Curls in the squat rack

[fatlaz]

Wednesday was leg day for me.  I'm a 60 year old former high school wrestler and a D1 college football player, so I've been working out in all different types of gyms for over 45 years.   I've had two hip replacements and a fused back so I squat, but I'm not setting any records. I lift to stay mobile and to increase my lifespan.   This day every squat rack in the gym was being used except one, so I started using that one.  When I looked to my right, I noticed the guy next to me was doing curls with the Olympic bar...65 lbs.  He would do a set then sit in the rack on a moveable bench...there were no other benches available either.   It really  annoyed me, but I quickly finished my sets and broke down the bar.  Should I have said something to him?  I thought about showing him curling in the squat rack memes on my phone.

[Lipdrag]

On 6/27/2026 at 2:01 PM, fatlaz said:

Wednesday was leg day for me.  I'm a 60 year old former high school wrestler and a D1 college football player, so I've been working out in all different types of gyms for over 45 years.   I've had two hip replacements and a fused back so I squat, but I'm not setting any records. I lift to stay mobile and to increase my lifespan.   This day every squat rack in the gym was being used except one, so I started using that one.  When I looked to my right, I noticed the guy next to me was doing curls with the Olympic bar...65 lbs.  He would do a set then sit in the rack on a moveable bench...there were no other benches available either.   It really  annoyed me, but I quickly finished my sets and broke down the bar.  Should I have said something to him?  I thought about showing him curling in the squat rack memes on my phone.

Good job not to make yourself a nefarious Karen.  Lift and let lift.

[El Luchador]

On 6/27/2026 at 1:01 PM, fatlaz said:

Wednesday was leg day for me.  I'm a 60 year old former high school wrestler and a D1 college football player, so I've been working out in all different types of gyms for over 45 years.   I've had two hip replacements and a fused back so I squat, but I'm not setting any records. I lift to stay mobile and to increase my lifespan.   This day every squat rack in the gym was being used except one, so I started using that one.  When I looked to my right, I noticed the guy next to me was doing curls with the Olympic bar...65 lbs.  He would do a set then sit in the rack on a moveable bench...there were no other benches available either.   It really  annoyed me, but I quickly finished my sets and broke down the bar.  Should I have said something to him?  I thought about showing him curling in the squat rack memes on my phone.

I have a fake hip and I'd never do squats again. I'm putting off 2 fusions until I can't handle it anymore and I have a torn bicep. I've started doing pseudo yoga to gain back mobility. How long have you been doing squats on fake hips? I was under the impression we weren't allowed to do them.

[fatlaz]

I had "Superpath" total hip replacement.  The first one was about 4 years ago and I had the second one 2 years ago.  It's outpatient surgery.   I went in at 10AM and was home at 2PM.  I can cross my legs, do squats within reason.  The only thing I need to watch is everything needs to be low impact so no running or jumping.   If you're having a hip replacement you definitely need to get the superpath surgery.   A good friend of mine who was a college heavyweight wrestler suggested it to  me.  He's about 50lbs heavier than I am and he lifts and plays golf multiple times a week with no problems with his hips.

[fatlaz]

On 6/30/2026 at 11:32 AM, Lipdrag said:

On 6/30/2026 at 11:32 AM, Lipdrag said:

Good job not to make yourself a nefarious Karen.  Lift and let lift.

 

But what if there weren't any squat racks left? 

[fatlaz]

21 hours ago, El Luchador said:

. I'm putting off 2 fusions until I can't handle it anymore

I had two disc spaces fused.  It was one of the best decisions I've made.  It was when they first figured out how to do fusion.   Of course I was 28 at the time, but I would guess the surgery is better now.  Lifting really helps my back.

[Lipdrag]

16 hours ago, fatlaz said:

But what if there weren't any squat racks left? 

Same answer.  No Karen-ing.  Lift and let lift.

Say Tsk tsk tsk to yourself and feel  superior (a minor sin) if you must.  Go put a curl bar across your shoulders and squat if you must.  But do not engage on a triviality.  Imperfect peace and tranquility is far better than tension filled perfection. 

[fishbane]

I agree with Lipdrag on this.  Unless I was looking to use the squat rack this person was using at this exact moment and there are no other squat racks were open, I would say nothing to this person.  If I wanted to use this squat rack and no other squat option was available I would consider changing the order of my lifts to continue lifting without interruption and without engaging with this person.  If that was either not an option or I didn't want to change order for whatever reason I would simply ask to work in and say nothing about memes or how I think a squat rack should be used.

I also don't think saying something to this person would result in him adopting your preferred gym etiquette.  If I were curling at a squat station and some old man approached me with no intent on using said squat rack and started telling me about his old sports injuries before showing me memes on his phone followed by telling me how he thinks I should be using the squat rack I would totally ignore everything he said.  If it had any effect at all it might make me decide to do another set and possibly make the squat rack my preferred curl station.

 The memes are dumb.  If someone is curling at a squat rack it is either because 1) the gym is empty or 1) that is where the open barbell is.  If 1 then no one should care and if 2 then if he took the barbell elsewhere to curl no one is squatting in that squat rack anyway.  No one cares.  You said there was an open squat rack for you, so it highly likely that when this person decided to start his exercise there were two open squat racks.  Most places don't have a lot of squat racks and that is kind of the point of the meme.  How many are there three?  And you want to him to stop doing his exercise because you started using the third rack and you're worried someone else might want to squat before either he finishes his partially completed exercise or the guy in squat rack 1 finishes his squats?  Leave the man alone.  Wait for there to be an actual conflict before getting on your high horse.

[fatlaz]

I agree.   I never say anything to anyone at the gym.  I usually get in and get out as quickly as possible. Very occasional I'll offer some safety advice to young people who seem open to taking advice.   In this case our gym has 10 squat racks and 9 were being used. So i used the open rack.  I would just do something else if there were no racks open as it seems most people on here would.  It was a busy day.  Just a interesting topic of discussion with like minded people.   Also interesting discussion about how we all handle our injuries as we get older. There's no one right answer about that.

[Gene Mills Fan]

I don't lift. but starting to get hip/groin pain sleeping at night or swinging my leg out to get off a chair or out of the car. infrequently I get a shooting pain like it's coming out of joint. I do the golf thing. Do I need a hip replacement? It used to be more internal to the joint(groin) but seams more hip now.  Not Trying to save some doctor bills; well yes I am.

[red viking]

16 minutes ago, Gene Mills Fan said:

I don't lift. but starting to get hip/groin pain sleeping at night or swinging my leg out to get off a chair or out of the car. infrequently I get a shooting pain like it's coming out of joint. I do the golf thing. Do I need a hip replacement? It used to be more internal to the joint(groin) but seams more hip now.  Not Trying to save some doctor bills; well yes I am.

Sounds like a potential torn hip labrum. 

[Gene Mills Fan]

7 minutes ago, red viking said:

Sounds like a potential torn hip labrum. 

Thank you   RV   

you may have nailed it. Does that mean I need a hip replacement?

[red viking]

22 minutes ago, Gene Mills Fan said:

Thank you   RV   

you may have nailed it. Does that mean I need a hip replacement?

No. Two different things but a torn hip labrum sometimes wears down the cartilage sooner. 

[El Luchador]

I tore my hip labrum it resulted in what is referred to as a cammed hip. This resulted in a bone on bone condition. 

[El Luchador]

4 hours ago, Gene Mills Fan said:

Thank you   RV   

you may have nailed it. Does that mean I need a hip replacement?

I was told the labrum could have been fixed but I would recover faster and better with a replacement. 

[red viking]

20 minutes ago, El Luchador said:

I was told the labrum could have been fixed but I would recover faster and better with a replacement. 

I think it depends. I was told that if u still have plenty of cartilage left its usually better to do nothing or repair it to extent practicable but you cant just stitch it together unless you're super young, due to limited blood flow there. Usually a "repair" for somebody not young ( eg teenager) means just removing the torn part. 

Problem with a total hip replacement is thst u have to avoid running and other impact activities while u can still technically do that with a labrum tear 

Edited July 13 by red viking

[Gene Mills Fan]

14 hours ago, El Luchador said:

I was told the labrum could have been fixed but I would recover faster and better with a replacement. 

Thank you not excruciating only at limits I can feel something wrong or a slight tear?? but if I lift my left foot off ground leg straight, I cannot complete a full circle with the leg without pain.

[Gene Mills Fan]

13 hours ago, red viking said:

I think it depends. I was told that if u still have plenty of cartilage left its usually better to do nothing or repair it to extent practicable but you cant just stitch it together unless you're super young, due to limited blood flow there. Usually a "repair" for somebody not young ( eg teenager) means just removing the torn part. 

Problem with a total hip replacement is thst u have to avoid running and other impact activities while u can still technically do that with a labrum tear 

Thanks RV

[El Luchador]

11 hours ago, Gene Mills Fan said:

Thank you not excruciating only at limits I can feel something wrong or a slight tear?? but if I lift my left foot off ground leg straight, I cannot complete a full circle with the leg without pain.

When I would pivot on my left it was very painful, I learned not to do that, so I began my journey of making it worse. I limited my range of motion and babied it until I couldn't stand it anymore. I got about 2 or 3 years out of Steroid injections but I just kept deteriorating in my overall health as I kept trying to avoid surgery and limiting my activity. Getting old sucks but I really sped up to process with a lifetime of poor choices. Get that thing looked at and don't be afraid of replacement. I got my life back and I wish I did it sooner.

[red viking]

14 hours ago, El Luchador said:

When I would pivot on my left it was very painful, I learned not to do that, so I began my journey of making it worse. I limited my range of motion and babied it until I couldn't stand it anymore. I got about 2 or 3 years out of Steroid injections but I just kept deteriorating in my overall health as I kept trying to avoid surgery and limiting my activity. Getting old sucks but I really sped up to process with a lifetime of poor choices. Get that thing looked at and don't be afraid of replacement. I got my life back and I wish I did it sooner.

I think they'll only replace it if the cartilage is worn out though, or at least to have insurance pay for it. You had a torn hip labrum too? 

I tore mine back in November. Was doing lunges but that was probably just the straw that broke the camels back. Feels like I go 2 steps forward and 1.9 steps back. Super slow progress, if that. Even though I'm doing rehab exercises.  

[El Luchador]

3 hours ago, red viking said:

I think they'll only replace it if the cartilage is worn out though, or at least to have insurance pay for it. You had a torn hip labrum too? 

I tore mine back in November. Was doing lunges but that was probably just the straw that broke the camels back. Feels like I go 2 steps forward and 1.9 steps back. Super slow progress, if that. Even though I'm doing rehab exercises.  

I did tear the labrum. I did it when I slipped on ice getting out of my car. At least that's the moment I remember hurting it the most. Think about every time you got cranked on in s cross body ride or leg turk, it's actually surprising that it isn't more common. I did still have cartridge but I was to thin to expect me to get any time out of. I saw 3 different surgeons and all 3 said to replace it.  

[red viking]

18 minutes ago, El Luchador said:

I did tear the labrum. I did it when I slipped on ice getting out of my car. At least that's the moment I remember hurting it the most. Think about every time you got cranked on in s cross body ride or leg turk, it's actually surprising that it isn't more common. I did still have cartridge but I was to thin to expect me to get any time out of. I saw 3 different surgeons and all 3 said to replace it.  

It's actually pretty common. I read that most people that have a hip labrum tear don't even realize they have it,and most people >40 years old do have at least a minor one. Sometimes it causes inflammation and other times it doesn't. When I had my x-ray, it showed a good amount of cartilage still left, so I'm probably going to have to wait several years before I'm eligible for a replacement, or maybe I never will be.  I agree with you that "babying" it seems to make it worse, along with doing explosive activities. I have to keep those muscles active without abusing them (e.g. wrestling, playing basketball, tennis, etc). For example, deep squats irritate it but I can do shallow squats (including 1-legged squats) all day (e.g. umpiring softball all day) and it actually feels better at the end of the day. Keeping my side glutes (hip abductors) strong really seems to help, especially with groin muscle tightness for some reason. Lots of side planks with holding the leg up in the air. 

Some days it still kills though for some reason, every time I get up or bend over deep. Hard to predict when that will or won't happen. 

Edited July 15 by red viking