For certain physical activities involving an element of risk, we need someone else around for safety and support. Those of us fortunate enough to practise skills like the forward roll, head stand or shoulder stand at school will have made our first careful attempts under the close scrutiny and proximity of our PE teachers, and therefore already be familiar with the concept of spotting.
Why not just load the bar to a weight you can actually lift in the first place?- Matthew Muscat Inglott
We happen to have our fair share of such activities in the gym, particularly in the free weights section. Where barbells and dumbells are found, so too should trusty spotters.
But what of the art of spotting? Do we ever receive any effective instruction on how to do it right? From my observations in gyms everywhere, I see that we don’t, but we most definitely should.
To define spotting, we should begin with what it most certainly is not. Spotting is most certainly not two-person lifting, performing entire sets for other people, or providing assistance for each and every repetition. Sadly, however, these constitute the majority of ‘spotting’ we most frequently see in free weights areas.
I have observed insane weights being lifted in this two-person lifting fashion, particularly in the bench press, the king of all ego exercises where every man wants to pile big weights on the bar. I have seen men incapable of benching more than 100 kilos peform multiple repetitions with 180 kilos with the generous support of a willing ‘spotter’.
Such people sometimes ask for my help, lower the bar to their chest and remain stuck there struggling to get it even an inch up again, unable to perform even a fraction of a repetition. In such cases, I lift the bar straight back onto the racks and politely inform them the weight is too heavy.It never ceases to amaze me when they ask: “Why did you rack it? I wanted five at least!”
There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to load the bar up 20 to 30 kilos more than you can handle, and then proceed to ask someone else to provide that extra 20 to 30 kilos of force required to lift the bar.
Why not just load the bar to a weight you can actually lift in the first place?
Remember that whenever you choose to use a weight that is more than you can safely handle, you are putting yourself at risk, and entrusting your health and safety entirely onto your spotter. Why take the risk?
The spotter is there ultimately just in case something goes wrong. Ideally, the spotters will do nothing at all, other than position themselves in such a way throughout the entire set whereby they may catch the weight if the lifter suddenly fails.
A spotter may also help you get in and out of position to perform the exercise, for example assisting getting your dumbbells into the right position for a set of chest press or shoulder press, or unracking and racking the bar for the bench press.
A legitimate technique spotters may also perform is known as forced repeititions. This is where the spotter provides a little help in lifting the weight, but only in the last two to three repetitions of a medium to high repetition set.
Even when performed in this fashion, forced repetitions should not be employed too often, and certainly not in each and every set of each and every workout.
As a first aider at an international powerlifting event, I once responded to an altercation between a large Welshman and a 170-kilo barbell. He was performing the bench press event when he lost control of the bar as he lowered it to his chest. It slipped from his grasp and knocked his entire bottom row of teeth out.
Needless to say there was plenty of blood and plenty of dental surgery expenses. The point is that if this can happen in an organised event with not one but two experienced competitive fellow lifters as spotters, then why on earth would you waltz into a gym full of complete strangers, load the bar up to way beyond your capacity, and ask any Tom, Dick or Harry to spot you?
So when a spotting agreement is entered into, whether you’re asking or being asked, here is some of the information that simply must be put on the table:
The number of repetitions that can be performed without assistance must be stipulated. Once this is agreed, how many (if any) are to be forced over and above this amount.
If it’s a maximal attempt with heavy weights, more spotters may need to be enlisted. For barbell weights over 100 kilos it is advisable to employ two spotters, one at either end of the bar.
For weights over 150 kilos consider three spotters, one on either side, and one in the middle behind the lifter. It is not uncommon to see up to five spotters at some powerlifting events, and this still does not guarantee safety for the lifters who do not select their attempts responsibly, so always be cautious.
For dumbbell exercises like the chest press or shoulder press, always spot from the wrists, not beneath the elbows. This is a classic mistake I have avoided like the plague ever since I saw someone dislocate a shoulder as a result.
Some people will stipulate you spot them from beneath the elbows, but unless you are totally comfortable with the first aid protocol for shoulder dislocations, you simply must insist.
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