Don't have a spotter - can i still make good gains?

[BornAgainRunner]

I’ve just started out lifting and I’m using a more intensive one body part / day x 5 days a week program

Now, because I’m under time constraints I have some issues with not being able to get to the gym so instead, I’ve relied on making a home gym in the basement and am able to, between barbell and dumbbell-based exercises, able to tackle all the essentials.

The problem however, arises when I am doing a negative rep and don’t have a spotter or spotter extensions on the bench. Because of this I’m worried that my hard work might be going (somewhat at least) to waste as far as seeing maximum gains because I can’t take those last reps to the max (a la MAX-OT).

Is there a good way to balance this out or sub another type of exercise so I can benefit from this? I know that dumbbells give you the chance to get max resistance but the barbell’s a toughie because I can’t keep it up otherwise it’ll drop on my head!!

Thanks in advance!!

[red eagle]

Haven't done max ot, but i think what you're supposed to do is go to positive failure, which i beleive means that the last rep you do is all you can do (you wouldn't be able to do another rep without assistance). That's what I do, and it works fine.