I never set foot near a weight till 21... First thing I did was had a friend that had been training for neatly a decade and that was a trainer by profession go with me for two weeks and show me how to use every piece of equipment and spot me. It's just common sense to get help with an unfamiliar mechanical device, and sense to have help close when manipulating loads that are heavy though to kill/maim. Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. .
Really? Before you ever set foot into a weight room you had an old vet come and show you every piece of equipment and spot you for two weeks? Honestly, I applaud you, but no one else does that. They should, don't get me wrong, but that rarely happens. I think it should be noted that you were 21, thats pretty damn old to start lifting compared to the social norm of starting up around 16. I'm not trying to insult you at all by the way. You had more experience and understood the risks better than most KIDS who show up for they're first day of weight training.
Luckily my dad set me up with a personal trainer fairly early(14), a guy who made me go way too light. I think any ounce of muscle I gained during the two months with him was purely from puberty because he made lift next to no weight. However I learned gym etiquette from him, lessons that many kids my age still don't understand. Having said this, I can still remember having a 100 lbs. barbell, with plastic weights filled with compacted sand(thats what it felt like), sitting on my chest more than a few times. I was only 14 and had that been a smith machine I would have been royally screwed.
Ghetto, normally I would agree with the survival of the fittest perspective. About 95% of the time its the position I take on most issues like this. However, maybe I have a soft spot for rookies because I can't completely blame this kid for his actions. Very few people regard weight training as dangerous, expecially reckless teenagers(yes 19 is still a teenager). He had no idea about gym etiquette and I don't really think he should be held responsible for his actions. Hear me out, if I went to the gym and loaded up 405 on the smith machine, ignored the lack of safety spots, and then made an attempt and got my neck crushed in it would be 100% my fault. What about if a first time lifter did the same exact thing, can he really carry the same responsibility as someone who had been lifting his entire life.
Maybe it was a bad example, all I'm saying is maybe we shouldn't be too cynical.
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