Bailing Safely

Set the safeties before you load the bar. In a power rack, put the pins or arms slightly lower than where the bar sits at the bottom of your squat. Check the height with an empty bar first.

the bar just clearing the pins at your lowest point.

Missed back squat in a rack: keep hold of the bar, squat a few inches lower and set it on the pins. Then climb out from under it. Don't throw the bar off your back. It can land on your lower spine.

a controlled sit-down onto the pins, not a drop.

With spotters, stay with the bar. Two spotters stand one at each end, with the crook of the elbow under the sleeve. If the rep stalls, keep pushing while they help you walk it back to the rack. Never dump the bar when someone is spotting you. If you want to bail instead, tell them before the set so nobody tries to catch it.

Dumping a back squat in open space is a last resort. Only do it with bumper plates and nobody behind you. Throw your shoulders back, let go, and get your hips forward out of the bar's path as it falls behind you. Drop to your knees or hop forward. Hopping is harder from a low-bar position.

the bar going back while your body goes forward.

Front squat: the bar is in front of you, so the miss goes forward. Set the safeties just below where the bar sits at your bottom position. If you can't stand up, open your hands, let the bar drop forward onto the safeties or bumpers, and move your body back out of its way. Front-rack lifts are usually bailed, not spotted.

With a spotter, agree the calls first. Agree a count for the lift-off and a call for help, such as "take it". The spotter holds the bar near the middle with a mixed grip and steps in if the bar stops rising. Keep pressing while they help. Don't let go.

you and the spotter moving the bar up together.

Alone, bench inside a rack with the pins slightly lower than the bar when it touches your chest. Set and test them before you load the plates. If you miss, flatten your arch so your chest sinks, let the bar settle on the pins, and slide out.

knowing the pins will catch it before you start the set.

Wrap your thumbs around the bar. A thumbless "suicide" grip lets the bar slip out of your hands onto your face, neck or chest. USA Powerlifting bans it in competition.

Leave the collars off when you bench. Collar the bar for your other lifts, but not for the bench. Without collars, a bar stuck on your chest can be tilted to one side so the plates slide off (this can damage the floor or the plates). Some coaches also teach the "roll of shame": rolling the bar down from your chest to your hips and sitting up. It's painful, and the bar can injure your belly, so don't plan on it. Better: don't bench heavy without pins or a spotter.

Competition is different. In a meet, collars are required on any attempt heavier than an empty bar. Two to five official spotters stand around the bench (three to five for the squat) and deal with a miss. You stay with the bar while they rack it.

If the bar stops moving, let go and let it go back to the floor. Don't keep pulling with a rounding back or hitch it up your thighs. That doesn't give you better leverage. A deadlift doesn't need a spotter.

giving up the rep while your back is still in position.

Sumo: bring your feet in or narrow your stance as you let go so the falling plates don't land on your toes.