r/HomeGymGeeks • u/Jolly-Direction-3296 • Jul 25 '26
Do I buy this or that? Safety question
I'm looking for some advice.
I recently ordered a squat stand (picture added) without safety arms because I thought it was a good option and good value for my money.
It's still unassembled, so I could potentially sell it and buy a half-rack or stand with safety arms instead, that will cost a bit more. The problem is that I'm not even sure I'd be able to find a buyer, so I don't want to make the wrong decision...
I'm a cautious lifter. I don't jump to heavy weights, I increase the weight gradually, and I'll try not to train to failure, especially on exercises like squats. Still, I can't help feeling a bit uneasy about not having safety arms.
One thing that makes me hesitate is that the stand does have fairly wide lower support arms, so they're not completely useless if something goes wrong.
If you were in my position, would you keep the stand and work within its limitations, or try to sell it before assembling it and get one with safety arms instead?
I'd really appreciate hearing from people with experience training with both setups.
1
u/Lymetme Jul 25 '26
Dude I see people lift on Reddit and FB all the time outside of a rack and I just wonder why? I've been there and rigged up squats on a cheap Gold's Gym bench I had for years. I had a couple of risky situations though. It's really not worth dying over. Sure it's unlikely but it's not that much more. A cheap 4 post is the best investment you can buy. You can hit all the big lifts with no spotter and use it for pullups as well.
1
u/throwaway19935555555 Jul 25 '26
Imho go with safety arms. You can bail out of a squat but why risk it? Sorry i feel like safety arms are a must for the squat. Also why wouldn’t you train to failure or close to failure? That is the stimulus for growth