For the gym rats

[Dj_Jestar]

Oh and as for spotting, you can tell when someone is having real difficulty. Like when one side of the weights starts dipping and so on. Like UE says, it's also usually at the 'low' end where trouble is likely to start, which is also the least likely to cause real harm. I imagine that people watch the power lifting videos where these guys are really, really pushing their absolute limits of 1 rep max lifts where it can go wrong in the blink of an eye, but for the everyday workout of 8-12 reps it's not that sudden.

 

[Morba]

I've been thinking about joining a gym for a while now, and one of the things that I'd be nervous about is not knowing anything about spotting or not having a spotter - most of my friends would never bother to join a gym so I wouldn't really have a training partner and so I wouldn't really know how to spot or have someone spot for me.

Is it just a matter of if you're about to get crushed because your arms die then you say `spot' and your spotter grabs the bar to give you a hand? what about things like squats where you might drop the whole thing on your leg or something?

I imagine if I did join the gym, I'd have to start out on the machines anyway to build up some strength first because I doubt I could bench/squat much more than the weight of an oly bar anyway.

you shouldnt be in a position where your arms die and need a spotter unless you are doing more strength and powerlifting training than bodybuilding.

 

[^TANK^]

When I have a go at 185 kilos I always have my friend spot me now just incase, or I wont even contemplate it due to paranoia. First I take it off the rack unassisted then his hands are always on the bar but open palms facing up as I no he cant assist in my reps that way! Its just nice to know and reassuring if I cant get the last rep up he can quickly switch to a pulling up position and take at least 30-40 kilos off to help me get the bugger back on the rack. But as said its not the end of the world if you have to balance the bar on your chest, my many 200 kg bench attempts have had me slowly descending to the point of no return its no problem unless there isn't someone in the room if not you're in trouble.

 

[Lead_Head]

Usually if I need a spot and I don't see any of the regulars in my Gym I either ask the assistant, or I'll offer to spot someone else and generally the favour is returned after.

That's a good point, I never think about asking the gym assistant to spot, they don't seem to be doing a lot behind there desk anyway.

 

[LiE]

You only need about 2 fingers to spot someone.

I can't understand why I see people doing heavy sets with their mates spotting every rep.

 

[^TANK^]

Sod you spotting me lol.

 

[LiE]

Sod you spotting me lol.

It's not always the case. But most people who are failing on the last rep only need the smallest help to complete it.

 

[^TANK^]

True.

 

[neoboy]

Unless you want to squeeze out a few negative reps.

 

[BennyC]

I find I need very little spotting to complete reps. Sometimes a finger, or litteraly a light push on the elbows for flat, incline and shoulder DB press. I prefer to push to the point of stall, wait a second or two and then be spotted if need be, normally it'll go up, but I like to feel the squeeze

 

[Dj_Jestar]

That extra shot of adrenaline you get from the "oh ****" moment can help too

 

[FeFiDoh]

This is a great philosophy for beginners but i think most more experienced lifters will agree that, complete catastrophe's aside, spotting is unlikely to be a 'sudden' thing. When your benching over 100kg's the big question is getting it off the chest. If that doesnt happen its gonna take a few weeks to crush you to death, more than enough time to call 'spot' any other failure points in the rep will just result in a fairly steady decent to the chest. Anything else/worse could only occur as a result of poor form imo (apart from competition level lifting perhaps).

UEX I do this as generally the guys I get asked to spot every now and then are bigger than me and if the weights hit them I will most likely be chased around the gym

Im just cautious really ive seen clips if people benching and then all of a sudden the weight drops and BAM its on you.

 

[Ultra_Extreme]

Im just cautious really ive seen clips if people benching and then all of a sudden the weight drops and BAM its on you.

its just bad form m8 there aint no way in hell that should ever happen. Most youtube clips with bench accidents are as a result of people using a thumbless grip to press more weight.

Aside from in the first few months of training when unknown ground is being broken there is no excuse for a lifter dropping a weight on him/herself period.

 

[^TANK^]

Thumbless grip = ****ing idiot IMO!

 

[oddjob62]

Thumbless grip = ****ing idiot IMO!

There's a good reason why it's nicknamed the "suicide grip"

 

[tom_e]

Managed to dislocate my shoulder today doing some jitsu sparing with a mate thats my workouts messed up for the next week, although the painkillers are nice

 

[Ultra_Extreme]

new toy!

Sorry about your neck!

 

[Clipsey]

Having a week off this week (not really through choice) it's doing my head in and it's only Tuesday lol (been off the gym since Friday) and probably won't be back until Sunday at the earliest. I know it's 'good' to take a week off every now and then but just feels like it's setting me back and losing everything

 

[toxic]

new toy!

Sorry about your neck!

These silver Tri grip plates you have....did you buy them as separates or as a package? I bought the 140Kg set...but looking to buy a couple of 10's and 5's separately...and not sure where sells them individually.

 

[Ultra_Extreme]

These silver Tri grip plates you have....did you buy them as separates or as a package? I bought the 140Kg set...but looking to buy a couple of 10's and 5's separately...and not sure where sells them individually.

yeah was 140kg marcy set from argos, you can get trigrip plates individually i suppose. I'll probably just buy another 140 set tho