Advice please :)

siany01

Hi,

I have just finished the first stage of new rules, and to be fair I do love it. But, (theres always a but lol) Time wise I am thinking that this might be a better fit, plus I love squat and deadlift. I am confident with all of the lifts in the program bar one.

Bench press. My gym has a decent squat rack but no cage, so I would have to bench press alone, no safety bars. I know, ask for a spotter, but not really feeling the dudes at my gym. The coaches are always busy and TBH who is going to want to spot me for 25 lifts?? So how do you get around that? I can't be the only one in this position. They have a dreaded smith machine that I could bench with but thats not what I want to do as I know the pitfalls of them.

Anyone got any advice, I probably would of started this program a while a go i I could of worked out this part.

Thanks

zanyzana

I don't have a spotter. There's pretty much nobody else in this part of the gym when I go (which is how I like it). I'm not at really heavy weights yet, but I haven't felt worried at all. I went to failure once (before I worked out how to do SL properly) and just did the roll of shame. I actually didn't know that was a thing, but figured out how to get out of my predicament by logic! I can now tell if the weight is getting too heavy after a few reps and then just drop down. No biggie, it's about gradual progression, and I'm not trying to impress anyone with my bending bar of weights!

Amazing1985RSD

I think pretty much any one of us can relate to the no spotter issue. I'm sure one of the ladies can better answer your concerns about that.

lwoodroff

I don't have a spotter. Start slowly, learn what the rep before a failing rep feels like and don't be afraid to end your set early. Learn the roll of shame and you can also not put clips on so you could tip the bar to the side rolling off the weights. Make sure your form is good and you are using your legs too!
You will be fine :-)

trosewine

I don't have a spotter either. The big bar can be a little intimidating at first - if it is too heavy or close to being too heavy...don't start with it - work your way up. I just started a few weeks ago and still can't do the big bar on OHP at 45lbs. I just use the smaller barbells - my gym has two racks of them at different weights - 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 - up to 90lbs. Before officially starting, I worked out for a few weeks with dumbbells to get used to form - squats and suitcase deadlifts, bench, and OHP. (The problem with continuing with dumbbells is for example on squats, I couldn't lift each dumbbell to my shoulder once I got to about 35 lbs on each side because my arms are weak sauce!) I also agree that after just a few sessions, I can pretty much tell when it's getting too heavy. Just don't start too heavy. You'll get there...

bumblebums

I would say you have two options: (i) be cautious and work under capacity, or (ii) ask someone to spot you. I did the cautious thing for a while and my bench went nowhere--I was stuck at 95 lb for a month. My gym actually has a rule that you are not allowed to bench without a spotter. Unfortunately, I've never seen it enforced, and they don't exactly walk around offering to spot you. Re: option (ii), I would look for someone who is benching also, and offer to spot them in return for them spotting you. I am sure people wouldn't refuse--and if they do, it's their loss.

siany01

Thank you. Some good advice. I am getting a gym trainer to go through bench with me on Saturday and then i'll decide from there.

I am really enjoying new rules but I am limited with time so may have to change over to this.