I share a series of tips and advice to be a great training partner and help any colleague in the gym.
If you have already spent some time in a gym, there is a good chance that you have attended a partner, or that you have asked a partner to assist you.
And this is very well done, since there are certain bodybuilding exercises that, at a certain level of load, already become dangerous for your own safety or that of a comrade.
Imagine being in a gym where there is no good partner to help you bench press with a heavy load.
It may happen that during the last repetition you lose support and end up dropping one of the sides to the ground, as shown in the image below.
Not only have you put on a show in front of everyone, which would ultimately be the least serious, but you can do serious damage to your own body, for a situation that could actually have been avoided.
That is why I would like to focus on the importance of being a good partner in the gym… to achieve this, let’s see the guidelines that every training assistant should know when giving or receiving support from a colleague.
What does it mean to “help” someone in the gym?
It is simply a matter of accompanying someone during an exercise, to ensure their safety and thus allow the correct technique when lifting or pushing a larger weight load, compared to if you were alone.
Tips to be a good weight companion
To be, or ask for a good assistant, here are some tips to help you in this mission, I will place a lot of emphasis on the bench press as a typical exercise where help is required but this applies to all the wide range of gym exercises.
Please ask!
Always respectfully ask someone to assist you in cases of need to ensure that you receive a good response from the other person. It is one of the fundamentals of communication, in this way we will achieve a good agreement with the assistant.
You must be clear about what you expect from your exercise and how many sets and repetitions you are going to do.
Intervene only when necessary
When they ask for your help, it doesn’t mean you should do the exercise instead of your gym partner. If someone has problems with the bar and it moves slowly, do not help them raise it, if the exercise is proceeding normally.
If the person has difficulty and the bar hangs or falls because it ended up gaining gravity, that’s where we have to intervene, we just have to follow the movement to be attentive to this situation or indications from the colleague.
It is not necessary to use all your strength
When helping a partner bench press, apply the appropriate force for the situation. In general, it is about providing minimal effort, just enough to raise and accommodate the bar.
This, as we said before, unless the bar tends to drop sharply or the practitioner reaches the point of total failure. In this case, it is essential to use all our strength to rest the bar on its safety support.
Clarify when you will need help
If you’re the one on the training bench, you may need help resting the bar on its support at the end of the set.
Again, this is especially important when it comes to muscle failure, and many accidents occur when the arms buckle while trying to rest the bar.
So, you should ask that your partner be prepared to intervene in this part of the exercise.
About the technique
Different exercises require different strategies from the assistant’s point of view.
As for the bench press (and many other exercises), keep your hands close to the bar, but do not touch it until necessary.
It is good to adopt a mixed grip, with one hand under the bar and the other on top, thus providing the maximum possible resistance to lift the bar if necessary.
To accompany exercises like the squat, make sure you go to someone with a good command of the technique.
Pay attention
When someone asks you if you can help them keep the exercise execution safe. This is not the time to take a look at the gym or look at your cell phone. Please be careful!
A series in which it seems to be “the situation dominated” can quickly turn into a disaster, and you are the one in charge of maintaining the safety of your partner and dealing with avoiding any possible serious injury.
Performing a bank press alone is it dangerous?
The presence of a partner is essential when doing this chest exercise when using heavy loads.
If the muscle fails, you can be injured or worse, if the weight is too high you can seriously injure your body.
If no one can ensure a correct execution of the exercise and in safe conditions, you can try to do it with a guided bar with a Smith machine or do it with dumbbells.