I’ve been a very safety conscious coach from day one, maybe to a fault. But when you’re dealing with student athletes, their careers are in your hands, no coach would take this lightly. I take this same mentality working with my clientele and weightlifters in New York City. It scares me when I see certain videos of lifters not taking safety into consideration, especially if the bar is going overhead or if there are objects in the way.
Some may argue that there are plenty athletes doing this without injury, but as I stated I don’t take any of my athletes safety lightly. If it means they have to wait any extra 20seconds to lift, then I couldn’t care any less. Hell, you see people doing crazy shit like this, doesn’t mean that’s it’s ok or safe to do.
Moving on, here are some safety concerns I’ve seen lately.
Overhead Squat
Please, PLEASE do not do the overhead squat in the squat rack without pins. I don’t care how light it is, that one percent chance that you happen to lose control could turn the overhead squat into a ping pong match between you and the bar. Basically don’t be a meatball and use the pins.
With that said, I typically like my lifters to use the platform. If you do use the platform, make sure to give yourself more then arms length room from the squat rack. The extra room will ensure that you don’t toss the bar to the squat rack and it shoot right back at you.
Domino Effect
We don’t have much room so when the full team is in, the platform can become pretty crowded. If any of the lifters are attempting weights that they may miss, ALL extra bars are removed from the platform. ANYTHING can happen when you’re chasing or missing a weight, so having other lifters or bars in front or behind is clearly asking for trouble.
With that said, I’ve never been a fan of stacking lifters in a row to lift, like the picture above. To me, outside of warming up, it’s way too dangerous and the risk vs. reward is just not worth it. If the middle person falls back and throws the bar forward, it can easily become a human dominoes mess.
Here’s a good example that could have gone bad.
The girl misses the snatch but what if she got pushed back and hit the weights behind her, hit the man loading the weights and then got pushed back to the bar, or fell back as the lifter behind her was tossing the bar forward?
While all these points are hypotheticals, it’s something that coaches need to take into consideration, especially if the lifter is a novice. You never know what can happen or how the athlete will adjust.
Wait
It’s pretty much understood that you should never walk behind nor in front of a lifter as they are about to lift. The 5seconds you wait isn’t just for the weightlifters safety but also for yourself. If the weightlifter happens to throw the bar behind them, you’re going to be in some pain. As a weightlifter we also don’t know what the hell the person is going to do. I once had a jack ass start doing kipping pull ups behind me as I was about to lift…
In the end I believe it’s pretty self explanatory to have basic gym etiquette.
Pay Attention
Luckily I haven’t had a weightlifter do this!
Please pay attention to what you’re doing and your surroundings. For our team the rule is to clear ALL debris off the platform in case anything was to happen. If a 5k plate was in the area of a drop zone, it very well could shoot the bar back at the lifter or damage the plates. Our lifters are supposed to asses the platform and bar before they attempt their lift. This is to ensure that the weight is loaded properly and that they are good to lift without any issues. This isn’t just about safety but respect for gym equipment too.
Most weightlifters are so used to lifting and then dropping the bar without really thinking, it’s become automatic. But when using boxes, make sure you’re centered before you place the bar back down on the box. I learned this the hard way and hit the front of the box, which shot the bar right back at me taking out my legs. I was lucky but I couldn’t lift from the floor for about 2-3 weeks thanks to some nasty bone bruising.
Conclusion
I’ve been in the coaching field (not just weightlifting) for 12+ years and the biggest lesson I’ve learned is to NEVER assume that the athlete will react the way you want them to. You have to COACH the athlete how you want them to react to different situations and to be aware of their surroundings. This not only ensures that they are safe but the whole team is safe because the weightlifters will watch out for each other.
Stay strong,
Team Fusion Weightlifting