It was a busy day at work lifting and moving a lot of furniture before coming to the gym. But for some reason I felt fired up when I arrived at the gym so with no warmup I did 20 bench press reps with 30kg dumbbells. Then after too long a break (because I got talking) I did 7 reps with 35kg dumbbells and wondered if I might try the 40s next...

Psychology

A good spotter's very presence will motivate and focus you to achieve more than you normally would, because you feel safer to push just that little bit harder, knowing that help is there if you need it.

Performance

The spotter’s main task is to assist you through dead spots in your final lift repetitions with a light touch to keep the weight moving, with as little help as possible, watching your form and helping you to finish safely.

Purpose

This will increase the time under tension (TUT) necessary to help you build muscle by avoiding an early fail and getting you through an extra 1 to 3 repetitions. Note: if you need a spotter for every set, or every lift in every set, you're lifting too heavy... unless of course you're doing negatives.

How strong should the spotter be?

First of all, the spotter is not there to do the repetitions for you. That’s your job. You're the lifter. The spotter should be strong enough to assist with lifting the barbell off the rack, and pulling the lifter through to racking the barbell on the last repetitions. If you’re doing a dumbbell bench press, the spotter should be strong enough to pass you the dumbbell or dumbbells safely. That’s if you’re using weights too heavy to set safely on your own.

Tell the spotter how you want to be spotted.

This is vital. You don’t want any surprises that put you at risk. So, indicate whether you’re looking for a light spot (maybe two fingers under bar), or heavier spot (full hand on the bar). You can call light, or heavy on the go. Do you want to start with no contact till you call for a light or heavy spot? Or, maybe until you stall? And if you stall, should they wait a second or two before assisting, or assist immediately. You can also say if you want to see their hands touching the bar all the way through, even if they are not lifting. Some people are put off by seeing the spotter’s hands on the bar or feeling their touch under the elbows. This puts doubt in their mind as to whether they are actually doing the lifting themselves or if they are being assisted. So, you need to decide first. You can tell the spotter: make me work; don't talk; count me through; shout encouragement. You can request an assist off the rack for a barbell to get you set and save your energy for the repetitions. You can ask that one or two dumbbells be passed up to you. And you can have one or two spotters. Just be sure to let them know anything you might say during the lift and what it will mean. Get a supervisor or experienced spotter to demonstrate for you if you need to.

Let the spotter know how many repetitions you're aiming for.

If you hit the wall before your stated target, then have a word you'll use to communicate that to the spotter so they can assist you in the way you need at that time: to either rack the barbell, or to lower or drop the dumbbells. For example, you might say, Done, Gone, Rack, Drop, Help, Mummy... If you want to do more repetitions, just say, one more, two more... The spotter is not a mind reader, so you need to communicate. And you need to decide how you will do this, before you start lifting.

Spotting for a dumbbell bench press, or chest press

When handing someone a dumbbell, the spotter should hold the ends of the dumbbell and wait till you say you are ready to receive. You might say, yep, go, ready. They should then wait till you say you are set with the weights before they release and get into position. You might say, got it, set. The spotter can spot under your elbows, on your forearms or wrists. They should have a solid stance so they do not lose their balance. If spotting under the elbows, they should be careful to push up and not inwards or the dumbbells may collapse on your chest. If a heavier spot is needed, the elbows may not be the best place to spot from. The reason is that there is an added vulnerability here due to distance between the elbow and the weight, and the fact that there are two joints (elbow and wrist) between the spotter’s hand and the weight. So, if necessary, the spotter needs to be ready to bring their hands up to your wrists and assist. It may even be best to start like this depending on the type of support you think you will need in the lift. Then, to complete the picture, the spotter should let you know when they are ready.

When you are DONE on a dumbbell lift, when you have no push left, you should let the spotter know if you want them to TAKE THE LEFT (or) TAKE THE RIGHT, as you centre the other dumbbell and take it down with two hands. Or, let them know to leave you to lower or drop the weights. In this case you need to say clearly, I'VE GOT it. If you are lowering the weights so that you sit back up with weights on your knees, lift your knees up first and ride the dumbbells back down on your knees (the spotter can assist by pushing on your back as you roll forwards). If you get stuck part way, it's easier and safer to drop the dumbbells on the floor as you start to rock forwards.

Spotting for the barbell bench press

The spotter should be strong enough to give an assist in lifting the barbell off the rack, and also to bring you through to rack the barbell safely on your last repetition. You must keep pushing till the bar is racked. Do not expect your spotter to bicep curl your bench press! Again, communicate! If you're lifting at the very edge of your lifting range with a barbell bench press, it may be best not to use the quick release collars on a bar so that you can let your weights slide off the bar (left and right). But be careful when the second side comes off as it will be fast. Better yet, use a bench press power rack where you can lock in side bars or pins to prevent the bar from going past a certain level... the level of your chest.

Too much or too little

Doing a lot of forced repetitions with only a light touch from the spotter can result in overtraining. Too much assistance from the spotter may result in preventing progress. Remember, the spotter is not the lifter, you are the lifter. Do not load the weights so far past your limitations that you end up putting both yourself AND the spotter in danger.

Conclusion

If you follow the above instructions for using a spotter for the dumbbell and barbell bench press, you will achieve extra strength and muscle gains through the extra time under tension which a spotter can give.

Learning to use a spotter is one of the best things you can do if you want to discover your full potential lifting weights for strength, endurance and power.