[intakexhaust]

^^^ I could see the same with others my age. BTW: A lot of those guys in the trades are heavy drinkers and smokers. But since I went into construction later, it might have helped. Or maybe I'm just lucky yet I do count my blessings. Always was active, eat healthy and have a fast metabolism.

Lifting in construction is quite different than free weights at a gym. Its all about leverage. Examples are handling 8 ft. concrete forms that if gripped or balanced incorrectly, can cause trouble later on. Done right, little guys can easily outwork a big tough guy. Although I've seen some dumbo human cranes that seem nothing could stop them.

The only long term pain regretfully I caused upon myself was from a one time incident. Working alone on an addition in zero degree, ice - sleet covered ground. Some wrecking crew decided to drop a pile of old bricks directly in the way of my material path and left. I had no other way around the pile. I was carrying stacks of long 2 x 12 for joist on my shoulder (as normal) but was dumb to walk numerous loads over that frozen pile of bricks, ice and cold temps. The next day I couldn't get up. Back was so out of alignment and really screwed up. Took a long time to recover and now once a year my back will warn me and I get the pain.