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Weight rack

Weight training can be used to build muscular strength while increasing stamina since the lifter must both balance and lift weights mounted on opposite ends of a lifting bar, thereby exercising the entire cross sectional area of muscle. One of the most common and effective weightlifting techniques to increase overall muscle strength requires the weightlifter to repetitively lift a predetermined weight until his or her muscles have reached a point of nearly complete physical exhaustion. Body building, weight lifting and fitness experts are well aware of the many varied exercises which can be performed with a barbell. These include flat bench presses as well as decline and incline bench presses and seated shoulder presses. Typically, these exercises are carried out in conjunction with stationary support frames which include catches or shelves for retaining the barbell at an initial or racked position. Weight-training equipment, particularly equipment utilizing a free-moving barbell physically unconnected to a rack or stand, must be adjustable for users of differing heights. Various weight racks have been devised for securing weights when not in use, but generally when exercise is performed with free weights, such as barbells or dumbbells, another individual, commonly known as a "spotter" must attend the lifter in order to assist the lifter should he lose control of the weights in order to avoid injury to the lifter or others nearby. A bench-press free-weight rack or stand involving a barbell which exercises the chest muscles must have a resting height which is adjustable for users having arms of differing lengths. A squat rack utilizing a barbell which is placed behind a user's head must have a resting height which is adjustable for users having differing heights. In all of these exercises, the uprights and the catches are generally positioned behind the exerciser's shoulders and on either side of the exerciser's head so that the uprights and catches will not interfere with the raising and lowering of the barbell.

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