Thread: Bodybuilding w/o partner/spotter

You can make quite a bit of gains alone. I don't care what anyone tells you.
I am 5'4 and been around VA also. So I will take an interest in you and respond.
I started at about 140lbs.

Anyway, start by building a base. Pushups, Pullups, Dips, and Body Squats.
People may say otherwise but in my opinion you can build a solid begginer base with those exercises.

Once your base is up start with the bench, weighted dips, weighted pullups, squat rack, etc.

You can make gains without going to failure, just increase the weight you use every week.

Remember there will come a point where you absolutely have to have a spot. My chest workout isn't complete without a spot, plain and simple. When my gym is dead ile ask the people that work there to spot me. I don't care. I am here to lift damnit and for me to do that I may need a spot. I don't care who I gotta ask Lemme get my lift in!

It's completely possible. I've been training without a partner the past 6 months.

NEVER lift to failure with deadlifts and squats. That's just asking for something bad to happen (muscle/bone injury). A spotter really can't help you there anyway, all you can do is drop the weight (on the squat rack for squat or floor for DLs).
You should be doing one set of 5 reps for DL, 3 sets of 5 for squats with as much weight as you can handle.

With bench, just ask for a spot, it's completely alright if all you need is a spot for the bench. And you know what? If the weight you've chosen is appropriate, you shouldn't need a spotter anyway. If you can't handle the weight, use the roll technique to get out. Or use dumbbells.

Buy or check out a copy of "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe. It has everything a beginning lifter needs to pack on a lot of strength fast, and has all the information on proper form and mechanics for the heavy lifts (combine it with a gallon of milk a day and you'll be huge by the end of 2012, I guarantee it)

i love milk

Originally Posted by ckcrown84

You can make quite a bit of gains alone. I don't care what anyone tells you.
I am 5'4 and been around VA also. So I will take an interest in you and respond.
I started at about 140lbs.

Anyway, start by building a base. Pushups, Pullups, Dips, and Body Squats.
People may say otherwise but in my opinion you can build a solid begginer base with those exercises.

Once your base is up start with the bench, weighted dips, weighted pullups, squat rack, etc.

You can make gains without going to failure, just increase the weight you use every week.

Remember there will come a point where you absolutely have to have a spot. My chest workout isn't complete without a spot, plain and simple. When my gym is dead ile ask the people that work there to spot me. I don't care. I am here to lift damnit and for me to do that I may need a spot. I don't care who I gotta ask Lemme get my lift in!

Thanks I appreciate that. How much you weight now, and how long have you been training?

Originally Posted by squigader

It's completely possible. I've been training without a partner the past 6 months.

NEVER lift to failure with deadlifts and squats. That's just asking for something bad to happen (muscle/bone injury). A spotter really can't help you there anyway, all you can do is drop the weight (on the squat rack for squat or floor for DLs).
You should be doing one set of 5 reps for DL, 3 sets of 5 for squats with as much weight as you can handle.

With bench, just ask for a spot, it's completely alright if all you need is a spot for the bench. And you know what? If the weight you've chosen is appropriate, you shouldn't need a spotter anyway. If you can't handle the weight, use the roll technique to get out. Or use dumbbells.

Buy or check out a copy of "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe. It has everything a beginning lifter needs to pack on a lot of strength fast, and has all the information on proper form and mechanics for the heavy lifts (combine it with a gallon of milk a day and you'll be huge by the end of 2012, I guarantee it)

I actually have that book "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe". I know very little about weight training and bodybuilding, so I brought a few books. I also purchased "Scrawny to Brawny" by Michael Mejia & John Berardi, and "Power Eating", Third Edition by Susan Kleiner. I haven't read Rippetoe's book yet; I figured it was best to start with the diet related books first...

Originally Posted by ckcrown84

Remember there will come a point where you absolutely have to have a spot.

Disagree, I've never used a spotter in my life, and made excellent gains.

Originally Posted by Madmann

Disagree, I've never used a spotter in my life, and made excellent gains.

The guys isn't talking about adding gains to his gut like you have...

Originally Posted by ExLe

The guys isn't talking about adding gains to his gut like you have...

I wasn't either. Wow. Again I hope you learn to think before posting.

Originally Posted by Madmann

Disagree, I've never used a spotter in my life, and made excellent gains.

OP, I am more cowardly than madmann so I always grab a spotter when I am working near my max. Just ask anyone to spot you. It's a gym; people expect it.

If you can't get a spotter, don't collar your plates so you can tilt the weights off one side then let gravity take care of the other...just glance to each side to make sure no one's standing close enough to get hurt.

I stopped training to failure a long time ago. Modern research cannot prove which method is better, so why risk injury? Once and a while it's nice to max out, but most of the time, you should not need a spotter.

Don't get cought up into the lifting to failure trap, it's an injury waiting to happen...

I dont use spotter, if you cant lift the weight then you shouldn't be doing the weight... Listen to your body as it will give you the best advice!!! If 135lbs is your current max say on your 4th set of bench press and your getting 12 reps the following week go up to 145 if you feel on your 5th rep and your body is telling you you in trouble if you go down for that 6th rep then stop at your 5th rep and try again next week. Spotting is good when you get to real heavy weight over 300's just to be safe incase suttin freakish happens like injury or some shit, if not do dumb bells, when you cant do no more just drop the weight, just dont drop it like an asshole... this is my opinon so no one please take offense... latah

Originally Posted by DonLittle

I actually have that book "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe". I know very little about weight training and bodybuilding, so I brought a few books. I also purchased "Scrawny to Brawny" by Michael Mejia & John Berardi, and "Power Eating", Third Edition by Susan Kleiner. I haven't read Rippetoe's book yet; I figured it was best to start with the diet related books first...

Rippetoe's approach to diet will be different. As a starter, you should be inhaling calories if you want to grow. You need at the very least about 500 more calories than maintenance (google how to calculate this) in order to grow. 0.75g protein per pound of bodyweight at least is a general rule that has helped a lot of I know grow. If you find eating that much food difficult, take a look at GOMAD (gallon of milk a day). It sounds crazy, but I've seen it work with my own eyes.

As a tip - buy and make all you own food, no more prepackaged stuff. Get yourself lean chicken breasts, lean ground beef, brown rice and wholegrain pasta, lots of veggies, olive oil, tuna, milk, oatmeal etc. and start making your own meals.

Why a spotter is important: When it comes to weight lifting it is fairly well established that bigger is better. If one is trying to make gains than increasing the weight that one is lifting is a safe bet to success. What happens when you are "feeling good" in the gym one day and you are like man I bet I can fucking increase the weight a good 15lbs today and still get that bitch up 5 times" Well...enter a spotter. What happens if you get it 4 times, you go for that fifth and she comes half way up....
Also, a spotter is a good safety net. What if you pinch something in your hand, your shoulder pops, or well anything else that can go wrong.
Spotter can provide forced reps. I don't train to failure all the time, but I use big boy weight and have a spotter. I use the spotter to give me extra reps (without burning out). For example. I may do 4-7 reps. I might get 5 on my own and then I use the spotter to give me assistance for the extra two. I could get the extra two on my own, but then I would be DEAD for the next set. I use a spotter to lighten my load just a little bit, so I can squeeze a few extra reps without being completly dead the next set. Works great for me.

Also to answer the Gents question I am 195lbs now.
Have been training a long ass time. Have used many techniques. And no it did not take make 8 years to get from 145ish to 195.

i work out with my fiance who would struggle to pull the bar off of me if I were benching. I tore a pec so i dont bother with bench anymore but if I were to go back to 5x5 benching, I'd do it in the squat rack. Drag a bench over, put the safety stops as low as possible yet high enough to prevent the bar from hitting my chest. Worst case, you fail on a rep, set the bar on the stops and slide out.

I've never had a spotter, or cared to ask, but I don't mind being asked. Don't worry about it, after a few weeks you'll figure out ways around it anyway.

Bench with dumbbells, or smith machine.

Don't squat or DL to actual failure, you might bust your back even if you are dropping it in a rack. If you think you can't rep that last one, let out a big grunt, up it goes :-) After a while you'll know which rep is the last one.

I started at 135lbs as well. I fluxuate between 210 and 235 now.
I do use aas.
I do train to failure and as far beyond that as is possible.
Rest pause,drop sets
I'm using a dc training program and the whole point is to push past what was failure tha last week. I don't employ a spot...ever. if you can't lift it yourself the shits too heavy for you...period. there is no point as abodybuilder to be performing single and double reps. Higher rep range with heavy weight that progressivley gets heavier every time you train until you plateau. At that point switch exercises.
Eat 2g protein per lb ofbodyweight.

My training partner is a "spot" guy. Its like I have to upright row his benchpress so he feels like he did 405...but the truth is he can barely do 315....
He needs someone to literally push him up on squats..

Its this stupidity that leads to disaster. Using too much weight.
Bad for jointsand connective tissue...bad for muscle when you tear it off the bone because youhad no business holding that weight.

Trust me. Get a weight you can push or pull for between 10 to 20 reps but no less than 10.
When you can do 20 add weight.

Originally Posted by brundel

I started at 135lbs as well. I fluxuate between 210 and 235 now.
I do use aas.
I do train to failure and as far beyond that as is possible.
Rest pause,drop sets
I'm using a dc training program and the whole point is to push past what was failure tha last week. I don't employ a spot...ever. if you can't lift it yourself the shits too heavy for you...period. there is no point as abodybuilder to be performing single and double reps. Higher rep range with heavy weight that progressivley gets heavier every time you train until you plateau. At that point switch exercises.
Eat 2g protein per lb ofbodyweight.

My training partner is a "spot" guy. Its like I have to upright row his benchpress so he feels like he did 405...but the truth is he can barely do 315....
He needs someone to literally push him up on squats..

Its this stupidity that leads to disaster. Using too much weight.
Bad for jointsand connective tissue...bad for muscle when you tear it off the bone because youhad no business holding that weight.

Trust me. Get a weight you can push or pull for between 10 to 20 reps but no less than 10.
When you can do 20 add weight.

Great advice

God when i first hit the gym i was 110lb could not even bench the bar. We all got to start somewhere.

My sisters boyfriend pushed me till i puked. Just takes time and effort. You will grow

When my training partner flakes on me, I use the Smith machine or dumbbells. Train probably 50% of the time with no spotter.

I just ask some random in the gym who looks like they can help me get a few extra reps + if something goes wrong actualy be able to help. I've always trained with 2-3 heavy sets then 2 lighter sets with 30-50 reps.