How do I strengthen my arms so I can use a heaver weight for squats?

August 5, 2016 10:44 AM

What are the exercises that will help me improve my arms for lifting up the weights for squats without a squat rack?

I am currently doing squats with a 60 pound barbell on my shoulders. I would like to begin increasing that to 65, 70 pounds, etc. I tried doing 65 pounds at the gym and it was a bit of a struggle to get the weight up onto my shoulders. What arm exercises should I be doing so that I can continue lifting up the weights that I want to squat with?

This video indicates that basic form that I am using. Lifting the weight up from the ground is fine, and I pause after straightening my knees. Then, I basically need to pull the weight up to my collarbone and get my hands/wrists and arms under it, in order to lift it up over my head and rest it on my shoulders. I was able to lift it up to my neck, with my hands and arms still above the weight, and my elbows pointing out, but couldn't manage to get my arms under the weight to stabilize it and lift it over my head.

I need to strengthen whatever it is that helps the transition from *I pulled the weight up to the appropriate height" to *and now I can move my arms under it and lift it up over my head*.

I can get to the gym probably 3 times a week to do these arm exercises. What should I do, how many reps/sets, what weight, etc. so that I can gradually increase the amount that I am able to lift up onto my shoulders for my squats?

posted by andoatnp to Health & Fitness (12 answers total)

Is there some reason you cannot or will not use a squat rack?

As you gain strength and lift heavier, you will reach a point where you cannot get the bar into position. The whole point of a squat rack is so you can....y'know....squat.

That being said, you're going to need to work on trapezius and deltoids to do what you're trying to do, and I suspect you're going to damage your shoulders in the process here.

Seriously. Why not a squat rack?
posted by Thistledown at 10:55 AM on August 5, 2016 [11 favorites]

Also...see 'clean and jerk' - this is fundamentally what you're trying to do now to get the bar into position. But then you're doing cleans. Not squats.
posted by Thistledown at 10:56 AM on August 5, 2016 [1 favorite]

1) That looks dangerous, please don't do that move alone.

2) I'd look at overhead press form. You'll have better leverage having your forearms perpendicular to the floor and using a bit of layback to get the bar up. Putting it behind your head still seems dodgy as hell, though. Consider doing front squats or goblet squats instead.
posted by momus_window at 10:58 AM on August 5, 2016

Best answer: There's nothing dangerous about this exercise but it will be very challenging to add weight if you want to strengthen the passes you will need to work them; light weight and higher rep count.

You will not ever be able to do the overhead pass with a weight that corresponds to your leg strength however. A healthy man can easily get to a 5x200 squat in a short period of time; pressing 200 pounds overhead is far outside of someone with that skill level.

Find a squat rack.
posted by rr at 11:20 AM on August 5, 2016 [4 favorites]

Like everyone else says, the amount you can squat is quickly going to outpace your ability to clean a bar with that much weight. Or to put it another way: the amount of squatting you'll be doing with a bar you cleaned instead of took off a rack isn't going to get you the benefits regular squatting will. You're not going to be squatting anywhere near your max like this, which means you may as well just do goblet squats or something else with an equal amount of weight distributed for picking up off the floor or holding low.

Just FYI, I tried to do this for a few months and it didn't pan out. I ended up doing goblet squats with a weight until I bought a squat rack off craigslist. I can clean maybe half my max squat if I'm really intent on doing so and try it a few times.
posted by griphus at 11:25 AM on August 5, 2016 [4 favorites]

You want to start practicing hang cleans. When I do them I deadlift up from the floor and then move into hang clean position.

But...add me as one more voice in the "this looks dangerous, please reconsider" chorus. Does your gym not have a squat rack? If they don't, could they add one? Racks themselves are not that expensive and if you are paying for this gym that's a pretty standard piece of equipment they should have. If they have one, and you don't feel comfortable using one, maybe you could ask for an orientation to the equipment? No one will judge you for using a squat rack (even incorrectly) but they miiiiight judge you for wasting energy and effort trying a potentially dangerous move when you could just use the equipment intended for it.
posted by stellaluna at 11:29 AM on August 5, 2016 [1 favorite]

Here's a good goblet squat how-to. You may need to work up to being able to grasp a 60 lb weight like that, but you can do that much faster.
posted by griphus at 11:29 AM on August 5, 2016

I agree with most of the people here: some muscles are stronger than others, and your legs are some of the strongest. If you intent to keep doing a clean and jerk into position, your arms will always be the limiting factor in the amount of weight you can squat. It's not uncommon to see someone with a max back squat that is 150% of their clean and jerk.


I will disagree with the chorus: the clean and jerk is perfectly safe if done with proper technique. But if you don't have specific coaching in the clean and jerk, my guess is that your technique isn't that great (I have had many hours of personalized coaching and my technique is still not great). So please be careful.
posted by daniel striped tiger at 3:30 PM on August 5, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: So, what you're looking at is a clean (fine, requires technique) and jerk (also fine, requires technique, will be less than you can clean) and then lowering the bar behind your head (not really fine, not great for your shoulders, and heaven help you if you drop it.) If this is your option, I'd recommend doing a front squat instead. It works the same muscles as a back squat, but generally people can do way less weight, and it only requires a clean to get to your shoulders.

Back squats aren't ever going to be a good idea without a rack, sorry. You can bail out of them without safety bars if you have rubber plates, but you can't get it up there to begin with in a safe way.
posted by restless_nomad at 3:59 PM on August 5, 2016 [9 favorites]

My lifting coach would murder me if I tried this combination you're suggesting. As above you're fine up til you're putting the bar on your shoulders ... And then at any weight if you Bork it up, you're screwed.

Squat rack x a million.
posted by Medieval Maven at 4:06 PM on August 5, 2016

I would never consider lifting my squat weight above my head and then placing it in position. I might eventually lift it overhead, but the placing onto shoulders is the dangerous part.

Why not two dumbbells, one in each hand, held beside each shoulder top?
posted by batter_my_heart at 10:46 PM on August 5, 2016

You can do heavy squats without a rack, it's called a Steinborn lift.

BUT from your question I strongly suggest finding a coach to help you learn how to lift. Lifting heavy weights is not something you should be teaching yourself - coaches bring tons of experience and training with them, and you'll get stronger faster & without injury with the help of a coach.
posted by jpeacock at 4:38 PM on August 21, 2016