. In effect I became a semi-invalid. I would not have been able to run to save
my life. I could not play the rough and tumble games my two young daught-
ers liked to play. I could no longer carry even one of them down a staircase. I
could no longer lift even very light boxes without having to be meticulously
careful about a flat back and not bending over too far. I could not go up
a staircase two steps at a time. I could only gingerly enter and exit a car. I
avoided physical activity whenever possible. I delegated even very simple
lifting tasks.. It was almost eighteen months before I got back into very light but consistent
and progressive training throughout my body. en there was the long haul
of ups and downs before I returned to the strength level I had in the summer
of .What used to work
. Until I got the rash of injuries—in the summer of —my standard
treatment for injuries, aches and pains always worked: Lay off the bother-
some exercise(s) for a week or few, perhaps apply some ice over the first few
days, skip some workouts if need be, ease back into training over a couple of
weeks, and then all would apparently be well.The root of the injuries
. Nearly twenty years of taking too many liberties in the gym, following
advice from poor sources and not always following what I preached, finally
piled up and I started to crumble. (e at-times extreme pressure and stress
of work since starting in probably also contributed.) A
hard gainer is not only severely restricted in the type of training that will
work, relative to an easy gainer, but is far less resistant to the ravages of exer-
cise abuse.. I also believe that my four-year bout of veganism in my early twenties made
a contribution to removing, indefinitely, some of the robustness of body
structure I had before.. In July I was forced to give up hard training. I was riddled with so
many injuries that there were no exercises I could do that did not irritate
something. I applied the usual ice, a few weeks of reduced activity, and lots
of rest, but there was no real improvement. Chiropractic care only helped
my particular lower-back problem a little. e discomfort/pain down there,