r4ymond88's picture
r4ymond88
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+ 1 Dropped the barbell on my chest

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So for the first time in 12 yrs of lifting I was starting my first exercise and working set on the flat bench. 225lbs which I can rep for a couple of times easy...

It all happened so fast, I was starting to incorporate some partial reps along with full reps and I guess my concentration must have slipped and so did the bar. It fell right on my sternum and knocked the wind out of me. I was able to lift it off and re-rack it and then some guys came and told me to lift my legs up then helped me up called an ambulance and I walked, breathed and talked normally the whole time. So they were all pretty surprised I was acting so casual after that...guess I'm lucky.

X-rays said no fractures but holy shit does my rib cage hurt I hope this passes soon or I'll be a sad panda was making great progress lately. It makes one think just how careful and focused you gotta be with form and grip. Things could have easily been worse, like having broken ribs, punctured organs, maybe the bar could have fallen on towards my neck and face instead...

Don't let stress, troubles or anxiety take away your mind to muscle connection. I hope my experience will help any new guys realize how easy shit can go downhill when you don't focus on doing your shit right.

I hope to get back on the bench next week if my pain subsides.

Drop-set's picture

...sounds like you should have been using a spotter.

r4ymond88's picture

Sorry, might have expressed myself wrong...225 is my first working set weight I usually do around 12 reps easily, once I start hitting higher weights I always use a spotter.

Drop-set's picture

Got ya. do you wrap thumbs?

r4ymond88's picture

Gotta admit I vary grips if I feel comftorable enough with the weight I usually dont wrap my thumbs all the way around, more like perpendicular. Never again, lmao its gonna be hard to get used to.

guitarplayer1's picture

Wrong! Do not hold the bar as hard as you can unless you want tennis or golf elbow. Use a grip but just enough to stabilize the bar.

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Bulkdaddy's picture

Boom! +1

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cthangorilla's picture

Yikes. Did that a few years back pre aas use at 225 and it hurt too much to holler for my roommates. My sternum had a gnarly purple bruise for about two weeks and it hurt when I would cough, which was pretty often back then considering I smoked a banned happy substance pretty often at the time. I didn't like giving the bench a glance for about a month.

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r4ymond88's picture

Man don't even get me started on sneezing or coughing... shit hurt soooooo bad.

win3200's picture

That's how I felt when I bruise my ribs. It hurt to fucking walk and just even breathe. I had to keep a tight wrap around my upper body and it helped.

r4ymond88's picture

How long until you could lift again? Mine still hurts a bit when I lay down on the bench. I still cant lift normally.

win3200's picture

Two months before I felt normal.

Venemy's picture

Great point about focus. Sometimes real life creeps in your mind at any time it wants. Gotta remember to focus on the task at hand (talking to myself as much as anyone else). Hope you are starting to feel better now. Glad it wasn't serious.

r4ymond88's picture

Thanks guys, yeah this certainly puts shit in different perspectives. lol.

stang77's picture

Glad your ok man could of been a lot worse!

r4ymond88's picture

It all happened so fast with me idk if I was able to use the momentum off the bounce or not I'm just happy I could lift it off and rerack it Quickly.

brandoc84's picture

That shit scares me. I stay away from suicide grip.

Goose24's picture

Don't let setbacks set you back bud. I've had that happen once and it was when I tore my tricep it sucked! Glad to hear you're ok and didn't end up like that college football player who took one to the neck :/ consider yourself lucky man. Once you're 100% get back to killing it again Smile