Justyn Vicky died doing a 450 lb squat, age 33

[jeff7b9]

My wife sent me a screenshot yesterday that said benching, but I guess he was squatting. Such a freak accident. So sad and ironic when he could have squatted with safety's, but too many rather record themselves and have an unobstructive view for the clout. RIP bro.

I'm old and as such lived the formative years prior to social media making everyone retarded but for the life of me I don't understand why anyone gives a shit to watch someone else exercise or post a video to have someone else watch me exercise.

 

[BisexualMMA]

Damn saw the video what a terrible way to go.

I think he died too young and it's an unfortunate death given that he put a lot of work into fitness and a healthy body. But as far as a way to go...looks like he had a good life and a really bad five seconds at the end. There are much worse ways to go, though most of us have the dignity of not being filmed as it happens.

 

[SaiWa]

Unless you're a competitive lifter maxing out is dumb AF

I wouldn't say it is completely dumb AF. Creating goals can be extra motivating. I've mentioned this before a long time ago but when I was in my mid/later 20s I was stagnating and just going through the motions of weight lifting and exercising. One day this big Army sergeant (worked out at an Army base) asked me to spot him and I obliged. We had spotted each other before so no biggie. Of course small talks ensues and I casually said I wished I could lift 2 plates. he looked at me quizzically and was like "son you can life 2 plates if you really tried. you just pussyfoot and flirt around this gym all day long instead of taking it seriously". I was nahhh man i can't lift 2 plates I only weigh 148lbs... no way.. but i had solid form and i was overly cautious and he knew that i could do it. Anyway he told me I could lift 3 playes in 3 months if I lifted with him. I am like 3 plates.. thats more than twice my weight.. no way. A few people around us heard our casual convo and wanted in on this training regiment. Another friend tagged along and we formed a small lifting group following the sergeant's routine. In less than 3 months I repped 325lbs twice (2nd one i needed help). Sounds phenomenal but I wasn't actually that weak. I had been able to lift with a lot of reps (slow, bursting reps, etc..) and I wasn't that far off 2 plates. I was just afraid of the weight. But we had a team (lots of spotters) and the sarg made sure we did everything with proper form.

So I will say that maxing out isn't dumb. But you definitely need a team of spotters and like-minded people. I never spotted casually and I don't expect anyone else to do the same. I consider spotting an art. That feathery light touch that can magically help you finish that final rep is an artform. And most of the lifters on the team had also reached or got really close to 315 so it was a really cool experience for a bunch of us who were scared of lifting heavy.

But maxing out on your own or without enough spotters is definitely dumb AF.

 

[Kb7]

I never understood the fascination with maxing out or lifting weights towards the limit. I workout for functional strength and to stay in shape as my job requires me to be limber.

I've seen my fair of these type of vids I'm pretty desensitized at this point. This will end up being a cautionary tale.

 

[Volador]

To all the people saying that lifting heavy is some insane act, I hope you realize that by using a commonly available piece of equipment, like spotter arms, the possibility of this happening is literally zero.

 

[SoberAwakening]

That's incredibly unfortunate. Just watched the video. Making the 1,000 lb club was good enough for me, so I didn't squat more than 315, sometimes 405 doing box squats. I feel like I have a pretty good bail out plan if I get stuck, that just looked so awkward.

Like others have said, if you've spent time in the gym lifting heavy, we're probably all realizing just how dangerous the gym really is if you're not careful. And even if you are careful, bad things can happen.

 

[2fast2see]

(Beyond "anything can happen")

I didn't read through the comments.

The spotter is to blame for keeping his hands on the bar, which would have rolled off backwards had he not been there.

You never spot a squatter using that technique.

Hard to judge the lifting technique due to the angle, but it doesn't seem Justyn's chest was out with shoulder back and locked.

I never use a spotter for squats. Instead I do them in a cage when I max out.

Very sad! RIP!

 

[Jeffy37]

Life sucks. I'm sure this person knew what he was doing and it was a freak accident. Rip.

 

[nonoob]

there's no real benefit in going for a 1 rep max.

Can tell ya for me it was, after a bunch of hard work, just for ego.
It was never to impress anyone.

 

[RedFoxOne]

Shit can happen training in the gym and lifting heavy things. A healthy fear of lifting heavy objects can make sure you don't overstep your limits. That includes knowing your strength limits, lifting with spotters and safety bars.

You can find a ton of near accidents with even some big names. It just sucks this mishap killed him. Reminds me of the Jean Pierre Fux incident on a smaller scale

 

[2fast2see]

That’s sad and tragic. For those who lift, what’s another way to spot this. It’s obvious that one spotter cannot do much in that situation. But what is the right way or another way to spot this? Even if u had a spotter on each side of the bar could they do anything?

also, are those kids watching from a coffee shop
On the other side?

 

[Mike]

I weigh about 240, I'm tired a lot of the time and I'm sure it's not just getting older, it's all this baggage. When I see morbidly obese people in service jobs I feel bad for them on their feet all the time. One thing the weight gain did is I'm not as judgemental on fat people.

That's close to where I was when I noticed last winter. I'm also always exhausted. I know some of that is down to my depression and sleep issues, but I figured being fat wasn't helping. I finally got down to 200 again the other day. I want to get back down to between 170 and 180. It's hard for my to get and stay below 185. Especially now that I'm getting older.

 

[StonedLemur]

Rest in peace.

Mod Note: video removed, please do not link any death videos.

I just watched the video and can say that the spotters is part of the problem here.


1.) They didn't have 1 spotter for each side, they had one on the side and 1 behind him.

2.) The guy behind him was never going to lift that weight from that angle.

3.) As someone mentioned in here, they make catch racks for this very reason.

4.) This is tragic and they should've had all safety precautions in place...R.I.P Young Sir

 

[StonedLemur]

Excuse my ignorance, but how does a safety rack help in this situation when he is practically all the way down on the ground when he failed to get up?

It wouldn't have compressed his neck as bad, that's for sure sir.

 

[StonedLemur]

Here's a text story of the incident.
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/fitness-influencer-justyn-vicky-dead-201044818.html

Better off watching the video, it's literally 5-10 seconds.

 

[snowbro]

Freak accident.
Guy seemed to be good at what he did.
Damn shame for that guy and family, those close and dear to him.
He seemed to be doing well in his niche/life.

I see a lot of failed lifts on youtube. when the lifter fails, the spotters often don't seem ready or able to take enough weight off the lift. especially when people do that buttfuck squat spot.... use a rack and put the safety bars up as high as possible. i notice people have them set up but way too low a lot of the time.

i will press and squat in the rack every time, way too risky not to. i used to press on the normal bench but i realize how crap i am at lifting now and know its way too dangerous to be hasty or lazy.
and thats with me only lifting 2 to 4 plates max. never mind 8 plates!!!!


I hope at least this accident will make people take safety more seriously. RIP to the lifter, what a tragedy.

 

[snowbro]

Excuse my ignorance, but how does a safety rack help in this situation when he is practically all the way down on the ground when he failed to get up?

You can set the bars up just below your full range of motion, AKA the bottom of the lift. So if you can't lift and you fail, when you fall, after an inch of falling the rack catches the bar and you fall from that point without any weight on your shoulders.

 

[IDGETKTFO]

You can set the bars up just below your full range of motion, AKA the bottom of the lift. So if you can't lift and you fail, when you fall, after an inch of falling the rack catches the bar and you fall from that point without any weight on your shoulders.

Well then, as tragic as this is, it falls in the category of fuck around, find out. Why would you not use such a safety feature?

 

[StonedLemur]

Well then, as tragic as this is, it falls in the category of fuck around, find out. Why would you not use such a safety feature?

Ego, is the reason sir.

 

[IDGETKTFO]

It wouldn't have compressed his neck as bad, that's for sure sir.

In the video, it looks like the bar came down so far it pushed his chest as far as it would go down, and all that was left to move down was his neck which basicly broke away from his spine. Im suprised he wasn't declared dead at the scene.