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Ever asked a stranger to 'spot' you?

The guy from squat rack next to me breached my 1.5m 'covid-safe-space'... ... “Yeah mate?” I asked looking like a deer in headlights…

“Can you spot me on the bench press”, he asked…

"Ah yeh, sure", I said.

He added another plate to the bar, and casually mentioned "Its my first time benching"... Look, It was a Sunday and my PT/coach hat was off… but I couldn’t ignore the alarm bells sounding in my mind!

Without crushing his spirit… I convinced him to drop the weight from 80kg to 70kg. He likely didn't weigh more than 80kg himself.

“I’m only going to spot if you need it, otherwise it’s all you”, I said.

“Ahh.. ok…”, he replied while laying on the bench.

Without warning, he un-racked. The bar dropped too fast and away from his chest... And a light adrenaline kick prepared me to react.

As he tried to press up, he hit the sticking point. His arms and chest started giving in... heading for a 70kg bar to guillotine his stomach.

I pounced forward, trying NOT to ‘tea bag’ him (swipe my ‘fam jewels’ over his face) to rip the bar back and up on the rack...

Phew... was a close one.

Unsure what he was thinking, I kindly offered up some tips... but he didn't look interested. All good. I’m sure he learnt something new… like one-rep-max benching on day one is not a good idea (I hope).

Part of me (the ego) wanted to verbal vomit “knowledge” at him… but another part told me to "Zip it!"... He didn’t ask for tips or advice, only a spot. He went on to do a long list of other exercises… and he's likely feeling all kinds of unnecessary soreness today (serious overkill).

Was a good reminder that, no matter where or when you start... to ask for tips or feedback from someone who's actually ‘done’ what you want to do is the best way to reduce your risk.

Like with business or anything, reducing risk has always been a wise move. And It’s a win-win situation… you learn, and the other person likely enjoys being able to help.

Question for you to ponder...

What can you do to reduce the risk of you 'not' achieving your health and fitness in 2021?