Valor squat stands owners -- Questions?

TarHeelMom

TarHeelMom

Cathlete
Hey everyone!

Quick question for you Valor squat stand owners.

I did Meso Two Disc 13 last week with no bar rack, and realized when doing so that I really couldn't do the Meso Two or Three chest work properly at my target weight without a bar rack because I couldn't safely get that heavy a bar into position without possibly compromising my shoulders.

Then I remembered that, like Kathryn (pearlstrand), I bought the Valor squat stands from Overstock some time ago. (Forgetting this made me feel menopausal to the extreme AND idiotic. :eek:) DH put them together this week for me, and today I used them as a bar rack for Meso Two, Disc 16. They seemed to work well and I was able to heavy up, so that was great.

Here's what I'm wondering (and pardon me if this is really dumb).

One, do y'all think these are stable enough to use as a bar rack for bench pressing, as I did? They FELT okay and I was very careful, but what do y'all think?

And two, (here's the dumb part :D), what do you use the long, straight (maybe 5 inches long) bars that jut out from the front of the stands for? I see the V-shaped notches at the top where your bar rests. That's all I used today when bench pressing -- I lifted the bar up FROM there and I placed the bar back ONTO there. I'm assuming that perhaps the 5-inch long bars are used for resting the bar onto temporarily when you're using these stands for squats -- yes?

I just saw Kathryn's suggestion for using these for pullups -- woohoo on that!! Can't wait to try that. I've been using heavy black tubing and it's not feeling killer enough for Cathe's standards!
 
I haven't seen the model you're talking about, but I think the things you're referring to that are sticking out are the safety racks. You're supposed to have them positioned in such a way that if you can't safely get the weight back up to the top of the rack, you put the barbell there to keep from injuring yourself.

Hope that helps!

Karri
 
TarHeelMom said:
Hey everyone!

Then I remembered that, like Kathryn (pearlstrand), I bought the Valor squat stands from Overstock some time ago. (Forgetting this made me feel menopausal to the extreme AND idiotic. :eek:) DH put them together this week for me, and today I used them as a bar rack for Meso Two, Disc 16. They seemed to work well and I was able to heavy up, so that was great.
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Hi there! Don't feel menopausal; you remembered right!

Here are my thoughts on your questions. I think the Valor stands would be good as a chest press rack only if your bench is the right height. In other words, I don't think that with the rack at its lowest setting would be at the correct height for me to do a bench press using The Step. It might work with my weight bench, but DH is using that. But as far as stability, I would trust it to hold the bar, just as I would (and will) for squats.

I'm finding the Valor and Bodybar option to be really good for pull ups. In addition, you can add a pair of Perfect Pull-up handles, which fit perfectly on a 9-lb. Bodybar.

I agree about the tubing option being just too easy! And if I'm going to do this workout, I want to see results. I had to find a tougher (but do-able) alternative.

Someday I'll be able to do real pull-ups! ;)

I wish I could answer the question about the V notch (obviously to hold the bar) and the other part that sticks out. I'm just not sure what that's for! Maybe somebody else will be able to tell us... :confused:

I'm really enjoying STS but I fear Mesocycle 2 because of the comments on the forum about how hard it is! I keep warning DH that the break is going to be over after our active recovery week next week!
 
Thanks a lot!

Thanks so much for the thoughts, everyone!

Kathryn, I don't have a Bodybar but I might try my old FIRM barbell, which is similarly padded. I'm not 100% sure it's long enough but it would save me having to load/unload my Troy Lite.

I have a ton of risers, and to use this gadget as a bar rack yesterday I think I put 7 risers under the step platform (on each side) and set the Valor on the lowest setting. It worked fine re: height -- I was just concerned a little about stability.

I have Perfect Pushups but haven't bought Perfect Pullups and thought that was some kind of bar -- it's handles??

Kathryn said:
I wish I could answer the question about the V notch (obviously to hold the bar) and the other part that sticks out. I'm just not sure what that's for! Maybe somebody else will be able to tell us... :confused:

What Karri said makes sense, I think -- that this is sort of an extra safety feature. Anybody else out there who can enlighten me and Kathryn? :)
 
Kathy-

I used the squat stands for bench press when I did disc 13 and rested the BB on the black safety arms that stick out. For added safety, I placed a 40lb DB on the base of each stand and they held my loaded BB securely. My step bench (with 4 risers/side) was too low so used my 18" high weight bench. It worked well for the flat bench press but was a little awkward for the inclines. I may try to remove the black arms and just use the "V" notched holders at the lowest setting and see if that works better.

I have a pullup bar so I haven't tried using the stands for that. Maybe someone else has and will post about it.

HTH:)
 
Based on another's suggestion, I have been using the stands with a bar for the pullups and chinups and am much more satisifed with that than using the tubing over the door. I'm not very good at it, but I'm more satisifed! :rolleyes:

I have done a test run on using the stands as a rack for bench presses (without the safety arm) and plan to use it for real when the time comes.
 
I remember looking at these a while back when people were talking about buying them and was afraid of them. I'm not saying that they're not safe since I've never even tried them but I'd be very careful with them. I can be careless and klutszy at times and I could see myself toppling these babies over the first time I tried them. :eek: But then, that's just me. I'm just saying....
 
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