The Surprising Reason Why Spotting Technique Matters: Unleashing Your Full Lifting Potential
Most people focus their effort on learning proper weight lifting techniques. This is imperative to move weight in a safe and effective manner. Improper lifting techniques can lead to all sorts of short-tern and long-term injuries.
Know what else can lead to injuries?
Improper spotting technique!
Anyone that wants to move a relatively challenging weight will need a spotter to assist them through the sticking point of the lift. That sticking point occurs at various points for different lifts. In general, most lifters get stuck after they have completed the eccentric (lowering) portion of the lift and start the concentric (raising) portion of the lift. The lifter will lower the weight - or their body supporting a weight - to the bottom of the range of motion, begin to move the weight up, and then get stuck somewhere along the ascent.
Where most spotters fail their partner is in assisting too much or too little. If the spotter is putting forth too much effort to lift the weight, the lifter is lulled into a false sense of strength by thinking that they are moving the weight on their own. When a spotter helps too little, the lifter will stall out and lose the momentum on the lift.
The spotters job is to provide just enough assistance to keep the weight moving through the sticking point in a smooth and controlled manner.
Spotting is a skill that requires practice. It takes feel to know how much assistance to provide a partner. There is no specific amount of lift assist that can be measured and applied to every rep of every set. There is nuance. There is variability. And there is technique.
Do not underestimate the importance of being a great spotter. An experienced spotter will not only keep their partner safe, but enable them to reach new personal bests by providing just the right amount of assistance to power through their sticking points and achieve their training goals.
