5 Types of Spotters

All weight lifters at some time or another have used a spotter. I, for one, will only use when if I know the person. I am not one to just ask some random dude if he can assist me with a lift. My lifts and my body parts are just too important to me to put them in the hands of a complete stranger that probably doesnt know what they are doing anyway. You know what I am talking about. We have all been there. We have all had certain types of spotters that just give the assistant a bad name. Here are my top 5 spotters as I see it.

1. Grabby Hands - This is the guy that at the first sign of a struggle with the weight, he immediately grabs the weight and lifts it back onto the rack. I hate this. Only grab the weight if and when I tell you too. And when you do grab it, just offer light assistance until I yell the words "TAKE IT!".


2. Drippy - Nothing like getting ready to do a PR in bench only to have the guy spotting you drip his own sweat onto your face. Been there. Trust me. It's gross.


3. Gazer -  Gazer is too busy either watching himself in the mirror or watching every body else. Once he finally puts his focus back on your, the weight is already crushing your bones into little pieces.


4. Over Enthusiastic - The over enthusiastic spotter is the guy that is yelling at you from the moment you lift the weight to several minutes after completion.  His face is right next to yours and he is yelling things like "YOU GOT THIS!" and "THIS IS ALL YOUR BRO".  Upon completion, he is offering up a knuckle punch or doing an ass slap while telling you how easy that appeared.


5. Junker - Junker feels that the only way that he could possibly assist with the lift is if he has nearly straddled your head with his legs and that any upward gaze would be an unwelcoming site.

A proper spotter should ask the lifter if they need any assistance with the weight and how many reps they plan to achieve.  Hands should be at the ready but not touching the weights and if and when the lifter says they need assistance, only lightly touch the weight. Sometimes that is all a lifter needs to complete the rep. If at any point, the weight begins reversing direction, only then should you engage more assistance with the lift.

So there you have it.  That is my top 5 list of spotters. I am sure there are more out there and I would love to hear other user's accounts of spotting gone wrong.