I Would Walk 500 Miles . . . But Not to Press or Squat

Jason does an excellent job setting up relatively close to the uprights.

When you unrack your press and your squat, be economical in your setup process. Stand the bar up with your legs, take one step back, and then take your stance. One step. Do not back up five steps from the rack before getting set to press or squat.

We want to have some space between ourselves and the uprights of the rack when we lift, but there is no need to create four feet of space. Think of how close the bar is to the uprights when you bench (5-10 inches?), and also remember that if your press or squat is out of balance by a few inches forward or backward, you will have failed the rep long before running into the uprights becomes a problem.

Setting up inside a power rack tends to solve this problem, but with squat stands (i.e., the kind with only two uprights), I’ve seen people walk back far enough with their squats that they are no longer squatting within range of the spotter arms. This is ridiculous and unsafe, so if this is you . . . don’t do this.

Setting up an excessive distance from the rack is unnecessary, sometimes unsafe, and always means that you have to expend more effort than needed to setup as well as rack the bar at the completion of your set, so let’s stop this nonsense.