Full Circle

Sporting News, The, Sept 20, 1999 by Dennis Dillon

Next, Young grabs a pair of light dumbbells. As Chung holds out his hands, Young goes through a series of hand motions that look something like a boxer's array of punches but really are simulated pass-rush moves. The dumbbells provide resistance.

Lifting himself into a situp chair, Young moves his legs up and down as if he were riding a bike. Now he goes faster. After that, he performs a series of single-leg extensions followed by extensions of both legs. Young turns to see his reflection in a mirror. Rivulets of perspiration roll down his face. He puts his head back, doses his eyes and exhales in quick, puffy breaths. He finishes with three fast sets of bicycle-like movements.

"He's my Hercules, my big, strong Hercules," Chung says, borrowing an Eddie Murphy line from The Nutty Professor. There's an inside joke between Young and Chung: They try not to look at each other's face because if Chung sees Young's pain, he might be tempted to let up.

Young lowers himself from the situp chair and collapses on the floor next to Chung. They slap palms.

"That's just the beginning," Young says.

He takes a five-minute break, then resumes lifting weights for 45 minutes. That's followed by 15 minutes of lightweight, lower-body exercises (step-ups, calf raises) with Lazenby. Now it's time for aquatics.

Young, still wearing tennis shoes, lowers himself into the 30-by-40-foot hydrotherapy indoor pool in a far corner of the training complex. Jerry Attaway, the 49ers' physical development director, supervises this session. He stands on the pool's deck, holding a stopwatch.

First, Young walks the width of the pool several times. Then, he jogs. Hopping in place, he alternates putting his feet in front of each other. He takes exaggerated steps as he rolls on his feet and pushes off with his toes.

Next, Young performs a set of squats, where he plunges underwater and raises his knees to his waist. For the next set, Attaway tells him to land on his left leg and push off with the right (surgically repaired) leg. Young submerges himself a dozen limes, comes up to open his eyes and realizes he has turned 45 degrees away from Attaway. "Oh," he says sheepishly.

Young moves to the side of the pool, in the seven-foot-deep section, and does leg extensions--forward, lateral and backward. He does them in 30-second bursts timed by Attaway. Last, Young performs single-leg strides, simulating running, as he holds on to the side. He grunts and blows air out of his cheeks.

After 35 minutes of pool work, Attaway asks, "Had enough? That's a pretty good day."

After almost four hours of rehab work and therapy, Young dresses and heads out the door. He is limping.

Day by day, week by week, the process continues. Improvement is gradual, sometimes painstakingly slow. Young increases the weight his right leg can handle. He starts to walk on a treadmill, then run on it. He and Lazenby try a variety of resistance exercises that will help Young build up the strength he will need when he returns to the football field.