A sad warning about knowing your limits and having a spotter...

Alatariel75
Alatariel75 Posts: 18,370 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
http://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/teen-ben-shaw-fighting-for-life-after-weightlifting-mishap-at-gym-in-brisbanes-north/news-story/007d4e9dd79a9f4693f8b6df5763e962

15 year old boy on life support after benching 50% more than his bodyweight without a spotter and losing control of the barbell...

Replies

  • Dmunyan2693
    Dmunyan2693 Posts: 31 Member
    Sad
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    i think that's a lot of people's nightmare.
  • Karen_can_do_this
    Karen_can_do_this Posts: 1,150 Member
    Poor kid. Most PCYC's have a staff member on at all times especially when someone under 18 is working out. (The Aussie PCYC is similar to the American YMCA I think)
    My thoughts and prayers are with his family and him and the staff at that facility.
  • richardpkennedy1
    richardpkennedy1 Posts: 1,890 Member
    Hope he recovers. I'm about the same weight as he is and I wouldn't attempt anything over my bodyweight without a spotter.
  • x_stephisaur_x
    x_stephisaur_x Posts: 149 Member
    Oh my goodness how awful!

    What was he even doing in a gym though? He plays for the Under 15s side. I don't know about Aus, but here in the UK gym memberships are for over 18s only unless you attend with a parent (and even those you generally aren't allowed in the proper gym bit, just for classes and stuff)

    I hope he recovers <3
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    When benching alone, it's recommended to NOT use any plate collars so that you can try to slide the plates off the bar to save yourself from injury but I don't think that this tip is fool proof because, if you're spent, you may not have enough strength left to lift the bar high and long enough to one side to allow 1/2 of plates to fall off and then get the rest of the bar and plates off of you.

    So, if you're going to bench alone, I think it's always best to do it in a power rack w/the safety bar set just above the throat. That's how I have my rack at home setup when I bench (always alone) and this has saved me on more than one occasion. Even when the bar fell to my chest, I still had enough strength to push it back towards my face and onto the safety bar w/o strangling myself to death.

    Thank goodness!
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,370 Member
    Sadly, the young man has passed away.

    http://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/boy-dies-after-horrific-incident-at-pcyc-gym-north-of-brisbane/news-story/7805d8a3d60880f0086ec4694921bd10
  • youngmomtaz
    youngmomtaz Posts: 1,075 Member
    So sad. And I teach people benching by themselves at our(unsupervised, unstaffed) gym to use the rack when they bench. Many just never think of it.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    What a terrible loss for the family and his friends. This is so sad. I'll be testing the height of my safety bars tomorrow.
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