Watching someone do dangerous work out every other day

AmyZ46

I work away from home and our camp has a small gym that we work out in .There is soemtimes only myself and a 20 something y/o guy that are working out - me doing cardio and he lifting weights .

He has terrible form and in my uneducated opinion , lifts far too heavy weights for his strength and I have mentioned it to a friend of mine . I am afraid that he will hurt himself if he is alone in there ..

We have a machine I think it is a nautalus machine . it has these pully type things that the weight bar is connected to and it also has the brackets that you put the bar on . sorry if I do not know the names of these things I am very new to lifting like 3 weeks new ...

anyhow if you turn the weight bar it can catch the peg to save you is what I imagine it's for ?

pic of the machine , with the weights I lift lol ( I know, I said I'm new to it )



Well he was lifting ( bench press) 2 big weights that I think at 45 pounds each on each side plus two smaller ones that I think were 25 pounds each on each side plus the bar and his bench was slanted upside down ,with his head lower than his body . He makes it like this by putting two weights and a piece of metal under the bottom part of the bench .
He lifts every other day very heavy ,very low reps . which he always looks like he is going to drop them but evening before last OMG he couldn't lift it back up , his legs were up in the air flailing like in the air, I started to go towards him to try and help when he finally was able to turn the bar a little and place the peg into the side that holds the bar .... I freaked out because I could not have lifted it off of him and being upside down like that it may have strangled him .


As you can tell by my description I have no knowledge nor right to tell him how to lift ...but it just makes me nervous every time I see him lift ...What would you do .

GBrady43068

Perhaps mention it to the staff privately?

Presumably they have a vested interest in avoiding injury/financial liability at the gym and they can take it upon themselves to watch the guy more closely and bring it up. That would keep you from doing the dirty work and risking having him mad at you individually. Plus the guy is less likely to take it as someone else thinking they "know it all" about form than when a trainer type from the gym mentions it.

SpecialSundae

Nominate him for a Darwin Award?

RedHotHunter

That is a legit lift known as a decline press. However, most gyms have a specific bench for it and dont expect people to rig it up like it seems he did. If legs are flailing, then he might need a spotter, but he's gotta make that decision himself.

CyberEd312

He is 20 something and probably has the whole invincible mentality and is going to do it his way regardless. So I would just mention it to the staff if they deem it dangerous and a possible risk to there liability insurance than let them be the ones to say something.... Best of Luck

sarahrbraun

I work away from home and our camp has a small gym that we work out in .There is soemtimes only myself and a 20 something y/o guy that are working out - me doing cardio and he lifting weights .

He has terrible form and in my uneducated opinion , lifts far too heavy weights for his strength and I have mentioned it to a friend of mine . I am afraid that he will hurt himself if he is alone in there ..

We have a machine I think it is a nautalus machine . it has these pully type things that the weight bar is connected to and it also has the brackets that you put the bar on . sorry if I do not know the names of these things I am very new to lifting like 3 weeks new ...

anyhow if you turn the weight bar it can catch the peg to save you is what I imagine it's for ?

pic of the machine , with the weights I lift lol ( I know, I said I'm new to it )



Well he was lifting ( bench press) 2 big weights that I think at 45 pounds each on each side plus two smaller ones that I think were 25 pounds each on each side plus the bar and his bench was slanted upside down ,with his head lower than his body . He makes it like this by putting two weights and a piece of metal under the bottom part of the bench .
He lifts every other day very heavy ,very low reps . which he always looks like he is going to drop them but evening before last OMG he couldn't lift it back up , his legs were up in the air flailing like in the air, I started to go towards him to try and help when he finally was able to turn the bar a little and place the peg into the side that holds the bar .... I freaked out because I could not have lifted it off of him and being upside down like that it may have strangled him .


As you can tell by my description I have no knowledge nor right to tell him how to lift ...but it just makes me nervous every time I see him lift ...What would you do .

Honestly, it doesn't sound like he is lifting too much at all. I can't find the specs on the bar weight, but I doubt it weighs more than 20lbs. I personally can squat the 140lbs that you think he has on there.

When I am in the gym, I see guys benching over 200lbs without a spotter ( someone to catch the weight if they fail). They turn red in the face and grunt, but they always manage to get it back on the pins

ETA: as previous posters have mentioned, mention to the staff that you are worried he is going to hurt himself. They may be able to reassure you AND keep a closer eye on him.

cats847

He is an adult human being, and has the right to his own exercise methods, even if they seem unorthodox or strange.

For example, I wouldn't want somebody coming up to me and telling me that I'm lifting too much and they're worried about my safety...unless it's my mom, in which case, I would just hope my mom never sees how much I lift

I understand that you have good intentions, but in this case I would just let it go.