Description of Exercises [For prologue to this section of The Mom & Me Journals dot Net, click here.]
As of 9/04/04:
As of 9/04/04:
- In Side Lift [ISL]: Standing, with weights; Holding arms at sides, weights parallel to floor, lift weights up along sides as high as possible while holding elbows as close to body as possible; lower weights to starting position.
- Kick It [KI]: Sitting, independent alternate leg reps; start with foot flat on floor, kick to touch trainer's hand with toes, return foot flat to floor.
- Lift Up [LU]: Standing, with weights; Holding weights above shoulders, elbows out to sides, weights parallel to floor, extend arms completely above head, return to starting position.
- Knee It [KNI]: Sitting, independent alternate leg reps; start with foot flat on floor, raise knee up to touch trainer's hand, return foot flat to floor.
- Forward Out 1 [FO1]: Standing, with weights; Holding weights to upper chest perpendicular to ground, elbows close to sides, extend arms straight out, return to starting position.
- Separate Demitoe Sitting [SDS]: Sitting, independent alternate leg reps; start with foot flat on floor, raise heel until foot is resting on ball and toes, return to starting position.
- Forward Out 2 [FO2]: Standing, with weights; Holding weights to upper chest parallel to ground, elbows perpendicular to body, extend arms straight out, return to starting position.
- Together Demitoe Sitting [TDS]: Sitting, both feet reps together; start with feet flat on floor, raise heels until feet are resting on balls and toes, return to starting position.
- Forward 2 Side [F2S]: Standing, with weights; Holding weights straight out in front at shoulder height perpendicular to ground, open arms out until they are perpendicular to front of body, return to starting position.
- Side Step Sitting [SSS]: Sitting, independent alternate leg reps; start with foot flat on floor, step smartly to side and back, lifting knee up and down with thigh action.
- Arm Circles [AC]: Sitting, with weights; Holding weights straight out to sides at shoulder height perpendicular to ground, circle arms forward for prescribed reps, then backward.
- Marching In Place [MIP]: Standing, holding on to back of chair with both hands for support; march in place smartly, lifting knees high. On 9/6/04, changed exercise so that she stands between two chair backs facing forward and supports self on either side.
- Forward Curls [FC]: Standing, with weights; Holding weights parallel to ground, arms close to sides, bend arm at elbow and raise weights to shoulders, keeping elbows close to sides.
- Separate Demitoe Standing [SDST]: Standing, holding on to back of chair with both hands for support, independent alternate leg reps; with foot flat on floor lift heel until foot is resting on ball and toes, lower foot flat to floor.
- Independent Arm Circles Right [IACR]: Standing perpendicular to chair back holding onto chair with left hand, without weights; with right arm hanging down at side, circle arm from shoulder and upper arm, forearm hanging loose and elbow slightly bent, around across body and face, up, then out to side and down.
- Together Demitoe Standing [TDST]: Standing, holding on to back of chair with both hands, both feet reps together; start with feet flat on floor, raise heels until feet are resting on balls and toes, return to starting position.
- Independent Arm Circles Left [IACL]: Standing perpendicular to chair back holding onto chair with right hand, without weights; with left arm hanging down at side, circle arm from shoulder and upper arm, forearm hanging loose and elbow slightly bent, around across body and face, up, then out to side and down.
- Side to Side [STS]: Standing, hands on hips, without weights; begin facing forward, twist torso to left, then to right, as far as you can go.
- Side Step Standing [SSST]: Standing, holding on to back of chair with both hands for support, independent alternate leg reps; start with foot flat on floor, step smartly to side and back, lifting knee up and down with thigh action.
- Back Drop [BD]: Standing or sitting, independent alternate arm reps, with weights; Turning arm out so palm faces away from body, grip top of weight between thumb and forefinger, lift a arm straight above head so weight is parallel to ground, keeping upper arm straight, bend elbow and lower weight behind head and neck and lift to starting position.
- Not So Grand Plie [NSGP]: Standing supporting self with arms between two chair backs, toes turned outward, feet about shoulder's length apart, bend just a touch at the knees, keeping back straight and buttocks held in, then rise.
- Standing Up/Sitting Down [SUSD]: That's right, standing up and sitting down, with coaching and support. Not surprisingly, she is currently having difficulty standing up and sitting down, so I decided we should practice this. She scoots to the edge of the chair, readies her muscles, braces herself with her hands on my very steady arms, I coach her to "lean forward from the hips" and she stands up, then sits down, while I coach her to "sit with control, don't plop yourself in the chair."
- Belly Grip [BG]: This is simply tightening the abdominal muscles, holding for a count of five and relaxing for a count of five. Performed standing up. It occurred to me that this might help strengthen her lower back and help her body "remember" how to stand correctly when using her walker so that she stands closer to it and pushes it with the momentum of her legs instead of with her arms.
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Today's Exercise Session:
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Time Session Began: 1700 Duration of Session: 40 min |
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| Exercise | Reps | Sets | Comments |
| ISL | 12 | 1 | Very bad. |
| KI | 10 | 1 | She's finally getting the hang of this exercise, hallelujah. |
| LU | 10 | 1 | O.K. |
| KNI | 10 | 1 | Good. |
| FO1 | 10 | 1 | O.K. |
| SDS | 10 | 1 | O.K. |
| FO2 | 14 | 1 | Working on form. |
| TDS | 10 | 1 | Good. |
| F2S | 10 | 1 | Good. |
| SSS | 10 | 1 | Really worked on form. |
| AC | 5 | 1 | Corrected form. |
| MIP | Not done. | ||
| FC | 10 | 1 | Better, surprisingly. |
| SDST | Did not repeat. | ||
| IACR | Not yet. | ||
| TDST | Not yet. | ||
| IACL | Not yet. | ||
| STS | Not yet. | ||
| SSST | Not yet. | ||
| BD | 10 | 1 | O.K. |
| NSGP | Not yet. | ||
| SUSD | 5 | 1 | This time, I had her stand up and sit down in a way that was most comfortable for her. I am still offering her support with my arms, and she is still using it, but, it seems, she hasn't quite recovered the hang of rolling her upper body forward to gain momentum for standing, so I let her improvise and she seemed to stand up more easily doing it "her way". We'll work on this. |
| BG | Plan to begin this one on June 14th. | ||
Since it's been 11 days since we last had an exercise session, I was prepared for some back sliding, but I was also particularly ornery. Although I should probably have back peddled the reps, for the most part I didn't. I was a bit more critical than usual, as well, although, overall, she performed well.
I've never mentioned the following before, but there are certain stylistic corrections I repeat throughout the sessions that I want to cover here.
- She relaxes into the chair, practically sitting where her tail bone used to be (she had it removed many years ago after breaking it). "Sit at attention, move forward in the chair so that you're sitting on the edge, push your butt(if I'm in a good mood>/ass(if I'm getting annoyed) back," I remind her before almost every exercise.
- When using the weights she relaxes her muscles between reps, thus often breaking her grip, her wrists, and dropping the weights instead of lowering them. I am constantly reminding her to "keep the grip, raise and lower the weights, don't shove and drop them."
- She tends to relax her legs into a modified splay when doing the leg exercises, rather than keeping them taut, knees over ankles, which compromises her ability to lift and move her legs with her thigh. We work on this throughout the sessions, as well.
- She has an unfortunate tendency to relax her arms, thus, bending at the elbows when using the weights on straight arm exercises. Some of this is legitimate...her arms muscles just need more strengthening; some of it is not. I can tell the level of legitimacy by gauging whether she is throwing the weights around or lifting and lowering them.
