Lifter Killed Bench Pressing

[matthewk04]

I never use a spotter under 400 lbs and I'm trying to get off the suicide grip but it's hard. Def gunna be me hungover one day... Haha @IronCore cold blooded worried about those premiums. All gyms being pf's is my nightmare though.

 

[hawkeye]

So sad, but it's ironic timing as my buddy who just blew both his knees in a meet in Des Moines a few months ago had to back off training obviously. So, his bench partner was benching alone two weeks ago at a crappy commercial gym instead of my friends studio using a thumbless grip and dropped 440 on his chest. He broke six ribs and three of thouse in half!

Issue again, was inexperienced spotting, thumbless grip and let's bot forget the elephant in the room...ego.

Hawk

I was at the meet your buddy blew his knees out. The gym I train at took up a collection for him. Truly a good dude. I felt really bad for him. Hope his recovery is going well. Nice family. Felt horrible what happened. I didn't see the squat, but heard it was pretty nasty.

 

[hawkeye]

The bar should fall on the chest not on the neck. Cause of of that J Hook on the rouge bank... ve to Google that

Yes, he was unracking it when it slipped from his hands and fell from the top. I'm imagining with no lift off and being fully extended at the top of the lift, and likely had the bar set just a bit high contributed to the unfortunate event along with the thumbless grip. What really sucks is the liability of the lack of supervision and spotting in this group type of training. Furthermore, side spotting could have potentially helped. My buddy who knows the owners has implemented "face savers" on his benches at the gym I train at. Sad deal.

 

[hawkeye]

thats is terrible... and if we continue to see cases like this grow insurance rates will go up for gyms and the only thing we will have left is a smith machine like Planet Fitness... be careful guys!

Agreed. And I don't think the kid's family is the type to file lawsuits but the insurance will go after the establishment. The family will be forced be a party to that whether they like it or not.

 

[IronCore]

I never use a spotter under 400 lbs and I'm trying to get off the suicide grip but it's hard. Def gunna be me hungover one day... Haha @IronCore cold blooded worried about those premiums. All gyms being pf's is my nightmare though.

you really need to change that grip... i had to several y years ago. Im like you... I dont get a spot under 4 hundo or unless I plan to rep 3somthing for a lot of reps... I also dont put clasps on the bar JUST in case I have to dump the weight... I wasnt really trying to be cold... I know it sounded that way, unfortunately thats just the way this goes... and I share the samre night mare... I HATE PF...

 

[chicken_hawk]

I was at the meet your buddy blew his knees out. The gym I train at took up a collection for him. Truly a good dude. I felt really bad for him. Hope his recovery is going well. Nice family. Felt horrible what happened. I didn't see the squat, but heard it was pretty nasty.

Well, I talked to him yesterday and he has 30° of ROM and was cleared to drive so he was stoked. Each week they will give him a bit more. Thanks for the collection btw, more than anything his spirits were uplifted by the outpouring of support he recieved from the PLing community. Even the day of I saw so many lifters do whetever they could to help.

Hawk

 

[Rider]

This is such a shame to hear.

 

[biguglynewf]

I lost 185 on a warmup close grip press a few years ago using a thumbless grip. Sweaty hands, tried to readjust without racking because I didn't respect the weight. Flipped in my hands if that makes sense....slipped out of the palms and landed accross my chest. Two kids were watching and asked me if I was ok....embarrassment and ego got me through the workout.

Didn't go to the hospital, but I guarantee I had some broken ribs as I've been so lucky as to experience that wonderfulness more than once before.

I consider myself lucky though. Although embarrassed and injured, the weight wasn't enough to cause a significant injury...that time anyway.

I definitely learned to respect weight that day....even those that I considered light or warm up.

Sad for this kid. One stupid mistake. One that I have certainly made. I know I've used a false grip at more than 3 plates on a bench press. Damn shame.

 

[hawkeye]

Hopefully, this will be a wake up call for people who train to train accordingly. It will also be a wake up for trainers as well. With a likely lawsuit pending, liability for trainers and gyms will go up due insurance and etc. Putting "face savers" and using proper technique and side spotters will be something trainers and gyms will have to be diligent about. From some of the people who witnessed this event, it will definitely leave an image one someone won't forget. Having 315 almost completely decapitate a person isn't something anyone should see. It's a sad event. Preventable? Yes. Unfortunately, he paid the full sacrifice, but family and those in the fitness industry may very well pay for this incident for years to come.

 

[porky little keg]

It's a craps shoot depending on where the bar lands.... there was a kid benching in the 4s in Russia a few yeas ago who died like this too. The bar just hit the wrong spot, he walked off the platform and died.

At the same time, I've seen a buddy lose a ~950 bench while trying to touch and have it land on his belly, only to come back and take the weight again on his next attempt ( and get it)
Robert Vick ( the chicago lifter, not football player) had an 859 bench come out of his hands at lockout this year. He's a big guy but the spotters didn't touch it before it fell the foot+ to his belly and crushed him.... walked away just fine.
A teammate of mine lost a 700ish bench over his face and luckily it hit the face-savers before him at the APF state meet 2 years ago... spotters just stared in amazement.
Another teammate lost a 600+ over his face, but it somehow fell between the face savers and the bench, about 1/4" away from scalping him.

Shit happens when you party hard.