. Another training modification I made at this time was to stop bench press-
ing with my feet on the floor. By raising them on a -inch platform the
lower-back stress arising from an excessive arch was eliminated.. Also in November I started to climb staircases two steps at a time,
when the mood struck me. I had not been able to do this without discomfort
for nearly three years. is was another memorable moment in my recov-
ery.Completing the “comeback”
. In summer , rather than persisting with the squat and bent-legged
deadlift, I switched to the Hammer Isolateral Leg Press and the Trap Bar
stiff-legged deadlift.. A factor behind the shift from barbell squatting to leg pressing was advice
from Dr. Papadopoulos that I should not put a bar across my upper verte-
brae. From -rays he discovered that my upper-thoracic vertebrae have an
unusual semi-compacted formation, perhaps caused by years of squatting
with a bar too high on my shoulders, at the base of my neck. Continued
barbell squatting, even with the bar lower on my traps, would aggravate this
abnormality. So I gave up barbell squatting for good.. In I returned to the strength level and development I had in early
summer . What a traumatic four years it had been. It was desperately
frustrating on the one hand, but enormously instructive on the other. While
everything I used to try to help my recovery has not been described in this
chapter, and there were other negative experiences that delayed the “come-
back,” enough has been included to teach you about the most important
factors. You can learn a lot from my experience.The Tru-Squat machine
. In I bought a Tru-Squat (from Southern Xercise, see page ) and
with it was able to return to intensive squatting. (Instead of the leg press
and stiff-legged deadlift as my core leg and back exercises, I moved to the
Tru-Squat, and stiff-legged deadlift from just below knee height.) e Tru-Trigger point therapy could be some of the most momentous edu-
cation you have ever had, or ever will have. It was for me.