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Gym / Health Club Safety, How To Stay Safe In The Gym
Posted by
Bob
,
in
Beginners,
Bodybuilding,
Personal Training,
Powerlifting,
Strength Training
27 January 2012
·
314 views
gym safety exercise safety weight lifting safety
Have you ever seen someone accidentally step on a treadmill that was left on at full speed? How about an elderly person? Have you ever seen someone get crushed by a barbell full of weights while trying to bench press? Ever seen someone miss a squat and get crushed by the weights? How about someone getting trapped or their body parts getting crushed by an exercise machine? Many people talk about the how and why of strength training, but rarely do people mention the fact that many gym accidents are completely preventable with common sense.
About eight years ago I was working as a personal trainer at the YMCA in San Francisco, CA. During my shift on the floor, I noticed this one individual would leap off their treadmill while it was running a full speed to go to the water fountain. I told the floor manager about this and she told me “don’t worry about it; they do it all the time”. Not wanting to cause any drama since I was the “new guy”, I shrugged it off. As if it were some kind of premonition, a woman about 70 years young, listening to a Walkman (what we call ipods today) approached the machine a few hours later (I wouldn’t believe it myself if I weren’t there). Without any idea it was running at full speed she stepped on the machine and I am sure you can pretty much guess what happened next. This poor woman stepped on the platform, flipped head over heels and smacked her head against the machine and the machine then threw her off onto.
Needless to say, she was pretty banged up, her head cut open and pouring out blood. I ran over to help her immediately and was relieved when I see she was still alive. Not many 70 year old people can take such a blunt force to the head. We immediately rushed to the office with the manager who said it was fine and I explained what had happened and mentioned the fact that it could have been prevented if they had understood safety standards and enforced them. We patched up the lady and filled out an injury report. I gave the lady my contact information in case she needed me in the event of a lawsuit. This woman survived, but it could have been a lot worse, and gyms who demonstrate such negligence set themselves up for a major law suit.
Now if I had a penny for every time I see someone leave a treadmill running full speed while they jump off to do something, I would be a very rich person, and you would be amazed at how many gym owners do nothing about it. It’s a lawsuit waiting to happen, not to mention the fact that people can be hurt by such negligence! But there is more from the safety files.
Years ago I was at a WABDL powerlifting meet and the athletes were currently competing in the bench press. One of our team members was up on the platform and started to perform their bench, and as they approached lock out, the lifter ran out of steam and the bar fell. The bar nearly crushed the lifters skull, and the spotters saved his skull by only a fraction of an inch. Thankfully this lifter had professional spotters who saved this guy face, but what if this happened at your local gym. Do you think your local gym spotter would have pulled off such a save?
Of course not, I was at the gym when these two guys were trying to max out on the bench press. Like many spotters, this guy was completely not paying attention when his friend un-racked the barbell and started to lower it. The weight was far too much for this guy to lift, but his friend didn’t seem to notice because he was too busy staring around at everyone else when this guy dropped the weight onto his throat! Lucky for him a few trainers were paying attention and we ran over and removed the weight from his throat. He wasn’t seriously injured, but if he were alone, he could have been killed. But at least he would have only killed himself!
During another safety demonstration, I was at a Golds Gym with a few friends while we were lifting. The next thing we hear is weights crashing. We look over and some guy who loaded up the curl bar decided he would just forget the collars and I am sure you can guess what happened next. I am not sure if he had too much weight on one side or if the weight just shifted, but he lost the weights, one side the weight slipped off throwing the other weights all over the place. It could have easily slammed anyone standing close by, but luckily the guy was standing there by himself!
I hope you this drives home the point the fact that safety is very important when you are at the gym. If you think these are very rare and isolated occurrences, let me assure you that they happen far more than you realize. The good news is, most of the time you can prevent these accidents and stay safe by following a few guidelines listed below.
Tips for staying safe:
Always make sure any motorized exercise machine you approach is turned off. Do not listen to your ipod or other device until you verify this.
Always shut off any motorized exercise equipment when you are not immediately using it.
Always make sure you use a spotter during any exercise that can trap you under the bar or machine, and always pay attention when you are a spotter. I always keep my hands under the bar when spotting. Always tell your spotter what you want him/her to do and be specific. Do you want them to help you get the bar off the bench? Do you want them to help you get through your sticking point?
Use those collars when you perform exercises that need them. Example, any type of exercise where the weights may shift, such as squats, curls, etc. Those collars are there for a reason!
Never use a machine without first learning how to use it. Machines have many moving parts and it’s not common to get your fingers crushed in the machine. Make sure you put your hands on the handles!
Always un-rack your weights when you are done and make sure you put them back on the weight holders.
Keep your work out area clean and free of messes. Don’t leave your bags, clothes, etc. lying around where others may fall over them and get injured.
Never load of the bar with more weight than you can lift if you are just getting started. Slowly increase weight as you go.
Familiarize yourself with any machines you attempt to use before loading them weight weights.
Many of these items should be basic gym safety standards, but unfortunately most gym owners don’t seem to care about safety, so you have to take some proactive measures. If you have more safety suggestions, feel free to add your own to the comments.
About eight years ago I was working as a personal trainer at the YMCA in San Francisco, CA. During my shift on the floor, I noticed this one individual would leap off their treadmill while it was running a full speed to go to the water fountain. I told the floor manager about this and she told me “don’t worry about it; they do it all the time”. Not wanting to cause any drama since I was the “new guy”, I shrugged it off. As if it were some kind of premonition, a woman about 70 years young, listening to a Walkman (what we call ipods today) approached the machine a few hours later (I wouldn’t believe it myself if I weren’t there). Without any idea it was running at full speed she stepped on the machine and I am sure you can pretty much guess what happened next. This poor woman stepped on the platform, flipped head over heels and smacked her head against the machine and the machine then threw her off onto.
Needless to say, she was pretty banged up, her head cut open and pouring out blood. I ran over to help her immediately and was relieved when I see she was still alive. Not many 70 year old people can take such a blunt force to the head. We immediately rushed to the office with the manager who said it was fine and I explained what had happened and mentioned the fact that it could have been prevented if they had understood safety standards and enforced them. We patched up the lady and filled out an injury report. I gave the lady my contact information in case she needed me in the event of a lawsuit. This woman survived, but it could have been a lot worse, and gyms who demonstrate such negligence set themselves up for a major law suit.
Now if I had a penny for every time I see someone leave a treadmill running full speed while they jump off to do something, I would be a very rich person, and you would be amazed at how many gym owners do nothing about it. It’s a lawsuit waiting to happen, not to mention the fact that people can be hurt by such negligence! But there is more from the safety files.
Years ago I was at a WABDL powerlifting meet and the athletes were currently competing in the bench press. One of our team members was up on the platform and started to perform their bench, and as they approached lock out, the lifter ran out of steam and the bar fell. The bar nearly crushed the lifters skull, and the spotters saved his skull by only a fraction of an inch. Thankfully this lifter had professional spotters who saved this guy face, but what if this happened at your local gym. Do you think your local gym spotter would have pulled off such a save?
Of course not, I was at the gym when these two guys were trying to max out on the bench press. Like many spotters, this guy was completely not paying attention when his friend un-racked the barbell and started to lower it. The weight was far too much for this guy to lift, but his friend didn’t seem to notice because he was too busy staring around at everyone else when this guy dropped the weight onto his throat! Lucky for him a few trainers were paying attention and we ran over and removed the weight from his throat. He wasn’t seriously injured, but if he were alone, he could have been killed. But at least he would have only killed himself!
During another safety demonstration, I was at a Golds Gym with a few friends while we were lifting. The next thing we hear is weights crashing. We look over and some guy who loaded up the curl bar decided he would just forget the collars and I am sure you can guess what happened next. I am not sure if he had too much weight on one side or if the weight just shifted, but he lost the weights, one side the weight slipped off throwing the other weights all over the place. It could have easily slammed anyone standing close by, but luckily the guy was standing there by himself!
I hope you this drives home the point the fact that safety is very important when you are at the gym. If you think these are very rare and isolated occurrences, let me assure you that they happen far more than you realize. The good news is, most of the time you can prevent these accidents and stay safe by following a few guidelines listed below.
Tips for staying safe:
Always make sure any motorized exercise machine you approach is turned off. Do not listen to your ipod or other device until you verify this.
Always shut off any motorized exercise equipment when you are not immediately using it.
Always make sure you use a spotter during any exercise that can trap you under the bar or machine, and always pay attention when you are a spotter. I always keep my hands under the bar when spotting. Always tell your spotter what you want him/her to do and be specific. Do you want them to help you get the bar off the bench? Do you want them to help you get through your sticking point?
Use those collars when you perform exercises that need them. Example, any type of exercise where the weights may shift, such as squats, curls, etc. Those collars are there for a reason!
Never use a machine without first learning how to use it. Machines have many moving parts and it’s not common to get your fingers crushed in the machine. Make sure you put your hands on the handles!
Always un-rack your weights when you are done and make sure you put them back on the weight holders.
Keep your work out area clean and free of messes. Don’t leave your bags, clothes, etc. lying around where others may fall over them and get injured.
Never load of the bar with more weight than you can lift if you are just getting started. Slowly increase weight as you go.
Familiarize yourself with any machines you attempt to use before loading them weight weights.
Many of these items should be basic gym safety standards, but unfortunately most gym owners don’t seem to care about safety, so you have to take some proactive measures. If you have more safety suggestions, feel free to add your own to the comments.
