The gym has its own share of mysteries. Whether it’s all the different straight bars, or all of the specialty ones, all the different machines, or even how to execute different movements, unlocking the secrets of the gym can have newcomer and veteran alike scratching their heads. In hopes of saving others some of the confusion I’ve experienced, today I’m going to outline the intricacies of one particular piece of equipment that tends to cause a lot of confusion:
The Combo Rack – What Can I Do With It (And How)?
If you began your lifting career in a commercial gym, it’s highly likely you did not start out benching and squatting in a combo rack. For a lot of people, the first time they see one of these racks is at a competition (and for many, it’s only when the technical official conducting their weigh-in asks them for their squat and bench rack heights that they realize they are going to have to go examine the rack in greater detail).
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A combo (combination) rack is a competition-spec rack that you can either bench or squat out of.
Now that we’re clear on what a combo rack is/does, we need to set it up for use. While these racks can look confusing, there are really only three easy steps that you need to take in order to be ready to lift.
Step 1 – Bench or Squat?
If you’re squatting, you’re obviously going to need to get the bench out of the way. While not required, you may also want to remove the spotting arms. While they look really similar to the spotting arms on a power rack, failing a lift and dropping the bar onto these spotting arms can often cause the rack to tip or flip, because the combo rack is not bolted to the ground. If you’re like me and sometimes squat a little crooked, you can also accidentally hit the spotting arms with your plates while squatting, which can really throw you off balance. So, long story short – it’s good to know how to get both the bench and the spotting arms out of the way.
To remove the bench, you’re going to grab it close to the front (this is where it is heaviest) and lift up:
If you are lifting and it doesn’t budge, someone has probably locked it in place (most lifters don’t do this as the bench is quite secure without). To unlock it, you need to look for the wingnut in front of the holder for each of the two front bench legs. Once this is unscrewed on both sides, you’ll be able to lift the bench up and out.
The bench makes a great place to sit in between sets, so feel free to keep it nearby.
Next up: the spotting arms. These slide into the base of the rack:
Sometimes, they can be rather tricky to remove. In the video you can see that I’m pushing up on the rack while pulling the spotting arm back; essentially I’m trying to make it so that less weight is pushing down on the arm so that it will come out more easily (shout out to our good friend gravity).
You may be tempted to pull the silver pieces of the spotting arms (the arm proper) out of their holders instead of removing the whole apparatus. It’s really preferable that you don’t do this. More pieces floating around generally means more pieces that could go missing, and honestly – if you have the time to remove the arm, you have time to remove the whole apparatus.
It probably goes without saying, but if you’re benching, you’re going to want to follow the above steps in reverse and ensure that both the bench and the spotting arms are in place.
