Man Injures Himself Demonstrating Proper Deadlift Form to Friend Who Did Not Ask

Local gym member Craig Lordosis, 38, herniated a lumbar disc Tuesday while demonstrating what he described as 'textbook deadlift mechanics' to a fellow gym-goer who had not requested instruction, was wearing headphones, and was, by all accounts, performing the exercise correctly.

'I saw his hip hinge and I just knew I had to help,' Lordosis said from a gurney at Mercy General, where an MRI confirmed a posterolateral disc herniation at L4-L5. 'His bar path was slightly anterior to his midfoot. You can't just let that go.'

The incident occurred at approximately 6:15 PM at Iron Temple Fitness, when Lordosis approached a stranger mid-set, tapped him on the shoulder, and said 'let me show you how the kinetic chain is supposed to work.'

Lordosis then loaded the bar to 315 pounds — approximately 40 pounds more than his working maximum — and initiated the lift while narrating: 'You want to brace your transversus abdominis, drive through the posterior chain, maintain a neutral spine—'

It was during the word 'spine' that witnesses report hearing what one described as 'a sound like someone stepping on a bag of chips.'

'He went from standing to fetal in about half a second,' said the gym member Lordosis had been attempting to instruct. 'I took my headphones out and he was just lying there saying "it's all about the hip hinge" over and over.'

Lordosis's physical therapist has prescribed six weeks of core stabilization exercises and a strict prohibition on 'offering biomechanical advice to strangers.' Lordosis has indicated he plans to comply with the first recommendation.