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.
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Today's Exercise Session:
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Time Session Began: 1805 Duration of Session: 45 min |
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| Exercise | Reps | Sets | Comments |
| ISL | 10 | 1 | Performed sitting. Each side performed separately for better coaching. Getting better. |
| KI | 10 | 1 | Refuses to believe that holding her legs in alignment will make it easier, even though we demonstrated this. |
| LU | 10 | 1 | Performed sitting. She clearly performs this exercise more easily when she sits forward and up but I had to remind her to do this with each rep. It was exhausting for me. |
| KNI | 10 | 1 | Again, I had such trouble getting her to remain in a sitting forward, upright position, even though it clearly made the exercise easier for her, that I became frustrated and she performed badly. |
| FO1 | 12 | 1 | Performed sitting. Performed each side separately for enhanced coaching. Same problem as above. Did it a lot worse than yesterday. |
| SDS | 10 | 1 | What the hell ever. |
| FO2 | 10 | 1 | Performed sitting. Each side performed separately for enhanced coaching. Didn't help. |
| TDS | 10 | 1 | This one's hard to do badly. She did it well. |
| BG | 7 | 1 | Did this well, too; standing. |
| MIP | 10 | 1 | No change from yesterday. Okay. |
| F2S | 10 | 1 | Kept her arms straight through more reps than usual, but slumped back in the chair halfway through. I tried to correct her but she just sighed and stayed where she was. |
| SSS | 10 | 1 | She doesn't want to use her thigh on this one. I gave her hell for this. |
| AC | 5 | 1 | Performed sitting. Again, although she did move her arms from the shoulders, she kept slumping back and I kept "coaching her to sit forward and up. |
| FC | 10 | 1 | Performed sitting instead of our usual standing, but she did these without a hitch. Couldn't believe it and complimented her. |
| SDST | 10 | 1 | She did okay on these but there isn't much one can do wrong. |
| IACR | Not yet doing. | ||
| TDST | Not yet doing. | ||
| IACL | Not yet doing. | ||
| STS | Not yet doing. | ||
| SSST | Not yet doing. | ||
| BD | 10 | 1 | Performed sitting. Did these well, arm held up nicely, but continued slumping back in the chair. This was the exercise during which I demonstrated to her that when she sits forward and upright her back doesn't hurt. She confirmed this, but continued to slump back and complain about her back hurting. Needless to say, I exploded at her. |
| NSGP | Not done yet. | ||
| SUSD | 4 | 1 | Actually did well on this. She's got the technique but, as I noticed after the session, she only uses this technique during the session. Otherwise, she does what I call "standing up on her hands". I got after her for this. |
Yes, third day in a row for an exercise session. My plan was to take a break tomorrow and take her with me to Costco for some walkering.
That was my plan, anyway. I don't know. I'd like to say what happened during today's exercise session is that I'm expecting to much of a typically lethargic, arthritis ridden 88 year old woman. I'd like to say this but I'm not sure that's accurate. What I can say is that Mom approached the session with her usual sour attitude and I exploded. Got nasty. When she started complaining about her back hurting I came back at her by telling her that of course it was hurting, she wasn't sitting correctly during the weight exercises, which was true. And, in fact, when I harassed her to sit correctly, her back stopped hurting.
As the session continued I became more and more frustrated and didn't hold back my frustration. I castigated her about not listening to me, not believing that I know what I'm doing, not believing in herself, that she can do these things, refusing to work in good form when she's capable of good form (and, she is); I got after her for her attitude; I used the fact that I knew what position would relieve the tension on her back against her when she refused to hold this position; god, I don't believe there is anything awful I didn't say or didn't do. In addition, on the weight bearing exercises I insisted that we work both arms separately so that she could concentrate on good form. Instead, probably because she was angry with my attitude, she performed worse instead of better.
Finally, after the session, I told her that I give up. Part of my job is to try to keep her in the best condition I can; to make sure she moves, exercises, does as much as she can so that she doesn't prematurely atrophy. But, I said, I guess it doesn't matter. I can't do what she refuses to do. I can't continue exercise sessions when her form is so bad that we risk injuring her instead of strengthening her. I continued that if she wants to atrophy I refuse to take responsibility, but I wasn't going to stop pointing out that she doesn't "need" to shuffle around, she doesn't "need" to be as stiff as she is, she's making that choice every time she sits "badly" instead of "correctly"; every time she's goes to bed because it's habit; every time she chooses bad form habits because they're habit, as though she has no choice. She has a choice, I told her, and she's making it. And I give up.
After I exploded I sat sullenly off to the side and remembered that I was feeling so, so good before the session. I had this image in my head of Mom's attitude toward movement just a year ago: Fists clenched, arms moving as though she was power walking, ready to go, ready to conquer the world. I had been thinking, yes, we're going to get her there again. Maybe I'm wrong. And maybe I'm not accepting it. Maybe I'm wrong about everything. Maybe she's in a decline I'm refusing to acknowledge. I don't know. All I know is that I can't continue exercise sessions that may be hurting her and I'm having a hard time, a very hard time, accepting that she may be beyond exercise sessions, now.
At any rate, we'll both get a rest tomorrow. Not exercise session and no Costco. I need a day of emotional rest.
