Student, 21, died after he ‘slipped using weight machine at gym and dropped 65kg bar on his head’

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/34077339/student-dies-gym-weight-accident/

by Forward-Answer-4407

23 comments

  1. Hadn’t followed safety guidelines and set the safety stops from low to high, tragic but an accident.

  2. Bloody hell, poor guy. Not a nice way to go at all.

  3. >An inquest heard a safety feature on the machine was a set of adjustable stops, which “should be set to the highest position possible” to stop the weight bar.

    >But these had been left in the “very lowest position” from a person who had used the machine before Mohammed.

    So their fault, although it’s a strange setup, the’re probably aren’t many deaths with this setup.

  4. This was a story last October. Why’s it in the news again?

  5. I’ve seen a couple of lads do this at the gym I go to, and I always think it looks dicey. Those plastic aerobic steps do not look stable when I’ve seen them used this way, you can see them flexing and rocking on the floor.

  6. Training for an ironman event, aspiring to be a doctor, sounds like the poor guy was living life to the fullest. Real shame.

  7. Saw this on FB and the amount of racist comments was insane.

  8. Not to be that person, but why did the SUN intentionally used that picture?

  9. It’s tragic but a stretch to say that this was other people’s fault. Using any gym equipment, it’s your responsibility to use it safely. Those plastic blocks are very unstable

  10. Tragic, hopefully the end of the inquest can at least bring some peace to his family but horrible situation regardless.

  11. Damn this gym had like three doctors there at the same time. What a rough way to go though and sounds like he’d know what he’s doing if he’s training for Ironman.

  12. 65KG is relatively light for a Smith machine in what I assume was being held in a squat position. If I were squatting I’d have the stops on, although the Smith machine generally rotates, and I often have trouble getting it not to auto rotate and accidently lock on.

    For calf raises, I also probably wouldn’t have bothered with the stops. I think it’s an unfortunate accident, but I guess awareness should be raised that accidents such as slipping can happen.

  13. TIL that there are safety bar options on the Smith machine, genuinely never seen them or seen anyone use them. Poor lad.

  14. Wait so the bar basically slammed the guys head on the ground? I don’t see how you can drop it on your head doing calf raises.

  15. I am struggling to picture exactly what happened – did it force him down pinning him down by the neck? Isnt there enough clearance between the bar and where the 20kg plates would touch the floor so that his neck wasn’t trapped? Or did the bar itself literally come smashing down directly on his head?

    Awful stuff, either way

  16. The Smith machine always seems to cause way more injuries and deaths than a regular power rack

  17. And there the danger with free weights and why I personally use weights machines

  19. Everyone who thinks the Smith machine is inherently safer than a regular bar, read this.

  21. >The 21-year-old had been using an aerobic step to perform calf raises while on a piece of weight-lifting equipment called a Smith machine

    people always doing too much in the gym.

    Just do normal calf raises like 99% of people…

    Still, never thought someone could die from doing too much in the gym

    I mean…you can just hold some dumbbells and do calf raises… you don’t need to have a 65kg loaded smith machine above your head to do calf raises….

    Or just use a normal barbell….

    Or ….

    Don’t be doing stepups on a wobbly moveable step with a 65kg barbell over your head?

    Seems kinda dangerous if you ask me, I wouldn’t do that but I did do 60kg calf raises a few days ago with just a normal barbell…

    At a certain point people just complicate exercises to the point it can kill you.

    If you can’t pick up two 30kg dumbells and do calf raises you don’t need to be doing 65kg stepup calf raises…

    Smith machine sucks anyways no normal person moves the barbell up and down in a 100% straight line on most exercises

  22. I lost balance once whilst squatting 90kg… fell teeth first into a metal bar with 90kg across my shoulders … somehow walked away with only minor nerve damage to my mouth. This post makes me feel lucky to have had such a fortunate outcome

  23. Not the same but I had a guy next to me at the gym doing squats without clipping on his weights, he stumbled and they slid off and hit me in the head. Fortunately I dipped out the way quick enough it was just a little dink but if I hadn’t noticed what was about to happen I worry about how dangerous this could’ve been. This poor bloke what an awful tragedy. Be safe at the gym!

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