Spotting, in weight or resistance training, is the act of supporting another person during a particular exercise, with an emphasis on allowing the participant to lift or push more than they could normally do safely.

Correct spotting involves knowing when to assist with a lift and encouraging a training partner to push beyond the point in which they would normally 'rack' (returning the weight to its stationary position) the weight.

Spotting relies on the placebo effect, whereby simply touching underneath a bar is enough to trick a person into believing that they are lifting a weight supported by their training partner which in turn may allow them to push one or two more repititions beyond which they were normally capable.

Some of the exercises where spotting is considered valuable include: Bench Press, where the spotter lifts the bar above the lifter as needed; Biceps Curls, where the spotter stands in front of the lifter pushing the bar upwards in the same range of motion as the curl; Lat Pulldown, where the spotter presses on the bar as it is pulled towards the body.

As a general rule to prevent injury and ensure safety spotters should have the strength to be able to control the weight should their training partners strength completely fail.

weight training