Not every lift can be a perfect one.
Sadly, many of us will face at least one or two gym-related injuries during the course of our lifetimes. This video from Julius Maddox really reinforces why it’s important for us to always use spotters in the gym, even we’re sure we’re going to succeed. Accidents can happen in the gym any time and they can happen fast. Check out the video below as Julius Maddox is forced to re-rack a 740 lb. double bench press and ends up tweaking his back.
Ouch! The powerlifter struggled with the weight and ended up needed help from not one but all of his spotters after it threatened to overwhelm him. This is a great instructional video for those of us wondering how these things end up happening in the gym. From the start, he looks uncomfortable and is moving around on the bench a lot. This is a sign that he was off-balance or that the machine was not properly calibrated. It’s extremely important to be at the center of the machine when lifting this much weight — imagine how it would feel to lift and have the weights slide to one side. This is an extremely common problem for lifters, so you should always be smart like Julius Maddox was here and have spotters when attempting a dangerous lift.
The injury itself originates from a small moment at the end of the video when the weight is unfairly put on his right shoulder. Even though his spotters step in after a few seconds, the damage has been done. The truth about most gym injuries is that they can happen almost instantaneously, especially if they’re caused by poor form.
The other reason it’s important to have spotters in this situation is because you could potentially face every bodybuilder’s worst nightmare and drop the weights directly on your chest. There are bodybuilders who have died in extreme circumstances due to shock or the damage done to their sternum from a heavy set of weights. As you can see from the video, Julius Maddox’s spotters do everything right in this video — they help him get the weight off the bar and then help him load it back on when it’s clear he’s having trouble.
Although it’s sad that Julius Maddox sustained an injury from this, the truth is it could have been so much worse without spotters there to help him and it should serve as a lesson to all of. This was a relatively minor injury in the scheme of his career that he can easily rehabilitate with a little physical therapy. Without spotters, it could have lead to permanent damage or even death.
Thankfully for us and for Julius Maddox, he is relatively unscathed and ready to attempt the lift again soon! We’re hoping he pulls it off the second time and continues to practice proper safety in the gym when attempting hard lifts.
*All images and media courtesy of Instagram.
