Beyond-Brawn-2nd-Edition

HOW A TRAINING NIGHTMARE WAS SILENCED
18.10 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 daughters
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.
18.11 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 1992.
What used to work
18.12 Until I got the rash of injuries—in the summer of 1992—my standard
treatment for injuries, aches and pains always worked: Lay off the bothersome
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
18.13 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 HARDGAINER in 1989 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 exercise
abuse.
18.14 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.
18.15 In July 1992 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,
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