Hey brah, would it be cool if I use the weightlifting equipment to lift some weights?
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“you mind if I work in” is fine, but it requires actually wanting to work in which I rarely do. I’d rather wait ~10 minutes to get the rack to myself and spend that time warming up rather than feel like I’ve got to rush my warm-up and do all the weight-switching until I get to a work weight
That’s why “how many sets” is my usual opener, and I just cross my fingers it’s a low enough number that I don’t need to ask to work in
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Reading these last 10 posts makes me realize that home gym might be the best money I ever spent.
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I’ve been singing the praises of a home gym. But. I’m loving a fully equipped commercial gym right now. Just a lot more options.
Just rejoined a gym - what is the current etiquette on asking for a spot? My pre-pandemic gym was at work, so most people I vaguely knew so was not a big deal, but feels weird to ask complete strangers.
I usually just walk up and ask if they don’t mind spotting me, making sure to time it so that I’m asking while they’re resting and not right before they were going to do their next set. I’ve probably done this 100+ times and honestly don’t recall ever getting a “no.”
I have made the mistake of asking a relative gym newbie if they’d spot me on the bench and they turned it into their own curl workout so my only tip is to look for someone that seems like a regular. I usually tell them how many reps I’m going for and how much of a spot I’m actually looking for (“only if I fail” or something like that).
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Yeah - I still remember a dude from like 10 years ago who did that. I told him I should be able to get 5/6 reps on my own, but he immediately started helping me on my first rep and was basically just pulling up the bar as fast as he could.
Yup. The one time I ever attempted 300 the guy pulled it up before I could lock out “because I was slowing down” and I was furious. My PR is stuck at 295 because of that 
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I ask for a spot every now and then. But I see the same people on Monday nights when I bench and I’d feel bad asking them every week for a spot.
Sucks too because I’m coming a couple reps short of what I could do out of fear of crushing my skull. I’ve had to bail twice to the lower pegs. Then I start thinking about what happens if I miss and the bar hits the end of one of the lower pegs? Might just fall straight down onto my head.
I always get the opposite where they try to talk me into doing one more rep, when I know I can’t. Then they have to put in some work to help it up.
Just bench in the squat rack with the pins set to catch the bar if you fail.
That sucks though as you can’t go all the way down. Although maybe that’s a me issue as I don’t have much of a chest arch when I bench.
You should be able to. To bench you need to arch your back just enough that you can touch your chest with the bar for a full rep but if you exhale and flatten your back then the pins catch the bar
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Yeah. Set the bars so its above your neck but below your chest.
I’ve also done the roll of shame before. Its painful at heavy reps, but still feels safe enough.
It could depend on how spread the pegs are. Try one lower and see if its above your neck.
I’ve never seen anyone doing that at my gym. I’m not going to be the vanguard.
Yea I’d be kinda annoyed if I saw someone benching in the squat rack tbh. 4 flat benches and only 2 proper squat racks, gtfo of my rack
We have three and three. The owner took one of the benches, and one of three remaining benches sucks, the pegs are too low. So it’s musical chairs fighting for the two good benches with the other Monday night regulars.
I asked Dave (ex-body builder, used to be my infamous trainer) to bring our bench back. I’ve told all the other dudes they need to say something too, since Dave will think I’m just being whiny. But they’re totally intimidated by him - big alpha dudes, terrified to ask Dave to bring the other bench back.
I bench in the rack when there is not a lot of people around, when the gym is full and the racks are “prime real estate” then I will use the benches and go lighter. I am truly a man of the people.