Can I Have a Spot?

Training Bodybuilding
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The kid I was referring to was getting somebody to give him a spot on every single set of every exercise he was doing. Do you really have to get a spot on tri pushdowns,bicep curls,flys etc (maybe get a spot once in a while on a money exercise when you are going for broke)
Most of the strength coaches on this site tell you to avoid failure most of the time, or if you have to leave it until the last set.(Limit strength)

I have given guys a spot but I sure as hell won’t lift the weight for them.

If you have a power rack a your gym use it that is was it is designed for.

We have a power rack (Half rack)set up for squats. I had a guy ask me for a spot as he would walk out of the rack to the floor area to do his squats. What a dumbass what do you think the rack is for.

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Yeah, that’s totally asinine. There is not much you can do in a situation like that except next time look him in the eye and say, “No.”

My post wasn’t really in direct response to yours but rather commiserative in regards to some of these guys that ask you to spot them.

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Earphones. You don’t even need a working MP3 Player/ Walkman/ iPod. Earphones, and don’t make eye contact, and no one will bother you for a spot.

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What’s the big deal? I usually ask for a spot at the urinal :slight_smile: J/K

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Just stand right over them like you are going to drop your nutsack on their forehead,and stay there just like that when they are done.
Most of the spotting I do when my workout partners are failing involves yelling at them to keep pushing, and finaly some assistance if necessary.
I haven’t been to a public gym in a while. Is this spotter thing some new type of social interaction?

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[quote]mindeffer01 wrote:
Just stand right over them like you are going to drop your nutsack on their forehead,and stay there just like that when they are done.
Most of the spotting I do when my workout partners are failing involves yelling at them to keep pushing, and finaly some assistance if necessary.
I haven’t been to a public gym in a while. Is this spotter thing some new type of social interaction?[/quote]

I normally have an MP3 player going with the headsets…and pace my workout area with a 'tude. I don’t like to talk-chat-about workouts-sets or reps. Just leave me the “bleep” alone. I tend to sweat a little during my workouts. So when someone is brave enough to ask me for a spot…they tend to end up with a drop of sweat in their eye. Of course?that tends to mess up their set. Which I feel terrible…but then I never have to worry about them taking me out of my groove.

I never ask for a spot…If I can’t lift it…I’m not going to expect someone else too.

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I ask for a spot on bench movements and that is about it. Like someone said it takes 2 seconds for something to tear or go wrong and you are screwed.

I agree some people abuse spots but many people use them in a valid manner. I would much rather be safe then sorry. If you don’t want to spot say so, I wouldn’t mind.

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I only have a potter when doing 1rm. Apart from that i am confident taht i can deal with it. Whilst a spotter does give confidence, i like that “self sufficient” bit. makes me mysterious.

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I happened to have one of my old roomates in the gym with me last night so I went ahead and got a spot for a particularly heavy (for me) bench press. For the most part I think getting a spotter all the time is a crutch. I never train to failure so it’s not really a problem for me not having a spot.

I see guys all the time doing buddy push/rows on the bench and I won’t be a part of that.

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miniross- just got the weird image of you benching with Swayze on his pottery wheel beside you.

Nobody puts miniross in the corner

Gotta stop drinkin and readin T-Nation

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[quote]JonP wrote:
When you start lifting heavy weights and start working out more instensely you’ll understand why people ask for all those spots.[/quote]

Actually, lifting heavy and intensely myself really makes me wonder what the hell most people in my gym need a spot for.

I think Massif got it right with being offended that someone would waste your time without spending their own time learning how to lift.

There’s been a very few occasions when I’ve been asked for a spot by someone who was seriously moving some weight, with good form, and wanted the insurance policy. That’s fine. But it’s annoying when someone asks for a spot on the bench, breaks the weight off the pins, pulls their ass straight off the bench (or better yet, they had their feet up on the bench to begin with, so they wave their legs in the air), does 1/4 rep, and grunts “OK, I’m going for nine more.”

There’s also the issue of why you would trust some random person at your gym to spot you? Now I train at a commercial gym, so this may not be a problem for many of you, but in a place like 24 Hour Fatness, the false confidence of a clueless spotter may be MORE dangerous than making other arrangements (like, I dunno, the POWER RACK?).

A few weeks ago I saw some guy walk into the squat rack, load up 315 straight away, put his belt on and then bug everyone around him for a spot… Of course, nobody knew how to spot the squat, and I kept my mouth shut 'cause I was in the middle of my workout in the other rack. So he shows some poor guy how to spot the squat, breaks the weight out of the rack, and does a bunch of 1/8 reps (not even the classic 1/4s). Now, if you were seriously squatting some big weights for full reps and you expected to fail, would you want some guy with 5 seconds of training to spot you? Please. The only reason this guy asked for a spot was to show a bunch of people that he could load the bar with 315, and I think the same hubris is responsible for 99.9% of spot requests.

Nick

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Its seems some people have a perverse way of thinking about the spot. Its almost like “If I spot this guy on this lift, it’s almost the same as me actually lifting it”.

This is especially true for some of the trainers out there. “If I spot the guy, people will think I train him”.

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If I get a spot, I’d normally only get one on my last set on a heavy day where I’m going for a 5RM or heavier and think I may miss the last rep.

I’ve used spotter arms with no loss in range of motion.

I have had them set so that they’re just below the level of my “inflated” chest and if I’m going to miss I can “deflate” and the bar is just barely above my pecs. Or if the arms are lower than your chest but higher than your abs, if you’re going to miss you can basically roll the bar onto the arms just above your abs.

What’s wrong with that? I mean if you’re doing 500+ pounds ok maybe this isn’t he best, but if you’re working in the 200-300 range like most people then I’d think this is fine.

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The only guy I don’t mind spotting is the guy who asks me for a hand with the weights when he does 210lb Dumbbell Decline presses. Fuck.