A weight machine fell on top of a hapless gym goer as he tried out a bizarre new workout.
The young man narrowly avoiding serious injury.
Footage showed the budding bodybuilder apparently using the apparatus’ maximum weight stack as he yanked the handles as far back as possible.
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He barked at a companion to help him and together they continued to stretch the pulley system to tipping point.
The gym goer tried to sit on nearby workout bench to carry out his extreme new exercise but the weight machine gave away.
The towering steel framework, which was apparently not properly fixed to the floor, toppled towards the man and narrowly missed his head.
The bench seemingly acted as a crucial barrier, absorbing much of the impact and preventing serious injury.
According to reports, he miraculously escaped with only minor bruising and soft tissue injuries.
The bizarre stunt took place at a gym in Jiangsu Province, China, last week.
The video sparked widespread discussion online, with many commentators criticising the gym’s safety standards, as reported by Need To Know.
One noted: “The instruction manual for these machines always says they must be bolted to the ground.”
A spokesperson for the Jiangsu Provincial Bureau of Sport stated that “improper use of equipment combined with a lack of structural stability” was the primary cause of the collapse.
All local fitness centres have been ordered to conduct urgent safety inspections of their heavy machinery to prevent a recurrence of the near-tragedy.
Fitness experts used the incident to warn against ‘ego lifting’ and the dangers of performing improvised exercises that deviate from a machine’s intended design.
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