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, August 07, 2005
Today's Exercise Session:
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Time Session Began: 1203 Duration of Session: 45 min |
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| Exercise | Reps | Sets | Comments |
| ISL | 10 | 1 | Better than ever. Performed sitting. |
| KI | 10 | 1 | Right leg still harder for her than left, but good. |
| LU | 10 + 4 | 2 | Last set done to correct tendency to break wrists. Performed sitting. |
| KNI | 10 | 1 | Good. |
| FO1 | 10 | 1 | Good. Performed sitting. |
| SDS | 10 | 1 | Good. |
| FO2 | 12 | 1 | Good. Last two were for correction purposes. Performed sitting. |
| TDS | 10 | 1 | Good. |
| BG | 5 | 1 | Very good; could see her belly muscles working. Performed standing. |
| MIP | 10 | 1 | Good. Shifted balance well. Performed standing. |
| F2S | 10 | 1 | Good. Performed sitting. |
| SSS | 10 | 1 | Better than before. Finally got the idea that the movement to the side is to be performed from the hip, not the thigh or calf. |
| AC | 5 + 1 | 2 | Second "set" was to correct her tendency to move her forearms rather than moving from the shoulder. She finally felt it in the right place. |
| FC | 10 + 2 | 2 | Her form is improving; second set was to tweak it a little. |
| SDST | 10 | 1 | I reminded her to flex the knee before we started. Good balance shift; good performance. |
| IACR | Not done yet. | ||
| TDST | Not done yet. | ||
| IACL | Not done yet. | ||
| STS | Not done yet. | ||
| SSST | Not done yet. | ||
| BD | 10 | 1 | Performed standing. Did great. |
| NSGP | Not done yet. | ||
| SUSD | 5 | 1 | She did terrific on this one. Before she started I demonstrated the two ways old people often rise from a sitting position, one of which she does regularly, which is lifting herself with her arms while bending at the upper back while fully seated back in the chair. I did this to show her that both of these ways of rising are hard even for me, and hard on the back and the knees. Then, I reviewed, once more, the way to rise that's easy on one's back, one's knees and just generally easy: Scooting forward until her ass is close to the edge of the chair, bending forward from the hips until her ass begins to lift off the chair, which naturally begins to shift her weight to her bend legs, then promoting the completion of the weight shift and rising up. She got it, and surprised herself at how little effort it takes to rise from a seated position like this. The first four she did holding onto my hands, but with much less transferred pressure than usual. She insisted on doing the last stand-up herself, and did really well. After she was settled back in her rocker (this was the last exercise), I showed her, once more, how "everybody", especially those whose bodies are tone, actually rises, exactly like this, but they do it so fast, including the part where one scoots closer to the edge of the chair, that it isn't noticeable. She understood. |
I surprised both of us with this exercise session, today. During breakfast, and during our traditional after breakfast game of Sorry I noticed that she was bright eyed, bushy tailed and rosy. Her right eye wasn't swimming (something that happens when she's tire or sick; her right iris floats well above her lower lid, rather than sitting on it), her eyelids weren't swollen and she was in good, feisty humor.
She, of course, gave me her typical snide grin when I suggested an exercise session but didn't back down. I've been insisting, lately, when we do both formal and informal sessions, that she sit closer to the edge of the chair with her back as straight as possible and her legs "at attention", which means not sprawled and split for relaxation. Normally I have to badger her a bit to keep this posture but today she did fine on her own. I did put her on continuous oxygen flow (2/lpm) throughout the session, which is unusual, but only as a precaution because, as usual, when she returns to this altitude after even a short stay in the Valley she mouth breathes more than usual.
Today it wasn't necessary for me to be nearly as hard on her as I usually am. As well as covering the corrections mentioned above in the individual exercise reviews, I talked a lot, today, about how the weights are meant to be used to remind the exerciser to grip, tense, lift and lower, not tote, haul and drop. She paid attention to this better than usual today. Correction wasn't necessary for most of the exercises.
