i'm just curious, is it common for spotters to help you a little on the bench when you start slowing down a little? i had never seen that before i moved here, but the last 3 people i have got to spot me have been trying to help me with the weight all the way through. nothing too serious, just taking some pressure off with their fingers...but enough to annoy the hell out of me.
i'm going to start doing that, i've just been forgetting since i haven't really gotten used to people doing that.
I loath it when someone doesn't think I will get the rep and feels the need to put their paws on the bar.
Yup, just tell them "until I say grab it, don't touch the bar". The struggle is what makes you stronger.
"GRAB IT" might be complicated at that moment.... maybe something along the lines of "AAAAAARRRHHHHHHHHH"
taken from Bodybuilding.com; "The Tag Team - I thought this one was over-stated by everyone, until I joined my latest gym. The team, as the name implies, is actually two guys working together to lift the same weight. This is almost always on the bench press, where one guy loads the bar up and his friend helps him pull every rep after the second one. I've even seen instances where a guy was helped on all of his reps. Rhetorical question time: If you need help to bench 400 lbs, do you really bench 400?" There is nothing worse then seeing partners doing the bench/row combo, drop the weight, and get mateyboy to quit helping until you give a signal.
Ahh, the classic gym rat bench/row. See it all the time, some tool sat there with gloves on screaming at the first rep where his partner has to pull it up. Tell them to NOT lift until you want them to - they are there for safety, not for help.
With you entirely. At college they seem to teach you to grab the bar once the person looks like its any sort of effort. During a 5x5, I apparently said "don't touch it" 8 times. I just hate the thought that someone else is helping me when I don't need it. Very kind of them and all that, but not at all necessary. When I'm ready, I'll say "take it" and they'll bring it back up for me. Until then they can stay well away.
Haha. I saw a "Tag team" just a few hours ago now - and they were nicely decked out in fancy little shiny shoes, brand new weight belts (for bench and curls - what the?) and bloody gloves. Personally I prefer their hands to be near, but definitely not touching - it just ticks me off....
Usually on the bench I'll come in once the guy doing it stops making progress upwards and begins to go back down. Even then I only give the barest touch to get the bar moving again (I know, I'm such a richard ). Unless the bencher suffers from immediate muscle failure this is usually fine. When it's with friends we usually use a joke safety word (phrase really) like "my mommy puts me to bed every night!". The idea obviously is that there is no way in hell you're going to be able to say it + it makes you sound like the wimp you are!
Personally, I lift in a garden shed, so I've never had that problem. Had quite a few near-death experiences with bench pressing though.
at least you can slide the weights off the ends without getting funny looks i had forgotten about this earlier, but i used to have a gym partner who would come with me to the gym almost every time i did. every single time i tried to max out, he would screw it up. i would be a little more than halfway up and grinding like hell, telling myself i would get it no matter what, and he would immediately freak out and grab the bar with fool, jerky movements, pulling on it as hard as he could. i yelled at him every time, and he continued to do it every time :bang:
True, true. I've heard some very ugly rumours about actual gyms. Is it true that they don't let you deadlift?
at my particular gym they don't outlaw any lifts really, because i'm literally the only one who squats, deadlifts, overhead presses, and does any variation of the O lifts. of course, because of that, i do get the occasional out of shape trainer or random tough guy telling me that upright rows are meant to be done slowly and with control...while i'm doing hang cleans
the first time i kindly explained to the confused trainer what "Olympic lifts" are. the second time (different person) i laughed until he went away. i think next time i'll just glare. or maybe beat them with a barbell.
you made me snot my coffe out my nose . Incidentally KE I've been to gyms where I was told I could only do deads and squats on the smith for 'insurance reasons'. Luckily I was only there because a friend had asked me down to his new gym to go through some lifts and I never had to set foot in the place again.
i've seen one guy benching and the spotter doing bent barbell rows at the same time... its a very effecient set up as you use one bench/barbell but two people train!!!
