Don’t be a dumbbell, practice safe sets!

Collar up or not?  We all know the weight collar is the “clamp” that holds the weight plates to a barbell when lifting weights.  At any given time some use weight collars and some do not.  Personally I practice safe sets and collar up on all my exercises, dead lift, squats, bench press, bent over row, and military shoulder press for example.  Without weight collars the weights can slide and/or get spaced out and then you have a heavy and unbalanced weight load to deal with.  You know (….) happens and only take’s a moment’s inattention, someone walking past and bumping the bar, an old injury playing up and causing the weight to  drop out one side, could be anything really.  Honestly if you rack the weight after the particular rep that you feel like you’re starting to struggle you will never have the weight drop on you.  It’s not foolish to lift heavy without a spotter however pushing it is foolish attempting  to go for that last rep without a spotter.  Putting on the collars is not  time-consuming!  Put them on and remember to practice safe sets!

Fitastic Josh (Aka J-Lo)

Practice safe sets Shirt? – Get it HERE

Here are videos to the exercises mentioned in this article.

Deadlift

Squats

Bench Press

Bent over row

Military shoulder press