spotting etiquette

gadenni34

So if I am doing 5 sets with 5 reps of bench press and need someone to spot me how do I handle this? I get that I need to just ask someone but do I reciprocate? do I still take rests in between? what is the right way to handle this? for one or two sets I am not too worried....but 5 sets I feel kind of bad about it.

GetSoda

"I have 5 sets, mind spotting me?"

Or learn the roll of shame.
Or bench in the power rack.
Or leave the collars off and dump the plates if you get jammed.

MrGonzo05

Why do you need a spotter present each time you bench press? Are you going to failure?

MercenaryNoetic26

I would only ask for the spotter when going up in weight on that 1st working set. (actually, I never ask for a spotter but then the following might occur...)

I've had that moment of "shame" a couple times.... thought I didn't need a spotter, but had the nearest person come help me... lol! The trick is to act non-chalant about it... "Yeah, yeah, so it got stuck on my chest. Big fckn' deal..."

ETA: I've done that, too (leaving the 'collars' off and slid the plates off).

rybo

Maybe things have changed in the gym world, but in my experience, if you need a spot, ask for one. If someone asks you for a spot, give them one. Nothing could be more simple.

davideickelmann

You shouldn't need a spot for all 5 sets. When you get to your 4th or 5th set, just politely ask someone if they can spot you. As far as breaks, yeah, you can take them, but indicate what you're doing. "Hey, can you spot me for 2 sets with a minute rest in between?" If you're going to be resting for longer than a minute between sets, it might be better off letting them go after one set and finding a new spotter.

gadenni34

thanks everyone.
duh...asking for the final 1 or 2 will be what I do. I should be fine until I up my weight on the last sets. that works.
again....appreciate it.

Yogi_Carl

Not so keen to leave the collars off as often you can get into the last reps in a hard set and the bar can go up on an angle momentarily while the weaker arm catches up. This will cause your plates to slide off while you are in full force.

Alternatively, use dumbbells. You will use less weight but engage more muscle fibers as you bring in stabilizer muscles which are not brought in so much with a barbell.

Chadomaniac

Drop the weight

Personally I grab the nearest person and ask for a spot .

HelloDan

I would add, make it clear what you want from the spotter.

For me personally, this would be telling them exactly how many reps I am going for, and what I want them to do:
1) To help de-rack the bar, until I say I have it.
2) Not touching the bar at all during the exercise, unless I ask, or it reverses direction towards me.
3) Helping me re-rack at the end.

It sounds silly, but if you don't make clear exactly what you want, you end up with all kinds of outcomes, such as - people taking half the weight for the whole set, cutting the set short unnecessarily or trying to make you do an extra unwanted rep.

Hendrix7

If you're spotting someone on the bench you HAVE to say "It's all you bro! It's all you" on each rep.

It's the law.

HelloDan

If you're spotting someone on the bench you HAVE to say "It's all you bro! It's all you" on each rep.

It's the law.

Only if you're taking at least 50% of the weight, but ideally this should be 90%+

StaticEntropy

If you're spotting someone on the bench you HAVE to say "It's all you bro! It's all you" on each rep.

It's the law.

Only if you're taking at least 50% of the weight, but ideally this should be 90%+

Edit: image not posting... <~~~ sad panda.

GiddyupTim

I've tilted the bar and dropped a few plates in my day.