Strength training is a hugely important form of exercise. In fact, far too few people realize that and engage in this type exercise, but that’s a post for another day. One of the most important aspects of strength training is spotting. Spotting, if you are a complete newbie (and welcome by the way), is a safety relationship whereby one person offers some kind of help or assistance to another person who is lifting.

The types of assistance can vary widely, but the more important thing to take from the previous statement is SAFETY. The relationship between a spotter and lifter is all about safety. And I don’t just mean the lifter’s safety, although that is what’s commonly talked about. It doesn’t matter if you have a die-hard workout buddy who is usually your spotter or you are asking another random gym-goer for a favor, everyone’s safety is paramount. That being said, each party in the exchange has certain responsibilities in terms of communication.

The Lifter… It is totally counterintuitive, but in my opinion, the lifter actually bears the brunt of the responsibility. First, the lifter needs to be honest with themselves about their limitations, be it with amount of weight or type of exercise being attempted. You gotta know where the point of no return is and be able to effectively tell your spotter. If you can’t do that, it doesn’t matter if your spotter can bench press a tractor, they won’t be able to help as effectively and safety will be compromised. I’ve said it before… don’t try to be the hero here.

The lifter needs to inform the spotter of the type of exercise, meaning the exercise itself and type of equipment being used. Spotting for a military press with a barbell versus with dumbbells is a totally different ball game. Second, the lifter needs to communicate both the number of reps they are attempting, and about when they expect they might run in to trouble. The lifter then needs to communicate what kind of help they want (i.e. a lift off only, a follow spot, actual assistance lifting). And, I feel like I shouldn’t need to say this, but experience has taught me otherwise, these things need to be talked about before there are 382690 pounds being pushed around.

The Spotter… The spotter has two main roles, the Safety Enforcer and the BS Police. Let’s chat about the latter first. Lifters don’t do a great job at knowing their limits (or more correctly, egos tend to get in the way), so as a spotter if you’re BS meter is bing-bonging when the lifter tells you they are about to attempt 8 reps of a crazy weight, trust it. Be ready to jump in earlier than anticipated.

Which brings us to the Safety Enforcer role. The spotter needs to stay attentive. You can’t ensure safety if your attention is wandering. It is also the spotter’s responsibility to know how and where to spot. First, never spot at a joint. In a dumbbell military press, it is common to spot at the elbows. It is also wrong and extremely dangerous to spot at the elbows. If the lifter loses control, a joint is not stable. The weights can still slip and fall on the spotter. Don’t laugh. I have seen it. Multiple times. Spot at a stable limb segment (the forearms in the military press example) or spot using the bar if possible. Second, stay in sight of the lifter. True story, mirrors in gyms are actually for this purpose. So you as a spotter can remain behind a lifter if necessary and still be able to make eye contact with them. Thirdly, stay out of their path of motion. Another example: People LOVE to spot a squat exercise from behind the lifter with arms extended to try and catch them. Seriously?!?! Something happens and you are going to catch, single handedly I might add, both the lifter and the bar? Doubtful. More likely, the lifter plus whatever they are lifting are going to fall on you and two people will need medical attention. Or the lifter will try to compensate and the bar will roll over their neck and head. Really bad. I hear you laughing again, but I have seen both happen. If you are spotting a squat exercise, get a second spotter and spot each end of the bar. Know what is going to move and where so you as the spotter can stay safe too.

So, to all my strength trainers out there… Be smart if you need a spotter, or if someone asks you to spot them. Communicate beforehand and expect the unexpected during the lift. Be safe, be strong, and be more awesome!