Fitness Fatalities: Terrifying Gym Injuries and Inspiring Stories - When Beauty Turns Ugly 

Heyyy. So I wasn’t going to post this video. It’s been sat ready to go for a while, because it didn’t really go with the WBTU series ( and also wont perform well nevause its not dorectly beauty related) But I thought I’d just post in anyway as the stories, although pretty brutal, are really quite inspiring. So I hope you enjoy it 💜

Imagine getting fucking paralyzed and one of your trauma responses is to make sure OTHER people are being safe. God what a sweet lady

the paranoia from how important form is in the gym REALLY brings itself out after this video 😭

My mom actually had Graves Disease & it's incredibly scary to witness, especially as a young child. Luckily she was diagnosed pretty soon & got treatment. Now she's doing wonderful

My ambulance ride was over $1000, it’s sad that most Americans can’t afford it and most of the time will wait until their life is seriously affected to go to a doctor.

Just wanna point out that this totally makes sense for this series - because beauty IS HEALTH!!! There’s NO good reason to avoid the gym altogether just because of a few possible accidents just like we don’t give up skincare/makeup because some brands have released products that almost melt peoples face off! Just keep it simple and don’t ego lift and yall will be fine 🙌🏾

Paramedic here, my mind is BLOWN that the crew(s) who responded to the first patient with increasing weakness did not obtained. Protocol for EMT-B, AEMT and Paramedic alike all acknowled a heart rate of 10 with hypertension as signs something is very wrong even if the patient presents as healthy it's to be taken seriously.

Oh I knew my avoidance of the gym would be the right choice. 😂

I ended up once at the hospital for low potassium. The symptoms are no joke, you feel like you literally are going to die. Potassium is in charge of all the contractions movements in your body including your heart.

My husband had a dangerously low potassium incident when we had first got married. We went through absolute hell at the ER trying to him diagnosed. Because we were so young, the doctor was absolutely convinced my husband had taken drugs and we just weren’t admitting it. They badgered us for hours and treated us terribly. Then the labs came back and everything changed. In one way, he was correct, it was drug related, however, the drug was alkaseltzer cold medicine he had taken because he had been fighting off a nasty cold. He had spiked his blood pressure to scary levels and he had urinating out all his potassium to the point he was partially paralyzed. He had to see a specialist later because it was he had unknowingly had preexisting high blood pressure and the medicine had been the tipping factor. The doctor apologized after, but it didn’t matter. It was an awful, terrifying and desperately isolating experience.I was only 19 at the time and having to advocate and fight for my 21 year old husband against a roomful of people who we needed help from but wouldn’t believe us.

I have two cats. They make me work 24/7. I don't need to worry about the gym😂

I love Sophie! shes amazing, funny and beautiful! These injuries all go to show how close we are to becoming disabled ourselves, I hope this lets people recognize that disabled people need kindness but also that we just want to live our lives as normally as possible 💖

This is so true- lack of K+ (potassium) would disrupt so many physiological functions because literally all of your neurons depend on the electrochemical gradient created by K+ and Na+ for you resting membrane potential - aka how your nerve cells send electrical signals

I was diagnosed with Graves’ disease about 15 years ago, It causes hyperthyroidism. I lost 30 lbs, my anxiety was very high, I lost all of my muscle and and was so weak I could barely walk up stairs without sitting down to rest because I was out of breath and the muscles in the lower half of my body would twitch. Hyperthyroidism is not something you mess around with.😊

"When you're scrolling TikTok on the toilet for too long" and then you look at us with judgement 😂😂

I'm an EMT. We don't hive diagnoses or medication recommendations. We assess and then take them to the hospital relaying our assessments to the nurses. If those EMTs just did nothing and told him to drink some electrolytes that is grounds for a lawsuit and liscense revocation.

A good rule of thumb is less than 5 hours of sleep, skip the gym! your body won't perform well on that few hours of sleep and you're more prone to injuries which will set back your progress even more. not to mention disrupt other factors of your life.

Such an inspiring video. Also a good reminder that sometimes we have to advocate for ourselves. The poor man in the first story came close to dying because his situation wasn't given the seriousness it needed.

That first case reminded me of when I had a job on an endocrinology ward- we saw quite a few patients with scary electrolyte issues. The underlying causes can be really hard to diagnose because they are so rare and you need to rule out all the common issues first- which can be really frustrating for the patient and the health care team looking after them. Very interesting video- glad they all recovered or made positive decisions after such scary accidents!

I appreciate any constructive conversation around disability 💗 thank you Xx

Thyroid issues are mostly common in females, which sadly is why there's not enough research and it often gets overlooked.. About 90% of cases, no matter the type, are female. Graves is absolutely rare, but not as rare as you might think, at least not in women.. Scary as hell when it gets to that point.. I also know someone who nearly died of it..

I'm glad you posted this. You weren't sure if this fits WBTU format but I think that it does. People work out so they look good as much as they are doing it for their health. Great job as always. As someone in healthcare I'm impressed by how well you explain the medical jargon mentioned in the video.

Thank goodness I’m too lazy for anything like this to happen to me 😅

Watching this so I can justify skipping my workout tomorrow but the motivational stories got me pumped up again 😂❤

I've been weightlifting for over 20 years and I've seen so many people do dumb 💩 in the gym!

I'm so glad you posted this. The accidents are awful but also the way people have worked so hard to rebuild their lives and strength is incredible!

I've never heard Sophie's story before, but my gosh, it's so incredibly inspirational! I've been getting back into the gym recently and have been upset at my lack of progress/ fear of weights, yet hearing about her perseverance and success is extremely encouraging and motivational for me. I have a new perspective now. She's wonderful, and I wish her continued happiness and success ❤

WBTU is so grounding, thank you for your work!

I actually had to get reconstructive surgery (screws and metal plate) on my left ankle because of a car accident, and yes it hurts all the time especially when weather changes to colder and raining months

I broke my ankle 5 months ago ended up with my foot being totally dislocated from my ankle I know have two plates one either side of my ankle and a wire going through to hold it all together . My foot was facing the wrong way when I looked at it and apparently I screamed my head off ( I don’t remember it ) . I know have scars on either side of my ankle much like the lady in your video and am still not able to walk long distances and I have a limp . I feel for the lady with the tyres ❤

Omg! One of my gfs ended up w graves disease! She had stopped working out during lockdown and when she went back mid 2021 she went hard like she had before. Turned out very very bad. Just a note from her and her Dr, if you take a break from the gym after having been in a strict routine, take it SLOW when you start back again.

all the reason I need to continue to not go to the gym

Wow, how scary! I also have Graves Disease, I just found out less than 2 years ago. I never realized how scary it could be though, probably because I found out at the same time as being diagnosed with Type1 Diabetes... that kind of overshadowed it for me😏

so glad you decided to post this as I know it’s a little different to normal, but it was so interesting! thanks for sharing💜🖤

I’ve been a gym goer since my dad had his minor heart attack, which felt whilst out cycling (he’s a former professional medical worker)…and we take our exercise, at our levels. Stay safe n stay healthy

After my Achilles injury I slow all my workouts down! I don’t do explosive movements.This injury has taught me safety, no ego lifting and patience. I’m on month 5 looking forward to getting stronger during this slow recovery.

Interesting! I was diagnosed with Graves Disease in my mid 20s after years and years of blood tests and doctors saying I seemed ok. I didn't have any potassium problems (but also I'm female so maybe that contributes). I personally know two other people that have it so that makes me feel a bit less rare and alone lol

I’ve recently started going to the gym to keep up my strength for work so this is a video is definitely worth watching, much like all of Jame’s and Robert’s videos💁🏻‍♀️😊

I'm in America, and I've had to be taken in an ambulance twice. The first (a serious trauma situation) was over $4,000. The second (less severe) was around $1,400.

Aa a person who works in healthcare and specifically with people like Sophie who can't walk or do anything for themselves it's quite nice watching someone with a disability thrive because let me tell you, it gets disheartening watching how miserable someone is especially when you know it's not quite possible for it to get better.

I love these series! Super interesting every time.

Injuries can happen at the gym and as a former trainer, I can say that there are always some risks but negligence is another thing. I also think people get distracted and text and film etc which adds to the potential for injuries.

Thyroid stuff is scary. I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism a few months ago. My resting heart rate was up at 135, I was trembling all the time, I lost my appetite, I was anxious and had a racing heart beat. It's really scary and I'm only just recovering like four months later. I'm glad mine didn't end up as Graves disease.

I love this style because I just genuinely want to see you talk about/react to these stories

my mom twisted and broke her ankle last october, and nearly a year later she’s still recovering. hers wasn’t quite as bad (around 90 degrees to the outside instead of 180) but it was very stubborn and kept wanting to slip back out of alignment. she ended up needing hardware screwed into the bones to keep them in place, and to this day she still has to wear a brace to keep everything stabilized and supported so she can walk (slowly, and with a cane) her situation is exacerbated a little in that she’s in remission for multiple myeloma (a type of blood cancer, it likes to attack bones) and she’s on revlamid to help keep her numbers good, but with it she gets neuropathy pain in her feet, so she’d already been fairly challenged in the walking department, but still. those types of injuries are no joke edit: oh also, one time I’d gone to the er for an asthma attack and my heart rate was skyrocketing, and apparently that was partially because I was low on potassium! not critically, they just gave me an oral potassium supplement (a banana pill, the nurse called it), but yeah. it wasn’t fun either lmao

In Germany we have this saying: "Sport ist Mord", roughly translating to "sport is murder", and I think that's beautiful.

Love your content and loved this video was different, interesting and inspiring. Thank you to you and all the strong people involved ❤

Thankyou James for another amazing upload ❤🎉❤🎉❤🎉

Yay!! Just in time for my bedtime routine😁👏🏻👏🏻

So gym is evil, I knew it!

3 leg days a week is on the higher end I've been working out for years and can't do more than 2

new video just in time for lunch 💯

As if I needed more of a reason not to join the gym again here it is! 😂 love your content James ❤

Oh! I have grave’s disease. I’ve never had that serious of a problem before…poor guy. Grave’s can make you feel like you are having a heart attack though. Even though I have a strong heart, I have to be on heart meds to regulate my heart rate. It is a nasty disease. Praise the Lord, I am doing much better now ❤

The misinformation in the fitness community is out of control. There is a lot of ego driven videos that spurs uninformed people to push themselves to do very sketchy things. Rhabdomyolysis is a condition that is more common than you would think. It is basically a breakdown of muscle and the byproducts that get released can be life threatening and the only thing that can help is IV fluids and rest. I am in healthcare and am a former fitness instructor/trainer and doctors are swimming upstream when they help patients. Many patients either leave out information as unimportant or they are sometimes embarassed and leave out information in fear of being judged.

People underestimate the potential dangers in a gym. That's why you need assistance all the time, that's why some equipment have safety stuff that people are simply unaware. I am a gym teacher and alwys say "don't squat away from the rack, tie your hair, try to recognize your limit before it's too late and the failure happens when you can no longer hold the weight, don't ever do potentially risky stuff when there are many safer ways to do the same thing..." etc etc

I had an overactive thyroid and Graves disease. I chose radioactive iodine treatment to kill my thyroid. I now have an under active thyroid which i take medication for life to give me some kind of thyroid level as close to normal as possible and still have Graves disease. Since having the condition I listen to my body. Usually my symptoms are muscle aches in my legs because of the Graves and mood swings with the thyroid thing. I actively move as I please but rest when my body tells me to. Life is very different with Graves. Listening to my body and resting when necessary is really important.

TBH Felt really natural to hear you tell this empowering story, it is what you do well, empowering others with information!

As someone who is paralyzed, we don’t “stay in the bed for the rest of our lives”. lol we are very capable of being independent; working out, driving on our own, working a full time job, going grocery shopping etc. just thought I’d throw that out there. We aren’t helpless. We figure life out.

I used to teach step aerobics until a car rear ended me at 55 MPH [I was stopped!]. Once I did a jaunt on a stationary bike, got off & my legs buckled under me! I was sort of shocked & as people started gathering around me, all I could do was laugh. I was embarrassed of course. 🤠

The same thing that happened to the first man happened to me, my body doesn't hold on to electrolytes well. I collapsed on the floor in my house when I tried to walk, I live alone and my phone was in another room. I decided that trying crawling to the phone, I couldn't even stand up. Eventually (very eventually) I managed to get to the phone and called an ambulance, the paramedics thought they'd have to break in because I couldn't stand up on my own, I could barely sit up. My vision started to fail, and I couldn't control my hands, so I laid the phone on the floor and had to guess where the numbers on the screen were. Luckily, the emergency number here is 000, so I kind of knew where the key was. At the hospital I found out that my potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus were all low, and my kidneys were clogged up with protein from my muscles breaking down, so my electrolytes must have been low for a while and I didn't know. I've never felt sicker in my life, including COVID and recurrent glandular fever. I never ever want to be in that situation again, when your kidneys stop working you get very ill, very fast. I was given IV potassium and supplements, I still take them to this day. In Australia magnesium supplements are very easy to find, but you need a prescription for potassium due to the cardiac effects. I noticed in the 2 days before I got really ill that I couldn't keep food or water down at all, I think that was the start of the kidney thing. Electrolytes are vital, it's a shame more people aren't aware of how important they are. I get blood tests regularly now to keep an eye on them. EDIT: Thank you James for bringing awareness to the subject.

Thank you for the inspiring video! These people amaze me. ❤

As someone who has family history on both sides of thyroid issues and thyroid problems myself, if your thyroid isn’t working properly, it messed everything up. Being a female too it contributes to PCOS and hormone level issues. Thank goodness the first guy was able to find out his problem before it went too far and was something he can treat.

Gym scaries!!! Here for it.💙🏋️‍♂️💙

The potassium thing happened to me. One day I woke up swollen twice my size and could barely walk. If I hadn't gone to the hospital they said I wouldn't have woken up the next day. I had only trace amounts of potassium. Still don't know why and it's never happened again.

9:55 there's another case here in Brazil, of a poorly designed equipment: the men was laying in it, as he should, and something snapped and broke his spine a little above his hips, with around 100kg... I do personally know 2 people who got injured at the gym. One was doing squats, and since she had just learned the movement with like, 20 kg, her trainer told her to double the weight, and do it with 40kg. She felt a lot of pain and had to leave. Turns out she broke a disk on her spine, spent over 6 months taking meds, in constant pain, to try to avoid surgery. We weren't very close, so I can't be sure if she got the surgery or not, but most likely she did. The other is a work colleague, she has been going to the gym a few times a week for at least 2 years, and had a knee injury, for no clear reason (too much weight/poor execution), and spent a few months treating it. Besides all that, I'm planing on going back to the gym this month haha but no one will ever convince me of pulling a lot of weight and shit like that

I guy in my college got MRSA from the weight room and I thought that was the worst thing that could happen. An ex of mine had low potassium. His was due to poor diet and drinking too much. He actually passed out in a snowbank and was luckily found.

I'm got very sick with the season change to autumn. This video made me feel better about missing my workouts for the week 😅

Well this made me feel less bad over not being able to go to a gym and just workout at home without equipment

So I decided to watch this before hitting the gym and now I'm scared lol. But seriously I do feel sorry for those who innocently thought they were getting a workout but ended up paralysed in freak accidents.

OMG! I feel so bad for everyone impacted in these accidents! This is why I only work with free weights, no machines and with a trainer.

Can I guess what it was. Rhabdo. Ok I was wrong lol

Gee James, had to time this video right when my fiancée and I go to the gym for the first time after getting a membership the other day. 😅 Ah, it's fine, just a funny coincidence is all. With that being said, we will try to be careful though.

Wow. How terrifying but definitely inspiring ❤

I'm drinking my electrolyte drink right now because i was drowsy from my workout this morning 😂

"And it'd be a ton of money for an ambulance? Right? That's how it works?" *Distant American sobbing*

Playing around with lifting 400 pounds is crazy

In America due to costs and therefore accessibility, medical and mortality stats are often completely different to UK and Australia. This needs to be noted.

Obviously there's only one thing we can do to prevent any of these things from happening: Abstain completely from the gym or any fitness

I have Graves’ disease! I got diagnosed after moving to Europe from the us. I was super sick all the time in the states and doctors told me everything was fine and I was just being a sensitive woman and refused to do blood tests while I was literally slowly dying. I got very lucky I was in the process of moving because apparently it’s one simple blood test that shows its graves. I have a piece of my thyroid that’s hanging down because of the damage to it while they ignored it.

I hadn't seen you since quarantine!!! Check out this skinny legend!!!

As someone who had very low potassium after being unable to keep food down for 3 weeks, you feel absolutely terrible. You have no energy and feel so weak. I had to be given 5 bags of undiluted potassium through an IV to increase my levels and then another 2 larger bags of diluted potassium over the next two days I spent in hospital.

Love your channel but small correction. Far from being very very rare, Graves’ disease is the major cause of hyperthyroidism and affects between 1:150 - 1:200 people. That’s not considered rare at all. It means in any typical school there will be several people with Graves. In any office of reasonable size there will be people. That’s pretty common.

Not me watching this at the gym 👀😬

Whew, ima just stick to my lil at home dance workouts

I had Graves’ disease and had to get my thyroid removed in 2018, I was never even told about the whole potassium problem!!

I worked in the operating room for 10 years. One weekend we had a 20’s year old guy come in as a trauma. He’d been doing crossfit and was lifting a very heavy log or some sort of log shaped thing and lost grip on it. It fell on him and crushed his chest. Fractured several ribs and punctured his lung and his liver. Had to have one lobe of his lungs and one lobe of liver removed emergently and was in the hospital for quite a while.

i hate gyms. i just do my basic little workouts at home and call it a day

James! 😍

Also, people remember when you are using the barbell doing back squats, don't have your hair down or in a pony tail if your hair is long. I have seen too many women online get partially scalped from their hair wrapping around the bar when they have to bail out of the heavy weight.

Also - a lot of gym instructors set themselves up as “health guru” influencer types with virtually no education. There is a lot of dangerous blanket misinformation regarding diet and fitness floating around in the general public that doesn’t take the individual’s preexisting health conditions into consideration.

as someone with Grave's disease.......sounded like the thyroid immediately lmao. and as someone with it whenever there's an issue with my body I blame the thyroid

A few years ago I started crossfit and ended up randomly waking one morning with a partially paralyzed arm. Turned out I overexercised and got rhabdomyolisis, which is a relatively rare condition where the muscle starts breaking down due to over-exhertion and insufficient hydration that can be life threatening if not treated... If you decide to start working out, take it slowly people and drink more water than you think you need!! Needless to say I quit crossfit and have now switched to yoga instead, much safer 😅

Aw shucks guess I can't go to the gym. Man I will really be missing out, gosh darn.

I was actually just reading the results from my most recent blood test, and looks like my potassium is just barely within the accepted range. Welp, another reason not to work out, lol.

I instantly went and ate a banana as soon as he mentioned it was due to low potassium 😂

My husband has graves disease. We only found out after he went to cardiac arrest and spent 3 weeks in a coma. He is also a regular gym goer. 😢

I don't understand the desire to go back to the gym after something like this happens to you there. Have none of these people heard of at home workouts? The older I get the more I realize the value of a simple walk and some yoga.

Patiently waiting for a Greg doucette reaction

Me watching this as I work out in the gym literally almost broke my damm knees on the bench press trying to see the screen