The former Gloucester and Wasps prop won 73 caps for England, five more for the British and Irish Lions.
Victory at the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia was a sporting zenith in a career that includes being a businessman and a Celebrity MasterChef winner.
But personal struggles and a diagnosis for probable CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), for which Vickery is part of a continuing litigation battle, means he has had to manage his mental health.
“We all deal with things differently,” he said. “I think having the gym and having that space to be able to work is really important for my mental health, but also for my body physically, because it is broken, so I use it in that sense.
“I think the one thing I really struggled with when I finished playing is I trained to play and I couldn’t find that reason to train afterwards.
“And although you should train for yourself or your wellbeing, it probably took a low point or something to actually trigger it.
“But, probably, the bodybuilding – or doing the show or doing the original transformation – I have to close the circle. You know, you have a plan, you make a plan, you implement it, you commit to it, see it through, and then it’s over and it’s done. And then you move on.”