Spotting

1. Let the client back away from the rack and settle into the starting stance or set up.
2. Stand behind your client and follow him or her down (in a similar motion as the squat itself).
3. Have your hands up and under the armpits and on or near the torso (not touching unless necessary).
4. Your role here is to help the lifter maintain a raised chest
   • The tendency when fatigue sets in is to collapse the core or trunk forward over the quads. By your guiding the chest up, your client can maintain form even while fatigued.
5. Help your client re-rack the weight by guiding the bar back with him or her into the proper rack position and securing it into place.

With 2 people you have the security that if the bar drops completely from the squatter, the spotters will be able to safely take the load of the weight.

Positioning: stand at opposite ends of the bar, with feet shoulder width apart and knees slightly flexed. Hold hands in a cupped position ~ 2-3″ below the ends of the bar. As client starts moving down, continue to bend through the knees, ensuring your hands remain 2-3″ below the bar.

If client struggles/fails, both spotters should grasp the bar and assist the client to lift bar back into the starting position, ensuring they employ a similar/steady lifting cadence.

Critical point: It is absolutely necessary that spotters communicate. Both spotters should have a signal to know when to jump in safely. If one spotter decides to help while the other doesn’t, the lifters balance will be thrown off and they risk significant injury.

1. Stand behind your lifter here. You might want to ask the lifter if they need a “lift-off” (an assist lifting the bar off the rack before the first rep begins).

2. You should also ask the lifter how soon they would like your help: immediately or whether you should let them struggle with the weight before jumping in. Generally, for a novice you should jump in immediately, whereas you might permit an advanced lifter to struggle with the weight for a bit.

3. From there, let the athlete lift and when you see him or her reach a point where they are unable to move the bar, use a reverse grip (one overhand and one underhand), to ensure you can pull the bar up should the lifter fail during the lift.

The trainer (standing behind the bench) should assist the client to get the weights into position.

All spotting assistance should be provided by grabbing client’s wrist/forearm (and not spotting at the elbow).

The trainer (standing behind the bench near the client’s head) should assist the client to get the weights into position. All spotting assistance should be provided by grabbing client’s wrist/forearm (and not spotting at the elbow).

Provide a chair or dowel or move near a wall or counter top to allow client to self-spot / secure their position and set-up.