Training with a buddy has many perks. One of the key benefits – you have someone to spot you and ensure your safety and peace of mind.
But given the times, and with regulations in place regarding maintaining a safe distance from others, gym-goers are looking for ways to change their workouts to ensure personal safety while limiting close contact with others.
To help ease your mind, here are some pointers for solo weight training:
Choose safe movements
There are certain exercises you probably shouldn’t be doing alone. For example, heavy squats or doing your max bench press. There’s a time and a place for these challenging moves, but your safety should be your first priority.
That means, exercise choice is key.
You don’t have to sacrifice your weight training routine or results – selecting the machine or cable version of your favorite free weight exercise can add that sense of security while still getting the benefits of working large muscles.
Use dumbbells
Dumbbells are an extremely versatile piece of equipment, and they minimize risk when training alone.
Bench pressing with dumbbells as opposed to a loaded barbell is safer without a spotter as the weight could fall by your side rather than on your chest. The same goes for overhead pressing – using dumbbells is a safer option than doing an overhead Olympic barbell press.
In addition to this, dumbbells come in different weight options and can be used for a variety of exercises.
Here are a few workouts we created that use dumbbells:
For more information on working out with dumbbells, check out this article, ‘Working out with dumbbells is smart.’
Avoid training to failure
Whether you’re training with dumbbells, barbells or something else, realize that anything can be dangerous if it’s not used properly or with the right intensity.
Training to failure implies your form will fail. At the end of a set, your muscles won’t have the ability to perform anymore, meaning you won’t physically be able to lift any more weight.
When training solo, training to failure with heavy weights in exercises that can put you in a compromising position is something you want to avoid.
Instead, use an intensity scale and work at an RPE of say 8/10 instead of 10/10 but aim to move the weight faster. If you move the same weight faster, you've gotten stronger.
High reps, low weight
Consider using lighter weights and high reps. Grinding out sets of 3 with a very heavy weight, suspended directly over you, isn’t the best idea when training solo. Performing the same exercise with a much lighter weight for sets of 15 will wake up muscle fibres that maybe haven’t been used in a while without compromising your safety.
It’s not only about picking safe exercises; it’s about choosing your sets and reps wisely and crafting a strategic plan that will get you the results you want while remaining safe.
Use a rack with safeties
If dumbbells aren’t cutting it, and you want to add a barbell to your workout, you can still do so safely.
Many squat racks at GoodLife can be adjusted to act as a spotter for a variety of lifts. The safety straps, pins or bars on either side of the cage can serve as a spotter in a variety of exercises. Most commonly, these safety spotting techniques can be used while performing a barbell bench press or back squat.
Lifting inside the rack with safety measures in place, you can perform larger barbell lifts that would normally require another individual to provide a spot.