Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below Like Charles said, there's lots of blame to pass around on this one. The gym gets blamed for no one manning the floor to keep watch, we can't comment on anything else because maybe the kid was shown the different equipment and how to use it before. As sad as this is, the kid (bless him) also has to get some share of the blame because if the stops are available he should have set them before getting on the machine. If the stops aren't on the machine then I hope that gym has good insurance because they're going to get their pants sued off them. On the other hand, if it was a freak accident (like a heart attack) then that's just entirely tragic on its own.
Killed at the gym
- Thread starter mryar
- Start date
I hear its pretty common around my state (vermont) and upstate NY for people to workout by themselves at a gym. We've got a couple of larger gyms that get packed, but there's quite a few mom and pops gyms out there where customers will develop a relationship with the owner, get a key, and go in and use the gym by themselves. The 6 guys that lift here at work all say they lift alone fairly often (either at home or an empty gym). They all had a story to tell about how they've had to dump the weight before.
Of all the ways to go.... very sad
Of all the ways to go.... very sad
miked8c
New member
In its own regard the Smith Machine is one stupid ass piece of equipment. The bar follows an unnatural path of motion by going in a perfectly straight line. Seriusly whos idea was it to attach an olympic bar to a metal track and call it a machine. I had to use one recently because the gym I was at lacked free oly bars, I did one set out of curiosity and opted for DBs for the remainder of two months I used that gym.
Having said that, you need to be pretty inexperienced to die lifting weights. However, someone who was inexperienced probably would not be putting up 225 lbs. on the bench unless they were so new to the lifting game that they didn't realize how much weight that really is(225 does not really look that heavy just sitting there on the bar). This is my conclusion, it was one of the first time this kid really lifted and he just threw on a weight that looked right and got under the smith machine, not realizing how it worked. Like 250rider said, once you get under that machine, lacking the safety stops, it is essentially an execution machine if the weight is too much to handle. Panic sets in and instead of trying to wedge yourself out from under it you try to push the weight harder, which obviously didn't work out for this kid.
Stupid ass machine, not the gym owners fault though.
Having said that, you need to be pretty inexperienced to die lifting weights. However, someone who was inexperienced probably would not be putting up 225 lbs. on the bench unless they were so new to the lifting game that they didn't realize how much weight that really is(225 does not really look that heavy just sitting there on the bar). This is my conclusion, it was one of the first time this kid really lifted and he just threw on a weight that looked right and got under the smith machine, not realizing how it worked. Like 250rider said, once you get under that machine, lacking the safety stops, it is essentially an execution machine if the weight is too much to handle. Panic sets in and instead of trying to wedge yourself out from under it you try to push the weight harder, which obviously didn't work out for this kid.
Stupid ass machine, not the gym owners fault though.
very sad...
this is why i work my core lifts, deads and squats...
when i miss a heavy bench i can just roll it down and sit up and stand with it...
That's very possible. My friend said the weight looked like a lot for this kid. I'll post the results of the autopsy when i hear. I'm not sure how much I should post but I guess i can edit it later, since the investigation is still ongoing. My buddy said he was probably just going to stop by the gym this afternoon on his way home, thinking the investigators might still be on scene. I talked to my buddy again and I was a little off on a couple of the details in my OP but here's the complete story. i'll edit if site thinks I shouldn't discuss this
The gym is in two rooms, one has the cardio (eliptical, bikes etc) the other has the weights and machines. The lady stepped out at 4pm to go to her house to get something. She says right about when the kid got there she left, not sure if she spoke to him or where they met but he went in to do his lifting. When my buddy got there at 4:10 he thought he was alone because he didn't hear anything and started warming up with cardio in the cardio room. A short bit later someone else came in to start lifting and found the kid, went over to him and by the time my buddy got there he had the bar off him. My friend said he had done the same exercise in that machine the day before using the safety catches.
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