That must have hurt! Epic weightlifting fail that shows how NOT to lift weights goes viral [Video]

by Terresa Monroe-Hamilton | October 24, 2014 11:55 am

Forget ‘hurt’… this is the kind of experience that can end in death. The weights could have easily crushed his neck and there would be no do-over. Yes folks, that was 352 pounds that landed on his throat. That could leave you more than speechless, it could leave you squished and on your way to the afterlife[1].

From the Daily Mail[2]:

A video circulating online shows how careful you need to be when attempting to bench press solo.

It shows a man get hopelessly trapped beneath a heavily weighted barbell that nearly chokes him to death before he’s able to escape.

The clip, which has spread across the online fitness community and beyond, has been held up as a warning of the dangers of dodgy equipment after the bench’s badly designed safety bars fail to catch the falling weight.

[…]

The video begins with a man in a gym lying back on a bench. Above him an Olympic-grade barbell is racked and loaded with a rather hefty 140kg worth of plates.

That’s about the weight of two large-ish grown men. But he obviously feels he is safe to lift it as long as he has the safety bars on the weight rack to fall back on.

This guy is one lucky fellow. The fact that somehow he managed to get out from underneath all that weight was impressive. The whole thing makes you cringe and wince. That is one weightlifter counting his blessings today and I wager he will invest in safer, sturdier equipment henceforth and a spotter. The video has been viewed over 400,000 times and is being used by trainers as a warning to weightlifters everywhere. You get what you pay for.