Benefits of having a spotter?

irlirishkev

Hey,

I've never been one to go to the gym with friends, that is to say, I'm the only one of all my peers who goes to my gym. Hence I've never had anyone to spot me (I could ask one of the trainers if i needed to though)
Up untill now, this hasn't really concerned me as I've never really felt the need to use one.

Can someone give the reasons behind using a spotter? I know it makes sense in case you can't get the weight back on to the bar, and hence so you don't hurt yourself. Is that the only reason to have one?

Cheers,

Kev.

Jefferson Darcy

Its not just about spotting, there are loads of benefits to having a training partner.

You can't go properly heavy without a spotter and thus your strength gains over time will be minimal. If you have someone to train with, he can help you squeeze out those last few reps, often its just a light tap thats required at a sticking point to finish a rep. If you train by yourself, you either put the bar down or sacrifice form to finish the rep.

Then there's the safety factor.

And thirdly, I reckon you make better gains if you train with someone, the motivation is just so much better if you're both striving to improve. You'll egg each other on, won't slack off between sets and the workout will be much more enjoyable.

logic1

Darcys on the ball there, I recently had a few sessions with a partner and had forgotten how intense sessions can get when you have a safety net there to both stop you getting hurt and at the same time push you beyind your mental boundaries.

.logic.

irlirishkev

I definitely understand what you're saying about going that extra bit.. There's been many a time where I feel i could do maybe 3/4 of another rep at a certain weight, but have to sacrifice it for safety reasons. I think in future I should get one of the instructors to lend a hand.. Do a couple more.

K.

OFDM

Suppose you're doing 3 sets of 8 reps of bench presses and on the third set you can only do four reps - not only will a spotter enable you to put the bar back on the rack after the 4th rep, but they can also effectively take off 5 lbs or so off the weight by assisting you in lifting the remaining reps - a good spotter will lift just enough so that your not struggling with the rep, but not too much to make it too easy. This an by applied to most other exercises too.

Jak

Motivation, competition, confidence, negatives, safety, progressively overloading a muscle group with varied movements without looking like an asshole and screaming for help every 5 minutes.

Pretty much sums it up.

I have always noticed huge differences in all the people who have gone from training solo for the compound ex.'s to training with a small group of us. In my gym the only folk who I am aware of ever hitting a bench of 180,200,220+ were those of us who trained in groups.

JAK

irlirishkev

I'm well and truly convinced. I'll just have to start abusing the instructors in the gym from now on.. I suppose it's one of the reasons it's there..

Cheers guys,

Kev.

irlirishkev

Appreciate all the input guys.
I nabbed a passing instructor last night, and got him to spot me on the bench. You're all spot on. As I lifted the bar off, with the extra bit of weight, I felt confident I wasn't going to crush my sternum, and knew I could see my reps through to the end. I feel the benifits today.

Thanks again,

Kev.