This is a much more serious post than in week past. (mostly) If you haven’t heard already, Stafon Johnson, the starting running back for USC, was seriously injured this week in a weightlifting accident. When he was bench pressing 275lbs the bar slipped out of his hands and fell directly onto his throat. He had emergency surgery and is going to recover just fine physically, however he may never be able to speak again. The reason I bring up this somber story is because of the often overlooked dangers that can occur while working out. What happened to Stafon was a freak accident. He had an assistant strength and conditioning coach spotting him, he is an elite level athlete with great strength and he has been working out safely and properly for years. We…are not. Ahead I will explain little things that you can do while working out on your own, that will keep you safe.
The irony in this post was that I was going to do a safety one with some funny stories of people getting hurt in the gym being idiots and what you can do to avoid them. I will still throw in some humor but I can’t stress enough how scary Stafon’s story is, for me, as a fitness professional. When doing bench press please, please, use a spotter. If the spotter hadn’t been there to lift the bar off of Stafon’s throat he most certainly had more damage or possibly have died. Now spotters aren’t just there for pulling a bar off of someone’s throat, they are there to do their best to keep it off of your throat. From what I have read, in Stafon’s case he had the bar in his grip during the lift-off but it wasn’t exact. In that split second the spotter assisted him in lifting the bar off, to when he let go, it slipped out of Stafon’s right hand. Tragic, yet possibly preventable.
Something that I do while spotting for bench, (because of these possible close calls) is hold onto the bar (or dumbbells) until I feel my strength on the weights isn’t the prime force and get a verbal confirmation. Even then I wait a split second longer until the peron lifting pulls the weight out of my hands. There is so much risk with bench exercises during the lift I make sure people keep the weight exactly over the chest for their safety. Some of you have heard my rule, “keep it over the chest, not the face. Just think of where you would like to drop the weight on you out of those two”. I have yet to have anyone choose ”face”. If you absolutely have to do bench press and you don’t have a spotter, use lighter weight and ignore the rule of clamping your weights. This way if you drop the bar or can’t get it off of your chest you can tilt the bar and dump the weights on the floor. I would rather look like and idiot who dropped his bench weights than an idiot with a crushed sternum or being scalped.
If you working out with someone using dumbbells on a bench remember these two things…First, the area around you (approx. 3 feet in each direction) is free of anyone or other weights. In general, weightlifters are stupid. Look at some of the most proficient gym rats, brains are not their strong suits. With that said, they could roll/throw/drop a dumbbell into your area and either you or your lifter could end up dropping your weights onto another set smashing your hand. Not fun. Secondly, when spotting someone while they lift dumbbells, spot them from the wrists or the dumbbell itself, NOT the elbows. I don’t know what rocket scientist came up with this but they obviously failed physics. If you push the elbows up while they are out at a 90 degree angle the hands will come in with the extra weight. Since your shoulder has very little leverage from this position where do you think those hands go? Yup, right on the face, extra weight and all.
Squats and dead-lifts can be the greatest leg exercisies and the greatest back-blowing exercises. It just depends if you do them safely or not. With both leg exercises you need to remember this very important piece of advice…actually use your legs when doing them. Amazing information, I know. You would be surprised on how many people think bending over at the waist is great for a leg lift. “Bend your knees, lift with ease” QFC 1996. I was a bag boy and I saw this sign in the back. I thought it was so stupid. Who actually just leans over and tries to lift something heavy? Well, I found out then and it still holds true now…most everyone but myself! If your sitting at a chair right now I want you to try something…move to the edge of your seat, put your feet shoulder width apart (your shoulders, not a pro wrestler’s) have your knees a little less than 90 degrees and stand up with your back straight, putting all the weight in your heels. If you couldn’t do it without falling back into your chair you have poor leg mechanics and don’t squat properly. You over-compensate by changing the center of balance on your body causing your weight to shift to your toes and all of the force into your knees and lower back. I can tell that from my computer because I’m that good…and because it is so common. Add weight to this whole “exercise” and you have a recipe for injuring yourself. Practice the move I just explained until you can do 15-25 of them continuously without stopping. Once you can do that your mechanics have improved and you can add weight. Smart and safe.
Check the equipment before you use it. Most gyms check their equipment for safety, just not frequently enough. Dumbbells can become loose, especially the ones with the weight plates at the end. If they do have the plates and little “hex” bolts at the end to keep them in place make sure they don’t rattle or clang together. If they do put it on the gym floor and see if you can rotate it like a steering wheel. If you can and it doesn’t tighten, don’t use it and tell someone who works there. The weight could come apart in your hand and there is that weight-in-the-face thing again. Cable equipment breaks the most frequently because of the weight slamming force applied by those who do too much. This causes the cables to weaken and break during use. Nowadays companies use protective sheaths and “stoppers” to make sure the cable doesn’t fray and cut you if it breaks (the fact they didn’t make them this way until recently is ridiculous) but you still could fall or wrench an arm if the cable was to break. Check out the cable and if you see any fraying in the protective sheath or at an attachment site, go and tell the staff. Don’t use it because it could go at any time and it would really put a damper in your day if it happened to you.
The most important gym rule I can tell you is this…make the weight challenging, yet manageable. The easiest way to get hurt in a gym is to put your ego in front of your brain. (if you’ve been to a gym before this is VERY common) Limit-maxing workouts (ie: 1 repetition maximum lifts like bench, crossfit, I hate what crossfit has done to the industry by the way. It’s the pedulum swing from Curves and it will run its course, but I can’t stand them in the meantime. ugh) are the easiest way to hurt yourself. Since very few of us are powerlifting competitors, trying out for an NFL team, bat-sh*t crazy, etc. why do we want to lift like we are? Push yourself to the limit but stop short of injuring yourself. To say “I did it” is just dumb if you now have a hernia. Have your workouts be beneficial, not bragable. (i just made that word up, roll with it…)
Well there you have it everyone. “Work out smarter not harder” applies to the exercises as well as the equipment. In all seriousness, this job can be very dangerous for both trainer and client if it isn’t done properly and safely. I know you’re fine in here, just be as careful as you can on your own. Have a great week everyone and an even better weekend! Get your butts in the gym and be safe!
Erik Hroncich, NSCA-CPT
www.edgepersonaltraining.net
