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.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Today's Exercise Session
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Time Session Began: 1330 Duration of Session: 35 min |
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| Exercise | Reps | Sets | Comments |
| ISL | 10 | 1 | Performed sitting. She actually remembered to keep her muscles tensed! |
| KI | 10 | 1 | Pretty good, considering that she hasn't moved much since our last disastrous session. |
| LU | 10 | 1 | Performed sitting. Posture still a problem but she's not breaking her wrists as much. |
| KNI | 10 | 1 | I coached her, gently, to keep her thigh aligned with her hip joint. She mentioned that her thighs "really got a workout." Good. |
| FO1 | 10 | 1 | Performed sitting. She performed this exercise really well. |
| SDS | 10 | 1 | Feet a little stiff, today. |
| FO2 | 10 | 1 | Performed sitting. Did very well. |
| TDS | 10 | 1 | Feet loosening up nicely. |
| BG | 5 | 1 | She appeared to be contracting her ass rather than her belly, so I felt what she was doing, held my hands on her belly and the small of her back, and gently coached her to contract her abdominals. She did well. |
| MIP | 10 | 1 | Well done. Shifting weight nicely. |
| F2S | 10 | 1 | Performed sitting. Did really well! Her arms remained straight through most of the exercise. |
| SSS | 4 | 1 | I coached her closely through this entire exercise, gently. We worked on her using only her thighs. I talked her through each rep with my hands on her thighs and/or calves, reminding her to "use only your thigh for this; lift thigh; move only thigh out; put thigh down; lift thigh out; move only thigh back. Good." |
| AC | 5 | 1 | Performed sitting. Did pretty well. Her arms got a little tired on the last two reps. I asked her if anything hurt. She indicated the muscles in on her outer arms just below her elbows. "Ah, that's because you're moving with your forearms and not with your upper arms and shoulders." She got it. |
| FC | 10 | 1 | Performed sitting. Whoa! She appears to have mastered this one! I think we'll try this one standing during her next session. |
| SDST | 10 | 1 | Very nice. Good weight shifting. |
| IACR | Not yet. | ||
| TDST | Not yet. | ||
| IACL | Not yet. | ||
| STS | Not yet. | ||
| SSST | Not yet. | ||
| BD | 10 | 1 | Performed sitting. Ability to hold arms up very good. We may try this one standing at next session. |
| NSGP | Not yet. | ||
| SUSD | 5 | 1 | She is getting the hang of this, although practicing this isn't improving her normal standing and sitting technique unless I remind her; yet. |
So, yeah, we started again. I hadn't planned this. I just, suddenly, decided, maybe we should try again, about two minutes before we did. The first thing I did was apologize profusely for our last sessions which involved so much harassment I had to stop the whole idea. My initial intention, when I started getting her moving again today, was that I'd just let her do the exercises however she wanted and congratulate her for the effort on each one, whether or not she did them correctly. As I was apologizing, though, an apology that included surprise tears, I realized that maybe the best thing to do is to pretend that she's never done these before and gently coach her, hands-on, if necessary, though each exercise.
This strategy worked well. I did include a short lecture about attitude right after I called her to action when she gave me that sour look; but it was a benevolent lecture. A couple of times throughout the session I held her back forward to straighten it. I also continued to remind her to carry her sitting weight on the back tops of her thighs and sit forward in the chair.
We had a very good session. When I suggested the session it was because at 1325 she was yawning and decided she wanted to take a nap.
"Not yet," I said. "You have to stay up until 1430, at least, since you awoke at 1030." That's when I decided that a gentle exercise session might be in order. It did the trick. She was much revived, stayed up until 1500 and was awake on her own at 1615.
We discussed walkering sessions, too. I told her that maybe the best way to have her practice walkering was for her to be outside with me when I was doing the shaving back yard work that is necessary this season. She could wander at will with her walker, practice on her own and do it any way she wanted. "You'll finally figure out how to keep your back from hurting, Mom," I said. "If you're watching me and looking around and I'm not coaching you, you'll probably get it faster than with me coaching you."
So, we've begun again. I've much modified my approach. I had to. My Full Metal Jacket Drill Sergeant mode was torturing me as much as it was her.
