I’m sure you’ve heard by now, but incase you haven’t USC running back Stafon Johnson was severely injured Monday in a weightlifting accident and needed emergency surgery to save his life. Supposedly, an assistant strength coach was spotting him and while racking the bar it slipped and fell on his neck. Thankfully, he seems to be doing well and is expected to make a full recovery.
Obviously, freak things happen in the weight room and just like ANY physical activity; there is some level of injury possibility with any exercise no matter what. That said, the question needs to be asked, how did this happen in a staffed college weight room? USC is supposed to have one of the best S&C programs in the country. Yet a player, a senior no less, gets a throat injury while bench pressing. Seriously? He has been at this, under supervision, for at least four years. He should be able to perform this lift safely. How the hell does a player even drop a bar onto their neck anyway?
Easy: THE SUICIDE GRIP.
The Suicide or thumb-less grip is something that should be beaten out of every person who lifts weights for a host of reasons.
#1. It gives you less pressing power.
#2. It makes the bar less stable in your hands.
#3. You are more likely to have a rotator cuff injury.
#4. It can KILL you.
That’s right kids it can kill you. Just take a second and think about what may have happened if Stafon Johnson would have been a recreational lifter and had the same thing happen to him while benching in his basement home gym.
Take home message; don’t be stupid. Wrap your thumbs around the bar, you remain in contact with the bar the entire time and at the very least can guide it to the chest/ floor/ racks even if something catastrophic happens. There is no advantage to this grip whatsoever. There are a thousand other things that can hurt you in the weight room, but this might be the only one that could be potentially fatal.
About Roy:
