Check Your Weights
Each sport has a particular rite of passage. A figure skater will step onto the ice with their blade guards on, a basketball player will throw an air ball at the foul line, a punter will fumble a perfectly good snap, and a baseball player will miss touching a plate running the bases. These mistakes are embarrassing and relatively harmless, but one rite of passage that is not amusing is loading a barbell improperly.
Of course, there are gym stories of those who shattered their personal records by putting too much weight on the bar. In one workout, sprinter Ben Johnson wanted to bench press 365 pounds. However, he had difficulty converting kilos to pounds and misloaded the bar. He ended up pressing 407! Johnson only weighed 173.
Besides the issue of not lifting the weights you intended, you put yourself at a greater risk of injury if one side of the bar weighs more than the other. Especially injuries to your lower back with squats and deadlifts.
Even if a personal trainer or training partner is helping you load the bar, always double-check to ensure you’re lifting EXACTLY what you want. (TSS)
BOTTOM LINE: Always double-check the weight on the bar.
— Photo by Vivian Podhaiski, LiftingLife.com
