I realize that having a person at each end of the bar is the best way. The girl I’m helping does not use much weight, so asking another person to help me spot her 120-130 pound squat seems odd. I refuse to have her settle for the Smith machine.
Is there a safe way to spot her by myself? What technique do you recommend?
I’m not sure if this is proper or anything, but at my school, when we’re spotting squats, there’s only one spotter and what they do is from behind, grab their waist and lift with them. Like I said, I don’t really know if this works, but it might be nice if you’re spottin a girl.
Get behind her and spot her the way you’re supposed to spot someone when they squat.
[quote]Nate Dogg wrote:
Get behind her and spot her the way you’re supposed to spot someone when they squat.[/quote]
ND, your posts are usually informative. This one was not.
I think I know what you mean, but I probably shouldn’t do this since she’s only 15.
only 15 eh? How developed? J/K of course.
I suggest standing behind her and pulling on her clavicle with one hand and lightly pressing on the small of her back with the other. It is the least sexual way I can think of. Usually, I spot squats by pulling up/back on the chest, but you are probably right in thinking that’s a very bad idea with a 15 yo girl.
[quote]vaughn5000 wrote:
Nate Dogg wrote:
Get behind her and spot her the way you’re supposed to spot someone when they squat.
ND, your posts are usually informative. This one was not.
I think I know what you mean, but I probably shouldn’t do this since she’s only 15. [/quote]
Sorry for not going into more detail. But even with a young athlete, you can still squat from behind and not have it be sexually misconstrued. As long as you’re not driving your own hips into her butt, you should be able to spot from behind and make sure she does it properly and still keep her safe.
There are a few ways to spot from behind, but holding from the waist or by placing your hands underneath the bar should be fine.
Thanks everybody.
And Nate Dogg, thanks for being cool.
so you have to do this by yourself, and you aren’t comfortable doing it the traditional way because she’s a little girl… so howabout you just curl the bar up. If the load is only about 120-130 pounds, and you are a T-man, this shouldn’t be too hard to do (assuming you’re taller than she is). If not, you can always grab her waist and lift it up, or let her drop the bar behind her. Is this really that big of an issue?
When I spot squats I usually ask the person that I’m spotting where they want me to spot them. Some people are more comfortable with certain areas. In your case however I’m sure the girl has no idea how she wants to be spotted. In this case I usually go with grabbing the bottom of the rib cage. Don’t grab the bar…ever. I’ve seen people do this and it’s just an accident waiting to happen.
[quote]CU AeroStallion wrote:
so you have to do this by yourself, and you aren’t comfortable doing it the traditional way because she’s a little girl… so howabout you just curl the bar up. If the load is only about 120-130 pounds, and you are a T-man, this shouldn’t be too hard to do (assuming you’re taller than she is). If not, you can always grab her waist and lift it up, or let her drop the bar behind her. Is this really that big of an issue?[/quote]
The safety of a 15 year old lifting under my watch is probably not as big an issue as your search for pants that fit,
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=639043
but it was important enough to me to ask for advice.
Sarcasm aside, thanks for your tips.
Are you using a rack with pins? If so, it could be good to let her drop it a couple of times just so she can find out that nothing bad happens. Otherwise, spot her like anyone else.
[quote]Aleksandr wrote:
only 15 eh? How developed? J/K of course.
I suggest standing behind her and pulling on her clavicle with one hand and lightly pressing on the small of her back with the other. It is the least sexual way I can think of. Usually, I spot squats by pulling up/back on the chest, but you are probably right in thinking that’s a very bad idea with a 15 yo girl.[/quote]
Don’t forget to pull her hair a little bit while you whisper encouragement to her from behind.
[quote]apayne wrote:
Don’t forget to pull her hair a little bit while you whisper encouragement to her from behind.
[/quote]
ha ha.
She is a future T-Vixen for sure. That’s why I have to be careful my spotting doesn’t appear to be “fondling”. I might get punched in the face by another member.
[quote]Nate Dogg wrote:
vaughn5000 wrote:
Nate Dogg wrote:
Get behind her and spot her the way you’re supposed to spot someone when they squat.
ND, your posts are usually informative. This one was not.
I think I know what you mean, but I probably shouldn’t do this since she’s only 15.
Sorry for not going into more detail. But even with a young athlete, you can still squat from behind and not have it be sexually misconstrued. As long as you’re not driving your own hips into her butt, you should be able to spot from behind and make sure she does it properly and still keep her safe.
There are a few ways to spot from behind, but holding from the waist or by placing your hands underneath the bar should be fine.
[/quote]
I agree with Nate, I spot my wife and her female friend just like I do my brother. If they get stuck I might be getting a hand full of boob… All the more reason to not get stuck…
I pretty much hook my elbow under their armpit and then follow their motion down so I am ready to help. This is how I have always seen it done and it works… Grabbing at the waist is an accident waiting to happen. If a person is stuck their waist will want to bend and they and you can get hurt.
when you spot someone… arent you usually only giving about 10% or so support? Or is it that they totally let out and only pushing 30% of the weight?
my one friend told me that one way that he ‘spots’ someone is to push up on their elbows. since they should be decently supportive of the bar, and you are pushing up equally, and only a few % of the weight, that seems to do the trick… But i dont know how effective that is at heavier weights…
But you said this is only about 1 plate max? id like to think you could just put your hands on the bar and give that extra (though minimal) 10% help (10-15lbs) without pushing her out of her movement.
whaddya think?
[quote]Todd S. wrote:
If they get stuck I might be getting a hand full of boob… All the more reason to not get stuck…
[/quote]
. . . or all the more reason for me to increase her weight!
Todd S: Thanks for advice. Opinions obviously vary based on the responses, but I’ll spot similar to what you and Nate Dogg recommend.
vvsonikvv: that’s what I had been doing, but some people have said not to touch the bar. I realize it isn’t much weight, I just want to do it the best way.
The way Todd S described it is pretty much the way I’ve seen all people who know what they’re doing spot. I don’t know if he made it clear, but make sure you don’t touch them at all until they need it.