This is going to be a short write-up. Take a look at the video. It is a series of clips which show various mishaps that took place while lifting weights. Some are funny, but some so painful I swear you’ll feel the pain yourself! There’s no blood and gore, so be brave.
OUCH.
Some facts on weight training injuries:
1. The International Weightlifting Federation recently reported an injury rate of the spine of 8%. This is amazing low considering the loads that some powerlifting athletes lift and the frequency in which they train with these weights.
2. Weightlifting has a lower incidence of injury than recreational lifting, tennis, track & field, and many other popular sports. Weightlifters have been shown to suffer an injury every 166,000 hours of training. Pretty good considering that these athletes are sometimmes lifting twice their bodyweight!
So, what causes these injuries/mishaps?
Often, it’s poor technique, improper footwear, collisions with the bar, failure to properly warm-up, barbell or platform defects. Also, sometimes the tendency of injury can be higher when the athlete attempts to perform beyond his capabilities.
See my post Strict Form vs Weights.
Injuries also have a high tendency to occur if the athlete returns to training not fully recovered from previous workouts, poor coaching, and sometimes the loss of concentration during training (this is why I sometimes get annoyed at my gym when people treat it like some sort of social/party place and even throw birthday parties in the gym!! ) See my post Things that irritate me at my Gym to understand what I mean.
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This post was written by...
Noel Chelliah, ACE-CPT, ACE-LWMC, has been recognized as one of the Top Transformation Experts in Malaysia. No stranger to being overweight himself, Noel has gone through a life-changing transformation himself, from fat, to fit. In 2010, Noel founded the DailyMuscle Body Transformation Camp, which today helps hundreds of individuals exercise and practice healthier habits. In his spare time, Noel serves the community with various programs that promote a healthier lifestyle, and enjoys playing with his dogs.
My name is Noel Chelliah, and I’m a Transformation Specialist and founder of the 
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
tell me about it.. i suffered injury to my lower back.. just too heavy a weight while bench pressing and i didnt have a spotter.. :( just couldn’t push the weight back up .. now i’m seeing a chiropractor.. a very very expensive lesson and i’m out of commission for 2 weeks….
eksk… OUCH, that seems bad.
Yea I too just started on the bench press recently and it is quite challenging as compared to doing it on machine or the SMITHS.
It is hazardous wihtout a spotter *sigh* but the SMITH seem erm… different? the weight is kinda not “there”
Yeah man… love the video clip! Freaking hilarious!!! Im a sadistic machoistic pig I know but hell that was what you call entertainment.
Yeah ive seen real life encounters in the gyms before, bloody faces a dislocated shoulder, etc, and they werent as funny. It mostly results from people whose got gold in their mouths. You know why, coz if they were to ask for assistance, the pot of gold in their mouth would spill out and they would rather get busted by an olympic bar than to ask for assistance. Im a friendly face in the gym but i sure hell cant read your mind. Ask for assistance if you need to.
ive met many monsters throughtout my stays, at you name it, community gyms, harcore gyms or even fitness centers and they all dun travel with their goldmine in their mouths. They will ask for help; even if its psychological; like simply being there or putting my hand on the bar.
Yeah once you think youre ready for the real deal, move from the smith machines to the real benches be it for your squats or bench presses. Get used to the motion and happy loading!
You’ll return home a with a freakin brand new taste of sore.
I gurantee it!
hoho nice video clip. I see mostly, the injury is caused when using the barbell right. Those things seems so heavy. Never try it though.
eksk: hope you get well soon.
steveneleven: the free weights, smiths, and the machines all have their own advantages. I often incorporate all of them once in a while for added variety.
Jay: yeah, people gotta learn to leave their ego outside the gym before they enter.
surfnux: try it then.. but remember to ask for help if you’re not sure what to do. ;)
LOL……some of them is funny as hell.