Bench Press without a spotter

T

thedevil

0
Ok, so its always good to have a spotter while pressing heavy. But sometimes its not possible to have one. So like today I was working alone at the gym and at the 9th rep I got the bar down to my chest and could'n manage the 10th one. Then I thought for a couple of moments what to do :D Finally I let one side of the barbell touch the floor, moved the other end away from me and managed to stand up.

Allright, the set got wasted but anyhow it is still good to know a nice way to get out of the soup. So, please outline the different ways there are to move the barbell away from you and experiences you might have had.
 
I had a similar experience, in a weight room all by my lonesome...I forgot what I did. Either I did what you did, or I somehow got under and out of it, which I don't think I could have done without some rocking or tipping.

I'm pretty sure that method is the best and most effective when working alone with a moderately light weight. The heavier it gets, I assume the more difficult is gets to pull this kind of manuever.
 
Hrm, I was thinking about this last night.

I never have a spotter, so I was thinking of making a thread similar to this because I would be attempting 1rep max training in a few months.

=P
 
Some benches have those "bar holders" towards the bottom for safety, but most dont. If you are worried about not being able to lift the weight, you could always move a free bench under the squat machine and use that.
 
tonymcclellan said:
. . .you could always move a free bench under the squat machine and use that.
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Great suggestion or you could just ask the attendant to spot you. That's part of what they get paid to do even if they are not a trainer.

If you're alone you could:
1) Use a slightly lower weight than your 1RM and do 2-3 reps, rack for 5-10 seconds, 2-3 reps, rack, rep. (I think Christian Thibaudeau calls these "cluster sets", if I'm wrong it's late and my Spike is wearing off. :) )

2)Not my suggestion but an option: Do NOT clamp the plates and if you happen to miss a rep you can tilt the bar and the weight will slide off, causing the other side to tip the other way and fall off. (I probably should have left my suggestions at "...ask the attendant" but it's still an option.)

3) summon the inner strength you thought you didn't have and muscle that beotch up!!! Maybe a little fear will push you over that plateau.
 
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:p i did this the other day without a spotter, but when i tried to lower the weight on one side the weight started to slip off, so i stopped what i was doing and eventually had to drop it onto my chest,l rool it off onto my legs and put it on the floor, from where then had to place it back on the rack lol

I think im gonna stick with the machine for abit, coz on the machine i can bench 160 lbs :D

O yeh i know this has been answered before but how much does a standard(like u know kinda fat and heavy looking) bench press bar weigh?
 
I think you're referring to the Olympic Bar and that's 45 lbs. The standard is roughly the same diameter all the way across the bar and relatively thin.
 
Tim_14 said:
:p i did this the other day without a spotter, but when i tried to lower the weight on one side the weight started to slip off, so i stopped what i was doing and eventually had to drop it onto my chest,l rool it off onto my legs and put it on the floor, from where then had to place it back on the rack lol
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That'll work until you get older.. try rolling 200+ or even 300+ over your legs and see if you can walk.. Even if you could your quads will hate you for it :p
 
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