Gym safety

One goes to the gym to become fit and healthy and it’s distressing if one ends up in a hospital like actor-singer Lance Raymundo.

The unfortunate incident with Raymundo last week should be a reminder to gym goers to always be careful.

In Cecile Van Straten’s blog, Lance related what happened Wednesday last week: “There was an 80-lb. barbell on top of me because the workout was a ‘superset’, meaning, right after I do 10 reps with the barbell with the help of my trainer, I rest it back in place and proceed to do the dumbbell fly workout.

“After completing 10 reps of the dumbbell flies, the trainer leaned forward to assist me in lowering the dumbbells, but his body weight accidentally dislodged the barbell, which fell on my face and smashed it.

“This kind of superset workout has been done in many gyms for over 30 years, so it’s not a new workout. But I guess talking to other people while assisting someone can prove to be dangerous.”

Lance still thanked his stars that there were very kind souls at the gym who helped him. One was “A nurse named Paolo who was working out at the time asked for my car keys and rushed me to the ER.”

Lance said, “I sustained multiple fractures in my entire (middle) face and parts of my orbital socket (casing the eyeballs). Luckily my eyesight has been spared! I consider myself lucky because had it even hit just a half an inch either above or below the point of impact, it could’ve been fatal!”

Lance’s mother said the actor-singer will be out of commission from showbiz commitments for three months.

Van Straten said Lance asked her to write about his gym accident not to get back at the trainer or the gym owner because he understood very well that it was not something they wanted to happen.

Lance wants to turn the bad experience into something positive. He wants to be a safety advocate. Van Straten quoting him as saying, “In the many years I have been working out, I have witnessed so many close calls due to horsing around, not paying attention, neglect, or even listening to an iPod while working out.”

I’ve known of some gym accidents like someone who didn’t wait for the treadmill to completely stop before getting off it. He lost his balance and injured his arm.

One time at the now- closed Fitness First Southmall, I nearly lost balance when I stepped on a running treadmill at the darkened Cardio Theater. Someone irresponsible left the equipment running.

One time also at Fitness First Alabang, a cellphone fell from the third floor and hit the head of a lady at the ground floor. I think FF personnel had to bring her to the hospital.

Since one goes to the gym to be physically fit, aside from being careful with the use of equipment, it’s also important to observe the basics in physical exercise. Vanessa Agdon, a group exercise instructor at Fitness
First Alabang and Mall of Asia, gave some workout “Dos” and “Don’ts” :

• Do not starve yourself.
Diet doesn’t mean eating less. It’s eating right. If you are going to do a cardio workout, fuel your body with carbohydrates — rice or bread or pasta, two to three hours before workout.

• Drink water to avoid dehydration as a lot of body fluid is lost through sweat during exercise.

• Have adequate sleep. When you work out, your muscle becomes tired. When you sleep, that’s the time your body sucks all the nutrients it needs to recover.

• Wear cross-training shoes, which are wider than running shoes. Wrong shoes will hurt your ankle and your knees.

• Wear a sports bra. Take care of your breasts because there’s no exercise that would lift breasts that had sagged. A sports bra is sturdier than the ordinary bras and minimizes breast movement. You can wear two if you are double B.

Vanessa said with the right attire, “you jump higher, your movements are bigger, and you burn more calories.”

Have an enjoyable and safe workout.