If He Had Read SS This Probably Wouldn't Have Happened....

[DoctorLoomis]

Take a look.........

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...v=ap&type=lgns

How many times has Coach talked about holding a loaded bar above the face without the proper grip????

[jonnyb60]

Hey Rip, not sure if you saw this but I think its a good read for those people who refuse to use the their thumbs to grip the bar when benching- because "it's better"...

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4512778

I enjoy the fact that it states "he was fortunate that he had a spotter". If this is the definition of "fortunate" then there was some miscommunication between me and my 3rd grade teacher.

[OITW]

http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/10140366/USC's-Johnson-likely-out-for-season-after-accident

How many knuckleheads can you find in just one article? No mention of the grip, but in all likelihood it was the famed "suicide grip," and that strength coach should be fired and drummed out of the business.

I'm hanging this article up by the benches in my gym.

[tate]

Rip,
You've particularly mentioned the potential danger of bench pressing, and here is a recent example. I suspect this young man was using a "thumbless" grip and dropped the bar on his throat. After seven hours of surgery, it looks like he'll be OK, but his football season is over.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...v=ap&type=lgns

[leahkim]

Coach Rip,
Not sure if you saw this in the news, but I thought it was worth sharing on the forum. A good example of the importance of keeping your thumb wrapped around the bar during the bench press as you state in the book.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090929/...c_johnson_hurt

[Mark Rippetoe]

All of you guys have assumed he had a thumbless grip. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't, and although you're probably right there is no mention of it in any of these articles. This is because they were written by sportswriters, the most clueless, credulous morons on the planet, who nonetheless feel entitled to opinions on training, steroids, sports medicine, rehab, and everything else involved in sports preparation except the only thing relevant, in this particular instance, where they might have actually had an opportunity to perform an actual service had they merely known enough to ask the right question.

But this:?I?ve seen players have the bar slip and fall onto their chest, but never in my 25 years of coaching have I heard of someone dropping a bar on their throat,? said strength and conditioning coach Chris Carlisle, who was standing 10 feet away when the accident happened. ?We?re fortunate he was being spotted.?

is pretty good evidence that the coach hasn't been listening very well for 25 years. It happens, and it kills people.

[Jason Ashman]

?I?ve seen players have the bar slip and fall onto their chest, but never in my 25 years of coaching have I heard of someone dropping a bar on their throat,? said strength and conditioning coach Chris Carlisle, who was standing 10 feet away when the accident happened. ?We?re fortunate he was being spotted.?

Question: How are they fortunate he was being spotted?? Isn't the purpose of having a spotter to avoid/prevent dropping the weight onto your neck??

[FROGGBUSTER]

He wasn't using a thumbless grip. He missed the rack when he was putting the bar up.

[OITW]

Rip, have you ever heard of a bar "slipping" out of the hand of someone holding it with thumb wrapped around?

[MrTambourineMan]

There was an incredibly strong man who used the thumbless grip in my gym on the decline bench. He did it without spotters when he was warming up, but his warmups reached up to 200kgs.