Soooooo we all have those spotters we hate to use, but we do because there is no one else in the gym… even the trainers are with someone and really unable to spot you at that moment… So i’m in the ‘increase’ weight mode and I know its going to be tuff but doable. On my last rep i get stuck… call for help… then I call for help again… and again… he’s watching me but his brain isn’t working… so by the 3rd time the weights down to my chest… i’m like hey bro… help… he reaches down… grabs the weight and grunts trying to pick it up all without giving me a chance to push… says “i cant lift it” then lets go right as I start to push…
So I say ‘Go get scott’ (the trainer there).
He asks… where is he…
I say in the room down the hall with the ladies…
---- Quick Question Poll ----
So a guy your spotting has a bar loaded with weight on their chest and you need to go get help. Do you:
A. Run as fast as you can to get help
B. Run and yell Scott Scott Scott
C. Pick your nose and walk as if your in a slow walking competition and take 20 seconds to let the trainer know the guy your spotting is stuck under the weight
If you answered anything but C your not this guy…
So after about 30 seconds I see Scott busting his ass across the gym, in 1 second we’ve got the weight off me and on the rack…
I think I spent about 45 seconds with the bar on my chest… flexing all i got in my chest to keep the bar from really pressing down on me… its not painful but its not pleasant… however I think i’ve learned my lesson…
You see after all that when it came time for my next set… he asked if I needed another spot…
I declined…
Lesson Learned:
Don’t ask the same guy ever to spot you again even if its just the bar…
I train alone and I never ask for a random spotter unless I see a guy with very good muscular development. Every fucking time I ask some random ass guy to spot me they leave their hands on the bar and help with every rep even if its obviously not needed. One of the most frustrating things in weightlifting is a shitty spotter.
Luckily I’m not moving enough weight to have experienced this yet! I tend to use the pins in the power rack for whatever I’m doing (squats/bench/military press) since they tend to be more reliable than flesh and blood spotters.
In the exact opposite scenario, I asked a guy if he wanted a spot today, and he said no. He’s always there at the same time as I am, so I have a rough idea what he lifts. He loaded up 315 on the decline bench, which is more than I’ve ever seen him put on the bar.
Me: “Need a spot?”
Him: “No, I got it” three reps later
Him: “HELP!”
Wow that is really bad what a pathetic piece of shit. Usually they just dont know when to give assistance and how much to give. Pretty simple, apply force to the bar when it is needed until the weight starts moving upward no matter how slowly.
yeah i failed last night, not with a heavy weight, but a fail is a fail and the bar was stuck on my chest and i couldnt get it above my sticking point no matter what i did.
it wasnt so much the calling for help for thirty seconds that pissed me off but the fact that some scrawny prick on a treadmill thought it was funny, well up untill we made eye contact anyway.
i feel im a pretty good spotter, Im attentive, apply just enough assistance for the other guy to get their rep out and i dont drip sweat all over the guy either.
your spotter sounds like a useless piece of shit distract him during his next bench session dont let him rack on his last set make him keep pushing till failure and then leave him with the bar on his chest for a little while to educate him on what its like on the other side of the bar.
The guy that was spotting me as I decline benched decided that I arm would suffice in helping me left the weight off of the rack since it’s in a very uncomfortable-to-lift position from the rack when declining.
… it wasn’t
The bar fell on my mouth from about an inch up. Long story short: blood everywhere, I’m very lucky, no knocked out teeth.
Pierced my lip with a front tooth, I still have that scar.
I was sitting and got up to get water and almost passed out for some reason. I started seeing dots everywhere and shit got all fuzzy. I thought, “Hey, this looks really cool, I should take a picture of all this fuzzy shit.”
A few seconds after taking the picture with my phone, I realized that my phone isn’t connected to my vision…yea… I have no idea what was up with my head, much have had something to do with all the blood loss or something…I hope.
[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
I train alone and I never ask for a random spotter unless I see a guy with very good muscular development. Every fucking time I ask some random ass guy to spot me they leave their hands on the bar and help with every rep even if its obviously not needed. One of the most frustrating things in weightlifting is a shitty spotter.
[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
I train alone and I never ask for a random spotter unless I see a guy with very good muscular development. Every fucking time I ask some random ass guy to spot me they leave their hands on the bar and help with every rep even if its obviously not needed. One of the most frustrating things in weightlifting is a shitty spotter.
I feel your pain.[/quote]
This is the problem I run into. Just the other week I pushed out 9 reps with what was my 5rep max the week before. The guy was definitely helping. It’s frustrating because you don’t know how you really did. Then you go in the next week… and it’s still your 5rep max… and it hurts haha.
Yeah I have 2 spotters that workout with me when work permits. Both don’t touch the bar unless I need it and will give an accurate estimation on how much they helped. Being a ‘newbie’ to weight lifting (haven’t lifted weights in years) I’m in that great growth stage. I’ve put on 45lbs to my max bench since Nov 07 and seeing some good movement still this month.
I’m up to 250 which isn’t huge but the bar mark I got across my chest sure isn’t fun…
This is why it’s important to always tell your spotter exactly how you want to be spotted. Even if a guy has spotted me before, I will always give him a little insight into what I’m doing and what he should be doing.
Call me anal but it’s freakin’ important. Not to mention that if your spotter gives you the handoff in the wrong position it screws up your groove.
I agree, and whenever someone asks me for a spot I always ask how many reps they’re going for and what they want me to do (just get the bar up, make it tough for them, etc).
Then again, most of the time they don’t even know haha.
[quote]dre wrote:
This is why it’s important to always tell your spotter exactly how you want to be spotted. Even if a guy has spotted me before, I will always give him a little insight into what I’m doing and what he should be doing.
Call me anal but it’s freakin’ important. Not to mention that if your spotter gives you the handoff in the wrong position it screws up your groove.[/quote]
If in alone and I need a spot I ask people who look like they are doing big lifts and good form, vs people using machines and doing curls for 30 minutes. It has payed off alot for me.
One time back in my very beginning when I was like 145 lbs, some guy was incline benching and starts yelling for help in a busy weight room. Ever one just stared so I ran over and helped him pull the weight off.
Moral is, if someone needs help, help them, when it comes to getting weight off of someone they cant have to much help.
That’s the worst when they have no clear goal in mind. You never know how much you should help or how long you should let them struggle.
[quote]Natural Nate wrote:
I agree, and whenever someone asks me for a spot I always ask how many reps they’re going for and what they want me to do (just get the bar up, make it tough for them, etc).
Then again, most of the time they don’t even know haha.
dre wrote:
This is why it’s important to always tell your spotter exactly how you want to be spotted. Even if a guy has spotted me before, I will always give him a little insight into what I’m doing and what he should be doing.
Call me anal but it’s freakin’ important. Not to mention that if your spotter gives you the handoff in the wrong position it screws up your groove.