Jujimufu, a.k.a. Jon Call, has carved out a niche on YouTube by performing an array of stunts that combine his strength and gymnastic talents and often involve a degree of flexibility and nimbleness that challenges his bodybuilder physique. In a recent video, inspired by a video from personal trainer Mykolo Borovets, Juji and his video partner Tom decide to attempt an incredibly difficult feat: the barbell backflip.
(Incidentally, Men’s Health‘s stance on barbell backflips remains the same as it did when we covered Eirik Thingstad Lundstein’s impressive feat in 2017: Do not try them at home.)
Instead of using a regular barbell, Juji implements a special aluminum technique bar, which weighs around 15 pounds. He then adds two 5 kilogram plates (each weighing just over 11 pounds), and executes the backflip with pretty impressive form.
When Tom tries the same move with the 5 kilogram plates, it goes a little differently; he loses his grip on the barbell mid-flip. It flies out of his hands, and he lands on his face, proving to pretty much everybody watching that the maneuver is nowhere near as easy as Juji makes it look. Tom keeps hold of the bar on his second attempt, but the weight of it pulls him down and he ends up landing on the bar (he fortunately escapes injury).
It should be noted that Juji and Tom try their barbell backflips in a gymnastics studio, in an area filled with mats to pad their falls. We cannot stress enough that this is not a move you should be trying in your own gym, especially without mats. Leave the flips—even those without weights—to the experts.
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