A fitness lover has been scared off bench presses for life, after a mishap with a 140kg barbell caused his chest muscle to detach from the bone, leaving him writhing in agony.
Tristan Barnes, 23, from Manchester, has blamed the excruciating incident on his use of dangerous anabolic steroids — which trigger a dramatic increase in muscle mass.
The drugs, which are often sold illegally, caused a growth spurt in Mr Barnes’ chest muscles that the surrounding, delicate tendons could not support, causing them to snap under the pressure of the heavy weight.Â
Now, Mr Barnes, who competes in bodybuilding challenges, has been left so weak he ‘struggles to make a cup of tea’, and is facing major surgery to repair the damage.
The ordeal has been captured in a shocking video clip that shows the online fitness coach wincing as the hefty weight almost crushes him.
‘It was a normal day at the gym, I was doing a bench press like normal, just like anyone else,’ he said, recalling the horrific event.
‘I went into the set, lifted the weight I’ve usually done and two or three reps in I saw the pec completely detach from the bone itself.
‘My left arm lost all strength, I heard something pop. I wouldn’t wish it upon my worst enemy, it was absolute agony.
Tristan Barnes believes his painful injury was partly caused by his steroid habit
The pec muscle ‘ripped’ off the bone, causing extensive bruising and potential need for surgery
 ‘After that I had the sensation like when you break a bone, I felt instantly sick.Â
‘I was hot and cold and was being sick, so I went to the hospital.’
Oddly, Mr Barnes, who has 48,000 Instagram followers, is not ready to give up his use of steroids — which can increase the risk of a host of serious conditions such as heart disease, blood clots, reduced sperm count and liver or kidney failure.
‘I stay on steroids and try to get the results I want from bodybuilding and then start coming off them and go down a healthier route,’ he said.
The influencer admitted he began using anabolic steroids when he was 18 as he wanted to pursue a career in bodybuilding and social media.
Despite knowing the risks, Tristan said that looking ‘unnatural’ and ‘scary’ is more likely to get views online.
‘It started at 18. In bodybuilding it is very well known that if you want to do really well at it you have to take more than what doctors prescribe.
Mr Barnes will continue to use sterioids in order to compete in bodybuilding competitions
‘At the time, my genetics were above average but I knew taking enhancement would benefit me.
‘If you have someone looking half-decent compared to someone that looks unnatural and scary, the scary person is always going to get more views.
‘I know you can earn a lot of money through social media so you sacrifice 10 years of your life but earn a good amount of money to not worry later on.’
Now, he is warning others to take care when training.
‘I probably won’t ever do a bench press again knowing what can happen, it has scarred me for life,’ he said.
‘I try to make the best of a very bad situation, but it’s very upsetting because I was planning to compete at the end of the year.
‘The likelihood is that now this is completely done for.
‘Listen to your body because now that I look back on it there were probably signs that my body was telling me not to do this that day.
‘If you go to the gym you probably know yourself every single time you do a movement, if there’s a bit of pain just stop that movement, go do something else that doesn’t cause pain.’
