Korean Job Discussion Forums

[noraebang]

How do you cope?

[BringTheRain]

I keep looking and find one with a squat rack... hehe.

Hope this is an option for you too.

There are like 5 gyms within a 5min walk of here and only one has a kind of squat rack / place for deads.

[crisdean]

here's an idea, learn some different exercises, sure I love squats too (particularly overhead squats), but there are a host of other exercises that work the same muscles. Lunges are a great exercise for quads, hamstrings, and gluts when you do them right and probably your best bet as a replacement exercise. They don't require as much weight; 2 heavy dumbbells, one in each hand should suffice.

[noraebang]

[Ji]

I feel your pain. I've only got a lousy smith machine at my gym but it's better then nothing.

And IMO there isn't a true substitute for squats. Other exercises grouped together can impact the same muscle groups but the "whole is more then the sum of it's parts" is how I feel about barbell squats.

Squats while quad dominant is a total body exercise. I've also found ATG style squats improve explosiveness and squatting in general seems to give better muscle density then other exercises.

[TheUrbanMyth]

Deadlifts are a good alternative. If done from the floor (as opposed to a rack pull,) they work the legs and lower back similar to how the squat does. True they are somewhat more ham dominant then the squat (more quad dominant) but they do work much the same muscles. Front squats and lunges are other options.

[Ji]

Deadlifting will activate the quads some but nowhere near the degree a back or front squat would. Deadlifting is still primarily back/core centric. Though I believe deadlifting like squating should be incorporated into any strength program.

I think front squatting has the same problem as back squatting. You still need something to rack the bar against when you complete the set.

Lunges are better then nothing but if you're trying to build strength and size, I think a machine sled would be a better. Lunges tend to do more sculpting even at heavier weight in comparison.

[Zulethe]

[brento1138]

I'm totally new to working out at the gym but have no idea what a "squat" is.

That said, I'm going everyday. First 30-45 or more mins I'm weightlifting with all of the machines. Then I head to the exercise bike for 30 mins to 1 hour. Doing this everyday has totally been changing my health around. Feel way more energetic, get up in the morning without difficulty, and oddly enough require less sleep. Work drains me less. Overall, I feel awesome. And have noticed results too in my body, such as a less 'fat' face and my tiny bit of gut is turning from hard fat to softer fat...

But I'm gonna have to google this "squat" thing. Sounds good.

[talltony4]

There was a thread on here a while back about doing squats without a rack.

It linked to a youtube vid that showed a guy putting the bar on its end, then squatting beside it and rolling it across his shoulders to set up.

Sorry, I'm too lazy to search it, but I'm sure it's still out there

The catch could be stopping the weights from falling off the bar. guess some kind of screw on collar would be required and massive weights would probably be out of the question.

[warmachinenkorea]

[jonpurdy]

Gotta say that squats are amazing. All of the muscles in your body are stabilizing so that you don't fall right over. Squats are pretty essential in any workout routine.

[madhusudan]

[madhusudan]

Also thought I'd add that both the government sponsored gyms I've been a member of had squat racks. Look for a MunHwa Center or SuRyunGwan or some such in your area. Based on my experience, you have a chance of finding a rack there. The prices happen to be low as well.

[noraebang]

I will update this thread when I get placed in my school.

I'm with the TaLK program so I will be in a rural area, and the first month is actually all teacher training in Yong-In so no problems there. Maybe I can even watch the Judo team over there.

I'm expecting a really small rural area to not have that good of equipment but I'm not sure. Sometimes when you find the oldest and cheapest gyms, they have all the basics like old rusted squat racks, even Olympic plates and stuff. My experience has been that new gyms are actually worse than old ones for that type of equipment.

Regardless, I'm bringing my Elite Rings (gymnastics rings), Captains of Crush, and all sorts of doo-dads but nothing for the legs really.