The following is a true story:

Couple years back, a Crossfitter got paralyzed from the waist down in competition.

How?

Performing a snatch, the lifter missed the catch. The bar fell over his head, bounced off the platform behind him, and struck him in the back.

This devastating injury severed his spine, leaving him unable to move his legs.

My heart goes out to the guy.

I can't believe what he must have gone through.

As this freak accidents shows, yes, lifting weights involves a certain amount of risk.

I also need to point out something about how the injury occurred that may not be obvious at first glance.

You see, piles of weight plates were stacked up right behind the lifting platform. And while it's impossible to say with 100% accuracy, it's possible the bar hit those plates, then rebounded back into the Crossfitter, contributing to the injury.

Whether or not the barbell bounced off the plates or off the platform is beside the point here. There's an important lesson here to be learned that every lifter should take to heart.

Always make sure your surroundings are clear when lifting weights. Push any piece of training equipment out of the way.

No bars, no plates, no boxes, nothing that could hurt you should you miss a lift awkwardly anywhere near you.

Do that and your risk of catastrophic injury plummets like the stock market in 1929.

P.S. For a safe muscle building plan, visit:

http://www.NextLevelHockeyTraining.com

Yunus Barisik