Are YOU a good spotter?

[Deejay_Spike]

When you enter a gym, you'll most likely see guys working out in pairs. one guy doing the exercise, and the other helping/motivating. Let's take a closer look at the latter one.

most people call him the spotter. but does everyone knows what a good spotter must do? or musn't do? from what i've learned, the main task of a spotter is to prevent injury to his partner. this is his MAIN objective. so, make sure that when you attack a heavy set of squats or bench, you have a spotter who can help you when or if he has to.
what's next to do? Motivation. you know what i mean when you feel the adrenaline rush from the motivational shouts from your spotter, may they be "COME ON GIRLIE, PANSYYYYYYY !!!" or "YOU CAN DO IT BIG MAN!!!", sometimes they can really help you make the lift or rep.
all the oher things are accessory, and vary from one training philosophy to another. i'm talking about helping the partner in loading/unloading, performing forced reps, negatives, handing the dumbells etc etc.

now that we somewhat know what a decent spotter must do, let's take a closer look at the bad spotter :

you're going for a heavy set of bench press, and you're looking for a spotter. bommer, there is only one decent looking guy in the gym, so you ask him.

FIRST MISTAKE : the spotter asks nada, nothing, rien, niks.

to be a good spotter, thou should know what you're partner is going to do. estimated reps, weight, handing or not, etc.

okay, now you start your set.

SECOND MISTAKE : the spotter is not paying any attention, he's instead looking at the hot chick, or even worse, chatting with her.

WHEN YOU SPOT, YOU SPOT. AND NOTHING ELSE MATTERS FOR THE MOMENT! if your partner has a problem, it's often too late and he can get baldy hurt. do you want that? i guessed not, so put your dick back where it should.

let's assume for a minute he saw you struggling (oh thank god! or not?). he
A ) immediately grabs the bar, rips it from your hands and puts it back

LET HIM STRUGGLE AT LEAST A BIT! he may make the lift after all. if he doesn't, take the bar and tell him he can't anymore and put it back.

B ) starts shouting " IT'S ALL YOU!!!! IT'S ALL YOU!!!!" when in fact, he's doing bent over rows.

IF YOU HAVE TO HELP, HELP A BIT, take away a few pounds, but don't do it in his place.

Best thing is to pick a spotter that knows you quite well, so that he knows when/what to do. but for many this isn't the case, so let's now take a look look at the good spotter :

-"hey dude, i'm gonna hit the bench for a heavy one, wanna spot me bro'?"

="Yeah sure, how much? how many you think you'll do? okido then. want me to hand it to you?"

(Girl) "hi handsome..."

="can't talk. spotting."

-"god this one's tuff!!"

="GO GO GO GOOO HARDER !!!!!"
-------------A)
-------------="yeah you made it!! perfect!!"

-------------B)
-------------="okay you're exhausted. wanna go trhough some forced reps?"

--------------------------A)
---------------------------"yeah kay"

--------------------------="come on!, i'm not even helping that much!" (actually he isn't. just a bit)

--------------------------B)
---------------------------"No dude i'm dead"

--------------------------="kay then" *takes the bar and puts it back*


i hope you guys learned from it. i know i have to adjust some little details to myself.

[mattlant]

One more thing to add when being a spotter.

Make sure if you help with a rep to GO IN THE DIRECTION OF THE REP.

For example. If you are spotting on bench press, help with the weight in an UPWARD direction. I have had many people do this but pull back toward the rack instead of UP and it really puts a strain on you.

Matt

[ThreSh]

Best workouts I ever had in my life was with a personal trainer (a friend). He wouldn't move that damn bar if your life depended on it. he only spoted it from going backwards. Then after you are finally beat to a pulp he scream at you to do 3 more, and his spot was just enuff to keep the bar moving, you still did most the work.


Hes been lifting like for about 2 years. He is the only guy I know who will try a new max on his bench without a spotter and literally take 30seconds get the bar up. He swears at you if you spot him to much to hehe :)

[deaduarte88]

When you enter a gym, you'll most likely see guys working out in pairs. one guy doing the exercise, and the other helping/motivating. Let's take a closer look at the latter one.

most people call him the spotter. but does everyone knows what a good spotter must do? or musn't do? from what i've learned, the main task of a spotter is to prevent injury to his partner. this is his MAIN objective. so, make sure that when you attack a heavy set of squats or bench, you have a spotter who can help you when or if he has to.
what's next to do? Motivation. you know what i mean when you feel the adrenaline rush from the motivational shouts from your spotter, may they be "COME ON GIRLIE, PANSYYYYYYY !!!" or "YOU CAN DO IT BIG MAN!!!", sometimes they can really help you make the lift or rep.
all the oher things are accessory, and vary from one training philosophy to another. i'm talking about helping the partner in loading/unloading, performing forced reps, negatives, handing the dumbells etc etc.

now that we somewhat know what a decent spotter must do, let's take a closer look at the bad spotter :

you're going for a heavy set of bench press, and you're looking for a spotter. bommer, there is only one decent looking guy in the gym, so you ask him.

FIRST MISTAKE : the spotter asks nada, nothing, rien, niks.

to be a good spotter, thou should know what you're partner is going to do. estimated reps, weight, handing or not, etc.

okay, now you start your set.

SECOND MISTAKE : the spotter is not paying any attention, he's instead looking at the hot chick, or even worse, chatting with her.

WHEN YOU SPOT, YOU SPOT. AND NOTHING ELSE MATTERS FOR THE MOMENT! if your partner has a problem, it's often too late and he can get baldy hurt. do you want that? i guessed not, so put your dick back where it should.

let's assume for a minute he saw you struggling (oh thank god! or not?). he
A ) immediately grabs the bar, rips it from your hands and puts it back

LET HIM STRUGGLE AT LEAST A BIT! he may make the lift after all. if he doesn't, take the bar and tell him he can't anymore and put it back.

B ) starts shouting " IT'S ALL YOU!!!! IT'S ALL YOU!!!!" when in fact, he's doing bent over rows.

IF YOU HAVE TO HELP, HELP A BIT, take away a few pounds, but don't do it in his place.

Best thing is to pick a spotter that knows you quite well, so that he knows when/what to do. but for many this isn't the case, so let's now take a look look at the good spotter :

-"hey dude, i'm gonna hit the bench for a heavy one, wanna spot me bro'?"

="Yeah sure, how much? how many you think you'll do? okido then. want me to hand it to you?"

(Girl) "hi handsome..."

="can't talk. spotting."

-"god this one's tuff!!"

="GO GO GO GOOO HARDER !!!!!"
-------------A)
-------------="yeah you made it!! perfect!!"

-------------B)
-------------="okay you're exhausted. wanna go trhough some forced reps?"

--------------------------A)
---------------------------"yeah kay"

--------------------------="come on!, i'm not even helping that much!" (actually he isn't. just a bit)

--------------------------B)
---------------------------"No dude i'm dead"

--------------------------="kay then" *takes the bar and puts it back*


i hope you guys learned from it. i know i have to adjust some little details to myself.

NOTHING beats a good spotter! i'm in okinawa japan and currently looking for one.. lol but seriously how hard is it to be a good spotter?? THIS post should be up inside every gym across the world!!

[arody169]

I see more marines live this "bad spotter" routine more than anyone I have ever seen in any gym, period. Of course, I am not on a marine infantry/special forces base...I am on a marine aviation base...

[Num3n]

best spotter ever right here, serious.

(first video he comes in at about 20 seconds)
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[RootedEvo]

If someone I'm spotting says he/she wants to do 10 reps but can only do 7, then I SLIGHTLY help them pull it up and go back down every time after 7, to make sure they get all 10 in. I think that's very important for them to finish, with or without help.

Don't you?

[toooofar]

hate spotters who cant even lift ur weight, but insist on spotting u.... gay.

[swolepatrole]

hate spotters who cant even lift ur weight, but insist on spotting u.... gay.

If you're intelligent enough to put your ego away the spotter shouldn't have to lift your weight, only difference between the force you can generate and whatever is needed to get the thing moving. I've got no problem having a 150lb kid come spot me on a heavy-ass lift as long as he knows how to listen to what I want and look for cues that something's wrong.

[IC.]

I believe that the tools as well as the overall method of motivation varies according to the lifter's personality. Hence a more rebelious person is likely to drop the weights and get in your face for calling him a 'pansy' or anything similar. I have given a rather simple example but the idea is clear enough. A more obedient individual, on the other hand, may literally require to be pushed and, to some extent, bullied to achieve good results. There are obviously many categories that operate between and outside the range of the two I have so pettily described above, so knowing the person you are 'spotting' or knowing to person that is spotting you is indeed crucial.

[casvg5]

You should only assist a lifter in the positive part of the movement. Keeping the bench press example, you should only assist in the upward motion, and let the lifter take the weight on the negative. (there are circumstances where you would want to stay with the lifter on the positive and the negative, IE maxing out)

[GivemeSIX]

You should only assist a lifter in the positive part of the movement. Keeping the bench press example, you should only assist in the upward motion, and let the lifter take the weight on the negative. (there are circumstances where you would want to stay with the lifter on the positive and the negative, IE maxing out)

To the guys who are afraid of having someone weak spot them... your spotter shouldn't be getting a pump whilst helping you. Grow a pair, pull off some weight and lift if you are so worried about it.

The only reason I use a spotter is to make sure I don't injure myself

[Exdee]

I was in the gym monday and some guy was benching like 280lbs and asked a guy to spot him..

The spotter went over and stood above the bar, and asked nothing oO even with my lack of gym experience I knew this was a lil sketchy, so the spotter grabbed the bar and continued to hold onto it for like 3 reps..

On the next set the lifter asked for another spotter, who was much more involved asking how many he's doing, when he thinks he will struggle, was shouting motivation n such,

good guide I think it's really important to be a good spotted and not look like a douche

[magnumty]

i'm the worst.

[AndrewK1]

If you're intelligent enough to put your ego away the spotter shouldn't have to lift your weight, only difference between the force you can generate and whatever is needed to get the thing moving. I've got no problem having a 150lb kid come spot me on a heavy-ass lift as long as he knows how to listen to what I want and look for cues that something's wrong.

Home run .

[ALLNECK]

Great post. I 100% agree with this info. Especially the only helping a bit part. Someone with a good spotter will grow more than someone without. Everytime i have a spotter i know its going to be an awesome workout where i can push myself.

[sockouk]

I would say I'm pretty good, according to my buddies I am.
Changed gym now and my new partner is f*cking terrible. He tries to spot me on the first rep!!!

[xxSHOWTIMExx]

excellent thread. good rep points to you!

[FryDude]

I often need a spotter on my bench, they won't even let me exert any energy on the 10th-11th or 12th rep. They'll just lift it wtf.

[iLiRaM]

I lift in my basement myself, and i bench with no spot. I think as long as you look back at your last day you benched and don't put on a retarded ammount of weight you shouldn't even need a spotter. And imho i don't see a point of maxing out unless you are competing or something.

[bertstare201]

I think I am not a good spotter just because I like working out on my own...I think more people you workout out with the less you workout...anyways...I was doing curls...this military guy was doing benchpress with dumbells...he asked me if I could spot him ....I was like hmmm.. sure..well he started lifting and I am just standing there lol..just waiting on him to go aaahhhh help me!..well after his 5th set he couldn't push anymore and just dropped the wait...I just looked at him and was like see you didn't need spotter lol

[Bostongeorge617]

An addition to that list is:

A good spotter knows HOW to properly spot on each specific exercise.

For example, spotting on a barbell benchpress is different from spotting on a dumbbell benchpress. With the bar, you can gently push the bar up from underneath to lend a small helping hand. (I generally use two fingers on each hand so the lifter knows they are the ones doing the real work) With dumbbells, you need to push from their elbows instead of grabbing the top of the dumbbell or their wrists. I've seen this type of dumbbell spot many times, and it makes me shake my head. While spotting on a squat is uncommon, if asked, you need to know the proper way to do it lest you injure both of you or just look like you are dry-humping them.

[E-PRO]

Also, when spotting bench, keep your hands about 1-2inches under the bar, you shouldn't help the bencher at all until he/she needs it.

[TheHitStick]

When spotting on Bench Press, it's good to have a "Power Grip" if you really do have to help him up. This will be more controlled and easier for you so you can have him do more work until he's done if that's intended.

[paulpker121]

Really liked the article, rep'd. When spotting bench, when they're only 3 reps away from finishing the set, I tell them for motivation.

[mamamia12]

Also, when spotting bench, keep your hands about 1-2inches under the bar, you shouldn't help the bencher at all until he/she needs it.

OMG i cant stand people that spot me unnecessarily, i was benching 290 for the first time ever last week and this prick jumps in to pull up the bar i was so furious i had it too now i have to wait till friday to try it again with my bro who can actually spot lmao.

[Bostongeorge617]

OMG i cant stand people that spot me unnecessarily, i was benching 290 for the first time ever last week and this prick jumps in to pull up the bar i was so furious i had it too now i have to wait till friday to try it again with my bro who can actually spot lmao.

QFT. I go all out when I bb bench, and I do it in a power rack, so I don't need no damn spot because THATS WHY IM IN A DAMN RACK. A few times people have seen me really trying to push out my last rep, and they want to run behind me and I have to stop with the bar midway up to growl at them to get away from me. Nothing beats struggling really hard for sweet victory at the top of the press, but then some n00b comes in and attempts to steal it from you with an unasked for assist.

[SEAviator]

Actually Im a great spotter...

The only thing that I ask from my spotters is just to make sure im doing proper form, and to aid me when they see I just cant get the weight up.. From there, I need them to aid me slowly..

I HATE!!!! people that instead of helping you, using little strength to make sure its still you doing the work, they just grab the bar and pull it up as fast as they can.. LIKE WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MORON!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ironwake]

I normally have a spotter with me, my girlfriend... A spotter only really needs to take maybe 5lbs off any lift for your to complete it.

I hate when I have to find some random gym scrub to spot me, they'll usually help with my reps even though I'm not even struggling. I swear I could ask a guy to spot me on 135 for 10 and they would probably help me on the second rep

[BSBrown]

Wow you guys are all right. Nothing pisses me off more than a kid who cant spot me. I want someone who is going to stand and watch hands near but not touchin the bar. I tell my spotters not to touch the bar unless its on my chest not moving. Or if i try to go up but instead go down. Cause even if im moving the bar slow its still MOVING. my god. I think im a good spotter i dont touch unless they need help and if they do just use like 2 fingers and give as little as possible to help them. And usually if i know they are struggling but can still get it. Ill be like "dude im not going to help you. so you better get this rep! come on come on!"

[MikeMurda]

I had a ****ty spot on my chest last week...It ruined my whole workout. I know it should have but after that set I was so sour. I told the dude thank you, I didn't want to be rude...but should I have. I asked him to spot me by the wrist and he tried to do it by the elbows. He moved them out of position, I lost my stability and almost crushed my face with 110lbs doing flat dumbell press.

Should I have been an ******* and told him off?

[JontheAtheist]

I had a ****ty spot on my chest last week...It ruined my whole workout. I know it should have but after that set I was so sour. I told the dude thank you, I didn't want to be rude...but should I have. I asked him to spot me by the wrist and he tried to do it by the elbows. He moved them out of position, I lost my stability and almost crushed my face with 110lbs doing flat dumbell press.

Should I have been an ******* and told him off?

Nah, I would have critiqued him and told him what he SHOULDVE done so he doesnt go around the whole gym ruining peoples workouts.



:)

[Iceman1800]

Should I have been an ******* and told him off?

No, you should have realized he didn't come to the gym to give you a spot

[SoFLBrah]

this idiot at my gym asked me for a spot because his two friends were getting water. He was gonna DB press 70s. when lays down he immediately drops the weight and hurt his elbow because and he couldn't hold it up on his own and i didn't spot his first rep. He said i was a bad spotter.

instead of just lowering the weight him and his friends spot each other every rep, even on cables exercises.
/small rant

[MikeMurda]

No, you should have realized he didn't come to the gym to give you a spot

I'm just gonna take a wild guess here...But I don't think anyone comes to the gym to spot someone else "smart guy". Thats obvious, but I think we all could use a spot sometimes, and if you can't do it or aren't willing to, or simply don't know how to... then all you have to do is say so. I wouldn't of been offended if he said No. But thanks for the input Iceman

[Menark]

I saw a guy in the gym the other day doing the bench press and he had two spotters, one on rrach side and he was on his last rep and the bar starts to slip out of his hands and neither of the spotters were watching.

[JBathgate]

No, you should have realized he didn't come to the gym to give you a spot

Wow, you sound like a tough guy. I think we should make a tough guy article named after you.





Be, hummmmmmble

[JBathgate]

I saw a guy in the gym the other day doing the bench press and he had two spotters, one on rrach side and he was on his last rep and the bar starts to slip out of his hands and neither of the spotters were watching.

That's horrible, I can only have someone spot that I know I can trust. That sounds like bad news brewings

[TB.12]

Today I was spotting someone on BB bench who was clearly lifting too much for his own good. With 80kg on the 6th rep he barely gets the bar off his chest as I do an upright row to save him and he goes for a 7th rep where I do an 80kg uprigt row to save his neck. I don't mind spotting people - made friends doing it - but I don't want to spot egotistic idiots.

[RyanMontgomery]

When i spot, i say im not touching the bar til your going to die then il help them

They seem to love it and i think thats why i get asked a bit lol

[nsd44nsd]

Lol.

[nsd44nsd]

it also really awkward when a spotter gets too close spotting on a bench press, its hard to force out those last few reps when your almost getting teabagged.
seriously tho i think it is important to say no sometimes, i spotted an absolute monster of a guy, and as he was going up it weight it did get to the point where i said 'mate you need someone else to spot you cause if you get in to trouble i aint going to be able to lift that off you'
better to be honest than for someone to get hurt

[Iceman1800]

Wow, you sound like a tough guy. I think we should make a tough guy article named after you.





Be, hummmmmmble

not at all. Just pointing out the lunacy of his post. he seemed to say that people were there at to be at his disposal instead of for their own training.

[UofACATS]

Important:


Appreciate a good spotter. Don't do more than one rep where you have your spotters help!!

If you need a slight touch of help on rep 4, why the **** are going to do rep 5? The spotter has his own workout to do. A spotter allows you to go absolutely until failure. I've seen guys benching with no spot, and rack it when you know they had one more in 'em, that's the crime.

So, ask for a spot bros, hurry up and do your lift, get one forced rep, rack that ish and nod thanks. thumbs up :)

[AlphaBrass01]

Important:


Appreciate a good spotter. Don't do more than one rep where you have your spotters help!!

If you need a slight touch of help on rep 4, why the **** are going to do rep 5? The spotter has his own workout to do. A spotter allows you to go absolutely until failure. I've seen guys benching with no spot, and rack it when you know they had one more in 'em, that's the crime.

So, ask for a spot bros, hurry up and do your lift, get one forced rep, rack that ish and nod thanks. thumbs up :)
Well said. It gets to me when I'm doing as much lifting as the guy I'm spotting.

[Nic1]

Wow you guys are all right. Nothing pisses me off more than a kid who cant spot me. I want someone who is going to stand and watch hands near but not touchin the bar. I tell my spotters not to touch the bar unless its on my chest not moving. Or if i try to go up but instead go down. Cause even if im moving the bar slow its still MOVING. my god. I think im a good spotter i dont touch unless they need help and if they do just use like 2 fingers and give as little as possible to help them. And usually if i know they are struggling but can still get it. Ill be like "dude im not going to help you. so you better get this rep! come on come on!"

Exactly! I have exactly the same experience. I ask them to help only if I'm stuck, but as soon as I'm slowing down they help GRRR.

Now at my gym I perform bench and squat with safety bars, no spot anymore.

[bb4arson]

i kinda dont like asking for someone to spot me because of that reason when they help you out when you dont need it. but better than nothing i guess.

haha my brother is my spotter and i was doing barbell shoulder press. and i messed up on my breathing ,pretty much the weight was starting to fall on me and he was texting on his phone and i just stood up slowly and tossed the weight on the floor and kinda yelled spotter failure!

[OJM]

i had some random guy in the gym spot me the other day, was attempting 315 the highest rep range i ever done was 6 so i usually stay around there. I ended up doing 12. 12? wtf ! guy claims to not have helped me but his hands were on the bar the whole time and going through the first six felt like 135 was on that ****. I am not that ego driven i can accept that i cannot fly through twelve reps of 3 plates at 145 like the 200 pound bodybuilders do. I was mad that he said he did not help me because if i got into the mentality that i can breeze through 315 with 12 reps and become confident to where i dont need a spotter and truth be told i cannot really do that many reps, hell i may hurt myself. So on the next chest day i had my friend spot me and it ended up pushing out seven. FAIL

[codordoa]

An addition to that list is:

A good spotter knows HOW to properly spot on each specific exercise.

For example, spotting on a barbell benchpress is different from spotting on a dumbbell benchpress. With the bar, you can gently push the bar up from underneath to lend a small helping hand. (I generally use two fingers on each hand so the lifter knows they are the ones doing the real work) With dumbbells, you need to push from their elbows instead of grabbing the top of the dumbbell or their wrists. I've seen this type of dumbbell spot many times, and it makes me shake my head. While spotting on a squat is uncommon, if asked, you need to know the proper way to do it lest you injure both of you or just look like you are dry-humping them.

Jeez... it just occurred to me, that I have no idea how to properly spot a squat. Should one spot the squatter by supporting the chest and "pulling" the guy towards you if he starts to fail (fall forward), simultaneously squatting up with him? That's the thing I see being done in many PL meets when they spot.

I srsly have no idea. That being said, I would never attempt to spot a lift I'm not familiar with... spotting incorrectly is almost as bad as not spotting altogether (and sometimes can be even worse, I gather).

[IceCreamMan30]

I had a guy spot me once on the bench and he commenced to **** himself while I was benching. Literally **** in his pants.

[codordoa]

I had a guy spot me once on the bench and he commenced to **** himself while I was benching. Literally **** in his pants.

Brah, your gym has some issues yo.

[Fenix266]

Nice thread. I think I'm an ok spotter based on the comments here but I did take a few pointers - asking more questions, only using fingers etc.

This guy asked me for a spot a couple weeks ago and I thought about this thread lol.
He was bench pressing and I asked him how many reps and he says 4, i'm thinking he can do more than that. He does 3 and on the 4th he's struggling so I help him out a tiny bit and then I tell him 'one more', he clearly had some left, but he gave up.

I went back to my workout and when I look over again hes over at the smith machine doing bench presses there...was it me? lol

[SMASHgym]

Hmm you learn something new everyday :-P
I never ask stuff when spotting mates haha

[guatebuilder]

I think I am not a good spotter just because I like working out on my own...I think more people you workout out with the less you workout...anyways...I was doing curls...this military guy was doing benchpress with dumbells...he asked me if I could spot him ....I was like hmmm.. sure..well he started lifting and I am just standing there lol..just waiting on him to go aaahhhh help me!..well after his 5th set he couldn't push anymore and just dropped the wait...I just looked at him and was like see you didn't need spotter lol

lol..i did this sometimes..
Yeah i'm agree what other says that you must know your spotter..must ask relevant stuffs before helping..
I'd like to be a good spotter too..

[SmudgeReturns]

I think having a spotter is very important, I train with my father and it's a great atmosphere.

I've had spotters in the past that try to hold my wrists while DB Bench pressing 45kg each arm.... WTF? It put me at more risk of injury than doing it by myself, lol.

[SuperSauce]

this idiot at my gym asked me for a spot because his two friends were getting water. He was gonna DB press 70s. when lays down he immediately drops the weight and hurt his elbow because and he couldn't hold it up on his own and i didn't spot his first rep. He said i was a bad spotter.

instead of just lowering the weight him and his friends spot each other every rep, even on cables exercises.
/small rant

Some retard at my school did that same thing last year with 50lbs dumbbells. That was apparently his max. People all said I'm a terrible spotter. I would expect better from him, since that's the only thing he does in the gym other than bicep curls.

[Brian94]

I was watching a guy do some flyes with some really heavy dumbbells (I think it was like 70 lb) for the guy. At one point, he was struggling pretty hard, it looked like the spotter wasn't paying attention.... But dude, the guy dropped the dumbbells and they were right about to hit his face head on, and his spotter caught both of them. I was impressed, because he didn't even look like he was paying attention--pretty dangerous...

If you are asked to spot and you agree, you better pay close attention and be ready for anything without doing the exercise for them.

Some people also seem to think they can do 10 reps of their MAX weight, and that's just dangerous. You would think they increase their weights incrementally and would know exactly how much they can do.

[EYZE]

I usually don’t mind spotting but I hate doing for people who are attempting way too much weight. Along with the usual questions: “How many are you going for?” and “Do you want a lift up?”… I’ll also take a look at the person and the amount of weight, if the two don’t reasonably go together (or if this person looks way too small to be lifting the weight they are asking me to spot) I will ask “Have you done this weight before?” If they say “No” prepare yourself! Just a few peeves I have with spotting:

First, I feel like a spotter should only be there to help out with 5-10% of the weight on the last few reps. I shouldn't be lifting half the f*cking weight on the first rep, that takes away strength and energy away from my workout. I shouldn't be almost dead lifting some guy’s bench press because he can’t face reality.

Second, if you feel like you have to brief me for five minutes on how you want to be spotted you really need to find a workout buddy. I’m taking time between my sets to do you a favor by spotting for you so don’t treat me like an idiot. If you’re asking me you must have some level of trust in me that I can recognize when you are struggling and will know when to help you.

Third, just say ‘thank you’. You don’t have to buy me flowers or take me out to dinner. But don’t just throw your headphones on after the set and walk away without saying anything. At least show some level of appreciation or acknowledgement of the favor.

Finally, Just because I spot you does not mean I am also obligated to assist you in unloading/loading weights off or on the bar. If I have time and you seem to be a pleasant person I will probably be willing to take a few extra seconds to help you a little more. If you’re being a dick, don’t look at me all confused when I walk away after you load ten more pounds on one side of the bar and I don't. I have a workout too, and you can load and unload your own weights.