Ray Cantwell is making progress in flexibility and strength in a program designed by trainer Tyler Merrill (top)
Scott Linnett / Union-Tribune

After driving the 80 or so miles from his Hemet home to a Pacific Beach exercise studio twice a month, he's at the mercy of personal trainer Tyler Merrill. Seemingly immovable objects – muscles stubbornly storing the wear, tear and abuse of Cantwell's 71 years – meet the irresistible force of Merrill's touch.

Clearly, there's no can't in Cantwell.

"He pushes me to the point that I could catapult him to the wall," Cantwell says.

Merrill's retort: "Ray's probably the most challenging client I've ever worked with, including MS and stroke patients. I have to go beyond his comfort level to see any change. We're pushing him to the limit."

Cantwell still has a long way to go, commute notwithstanding. But he can scratch his head and touch his toes these days. He can stand on a ladder, ride a bike, walk short distances without looking like he's failing a sobriety test and tackle a litany of home improvement projects.

His goal: to walk comfortably, go back to playing golf and keep doing projects such as building a deck at his new Hemet home.

For now, Cantwell measures progress by the inch. It's all about range of motion. He's achieving it in his workouts at Addie's One on One Studio in Pacific Beach and in a daily home regimen designed by Merrill.

A bodywork program he discovered in Hemet, featuring cross-fiber muscle pressure at the hands of David Burnett, adds another element.

By his own account, Cantwell's physical breakdown was due to a combination of indignities: blowing out a knee and hurting a shoulder in high school sports, falling off a 6-foot ladder onto a concrete sidewalk and the trauma of an auto accident.

What's more, he spent the better part of a career as a purchasing director for an electrical contractor hunched over a desk.

Diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage that can distort or interrupt messages between the brain and the body), Cantwell knows he won't be cured overnight.

"It's like he told me, 'It took me 30 or 40 years of screwing up my body, so it can't be fixed in a couple of years,'" Merrill said of Cantwell.

HOMEWORK: Although retired, Cantwell is always on the go. During a break in the action, he finds 45 minutes most days to devote to a combination of flexibility and strengthening exercises. They ready him for his twice-monthly sessions with Merrill. "If my body tells me no, I won't do it," he said.

FINDING HIS BALANCE: Two years ago, Cantwell's balance was so precarious he couldn't ride a bike. Now he tours the neighborhood, covering up to three miles at a time. "I put on the brake for resistance," he said. Before concentrating on flexibility – the first step in a comprehensive plan that eventually will include more strength and cardiovascular work – Merrill put Cantwell on unstable surfaces to improve his balance. There will be more of that once the combination of flexibility training and bodywork improve his alignment and posture.