Thread: bench press without a spotter......

Originally Posted by cheesegrater

since february been lifiting alone, no spot.bench went from 135 to about 190, wasn't doing full ROM, started it, after 2 weeks am doing 180 full ROM......i do 6 reps usually and quit when i get the slightest shake or hesitation in the lift.....now, how much more weight do you think i'd be benching if i had a spot this whole time? almost feels like i've been cheating myself by not having a spot, but such are the circumstances.....

there is no way to estimate that. the more you bench the greater your confidence will be, you know when to rack the weight when benching alone. you should be able to do a triple w/o a spotter when you get good at it.

I just use DBs. They're more effective and you don't need a spotter.

Originally Posted by LAM

there is no way to estimate that. the more you bench the greater your confidence will be, you know when to rack the weight when benching alone. you should be able to do a triple w/o a spotter when you get good at it.

what's a triple?

thing is, first time i had a spotter, i did my sets at like 10lbs more and it was fairly easy......see, i dropped 175 on my face about 4 years ago, so i gets a little nervous whenever the shakes or hesitation starts.....

A triple is lifting a weight thrice. I had the same type of experience in the absence of a spotter... I almost couldn't get the weight back up and now I refuse to bench without a spotter because I always train heavy. That's why I've moved exclusively do DBs and I find they're much better for strength gains.

i find it hard to get heavy enough db's from the seated position to the point where i'm on my back tho......like if i'm benching 190ish on a bar, i should be able to do 85s or 90s with DBs, yet there's no way i'd be able to get them from seated to laying down.....i have a hard enough time with 70s for incline press.....hell, even 45s for flat fly's are hard enough......

Originally Posted by cheesegrater

i find it hard to get heavy enough db's from the seated position to the point where i'm on my back tho......like if i'm benching 190ish on a bar, i should be able to do 85s or 90s with DBs, yet there's no way i'd be able to get them from seated to laying down.....i have a hard enough time with 70s for incline press.....hell, even 45s for flat fly's are hard enough......

And then you get those morons that drop the weight after their last rep..

If you bench 190 I don't think you could DB bench a total of 180. I'd say it's typical to be able to do about 3/5 - 2/3 of your BB weight with DBs. They're much harder than BB benching and require a lot more stability. For example, I only use 65s for DB benching, but if I were to BB bench, I'd probably use about 190.

well i do 70lb DBs for incline press, in the palms facing position......so i assume i could do at least that for flat bench......

Originally Posted by SPIKE1257

And then you get those morons that drop the weight after their last rep..

Ok. I used to think the same thing but as I have gotten stronger and Im lifting the bigger dumbbells Im wondering HOW a guy could do a set to failure and then sit back up with more than his bodyweight in the palms of his hands? I was pressing up the 140's on Monday, did my set to failure and had absolutely nothing left and had no choice but to drop them...

Originally Posted by BiggerNstronger

Ok. I used to think the same thing but as I have gotten stronger and Im lifting the bigger dumbbells Im wondering HOW a guy could do a set to failure and then sit back up with more than his bodyweight in the palms of his hands? I was pressing up the 140's on Monday, did my set to failure and had absolutely nothing left and had no choice but to drop them...

Damn the 140's must make a nice thud when you drop them..

Originally Posted by SPIKE1257

Damn the 140's must make a nice thud when you drop them..

Oh yeah...we have the rubber floors in the gym so its not so hard on the weights but I would rather NOT drop them to be honest. I dont know what a spotter could do to help. I only did 3 reps so I will probably leave them on the rack for a while till I can rep out a few more.

Cheesegrater, are you talking about maxes or just that it's possible for you to do those things with reps? I think I just wasn't reading carefully and assumed you meant maxes.

i do 70lb dumbells for my sets......6-7 reps, hell maybe 75 by now (been doing bar incline the last two weeks, gone up like 15 pounds)

Originally Posted by BiggerNstronger

Ok. I used to think the same thing but as I have gotten stronger and Im lifting the bigger dumbbells Im wondering HOW a guy could do a set to failure and then sit back up with more than his bodyweight in the palms of his hands? I was pressing up the 140's on Monday, did my set to failure and had absolutely nothing left and had no choice but to drop them...

I agree, when I'm going heavy, sometimes I need to drop them. Usually on inclined and flats I can get them back on my thighs, but declines I usually need to drop them since there's not really an easy way to bring them up and get off the bench...

Honestly, if you're smart about it, you don't really need a spotter. Just know your limits. That doesn't mean never go heavier than you have before, but anything more than 10lbs heavier than you've done is probably asking for trouble by yourself.

what is the point in wasting energy in an effort to set the DBs down gently??Even though the rules at my gym say not to drop them I let them slam after each set.

i don't understand the "drop the weights and we revoke your membership" BS.....like what the hell is a rubber floor gonna do to a metal-most times these days coated in rubber itself- weight?

it can still damage it. and its courtesy. if youre going to drop them, at least do it controlled.

one way that I get around not having a spotter is going into a squat rack and setting the catch bars even with my chest or just above. That way I put up as much as possible and if I don't get it, I just squeeze out the side. It works pretty good for me.

Yep, I do the same thing, but in a Power Rack.

I Gotta try it with squat racks but i don't wanna hold anyone when they ready to do their squats...
I am so afraid of doing heavy presses on a decline....I used to do them with confidence but i got to a point where i need a spotter just in case...It's scary sometimes, because you're in such a disadvantage position unlike flat bench where you can still hold it while calling for help.....

That's why, right now I only do declines with DB's

Originally Posted by Seanp156

That's why, right now I only do declines with DB's

I replaced them with weighted dips
I read that both exercises target/hit the same muscle? dont wanna say the lower pec but there i said it.....

Ever try hooks when using heavy DB's? They're great. Here's a link.

http://powerhooks.com/pages/859209/index.htm

Peace