbell squats are good, overhead dumbell squats are nice too, i've done them with my kettlebell.

hang in there im trying to draw up a quick pic of my idea for the homemade squat rack

 

[CytoMel]

Buy bands

You should just buy a bunch of bands. Check out the average or strong bands from www.elitefts.com with the bands you can squat safely a lot of resistance by putting them around your shoulder and the other end around your feet..Also you can do a bunch of other leg stuff safely like pull throughs, band deadlifts, GM and etc...

 

[Deciever]

good idea cytomel...better than mine

 

[ZZuluZ]

Deciever...cool idea about overhead squats, I've been to try that for a while anyway.

Thx for the pic, I think it's a good idea if I could get it to work.

I'll go look for bands right now.... are they very expensive?

Wow, I'm really getting some quality advice here.

I love this board, thx guys,

-Zulu

 

[Deciever]

bands are cheap, like 20$ a band i think