A few upperbody questions

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OperIvy

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Ok, im sure some of you read my other thread. For those who didnt: I am paralyzed from the knees down and play competitive wheelchair. I dont work out like i should and i have been slightly above average just on natural ability. My questions are, 1. Obviously basketball players dont want to be hulks, so should i work out every muscle group, 8-12 reps for a balance of strength and leanness? 2. I have abs that work, but not as well as most because of my paralysis. What is the best way to start slowly working on them?
 
Would it be possible to have someone hold your legs down (or strap/weight them), lay down on the floor and raise your torso up in to a seated possiton?

I knew a guy who had his legs removed and he found that it really helpped him to sit on a swiss ball (fitness/yoga ball) when he was at home.

This may sound hard but the less air you have in them the easyer it is to balence. It will help use the abs, back and obliques to balence you. Its very common for these muscles to get very weak if you spend all the time in the chair, then you may end up pulling them when you do use them.
 
so you mean a sit up? Yeah, i can barely do a few. Maybe 10-15 and my abs are totally exhausted. I guess thats somewhere to start though.
 
10-15 is plenty. You want to keep the reps low to build the strength.

Try 3 sets of 10-15 3 times a week.

Can you do twisting sit ups?

You can also try the same with hyperextentions if its possible to get some strength in your lower back.

My mate didnt do any core exercise for 4 years. one day he was trying to lift himself off te floor and tore his side very badly. This is why its important for you to stay strong in that area. Even if your strong in the upperbody, core exercises will really help you.

How do you get on with the rest of your workout?
going back to point 1 in your 1st post -
dont worry about putting on too much muscle, you will only grow big if you eat lots and it wont happen over night. So try and get some good weight training done to improve your strength.

The uni your going to - is it specificaly for wheelchair users?
 
I am going to the University of Alabama. I believe only about a dozen schools have teams so far. University of oklahoma, Illinois, Oklahoma state, and then a bunch of smaller schools have teams. In my other thread that i accidently posted on the womens section, i posted a link to a cool video about it. Anywho, i doubt i can do hyper extentions but i will check it out. I have been in a chair since birth( i have a birth defect called spina bifida). I can probably manage the twisting sit ups though. If only a few. I dont really have much of a work out as of now. Ive taken the past 2 years off from basketball because i tore my rotator cuff my sr year and played the rest of the season anyway. Yeah i know that was stupid. All i have started so far is a 2.5 mile jog, aka 50-60% push, 5 days a week. The Y is about my only option for the gym, and i plan to join there this week.
 
If you will be going to a gym, then for your abs you can get a high cable, turn to face away from th machine, and you wanna be as close to it as poss. hold the cable in your hands above your head and crunch your abs forward.

Will you be training with someone?
 
That high cable crunch sounds like it would be much easier for me than almost anything else. And as of now, no I will be going by myself. Which shouldnt present too much of a problem.
 
Also with the high cable pulls, play around with the angle that you are seated and you will be able you do side crunches and twists.

Start off really really light. You will find that your twisting muscles very weak cos you prob have not used them much.

Consider you first few months to be a practice run. Training before your real training if you like. Just try to get used to the motions and exercises, before adding too much weight.
 
OK cool. Thanks for your help. One last thing, since i will probably be working out 2-3 days a week, should i cut down my jogging to 2-3 days a week as well?
 
Well it will be a massive strain on your shoulders to do so much work with them.

I'd say you should play it by ear. If you feel ok then go for it, but make sure your getting a good 48-56hour block of rest every week.
 
Thanks for the help. Also, i was reading alot about machines on this forum and it almost seems like alot of you think they are worthless for strength. I am going to be using alot of machines for stability reasons since my balance is pretty horific. Are machines really that useless or are they just worse than free weights?
 
You need to work on your weakest area. 'A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.'

Machines will help you put on size, but they wont make you stronger and they wont teach you to use your body.

Just start off light. As I said, consider your first month a practice. I understand your stability is not good, but thats the best reason to improve it, or you will always have bad stability. And yes, machines are usless, not just worse.

I'm presuming you have a sports chair? can you adjust the back to recline and decline? Mu mate found his sports chair annoying in the gym, he didnt like the seat possition or the wider wheel base.
 
Ok thanks. Im all set to start my program. I am going to get a physical trainer to help me for my first few weeks so i can get my feeet wet. I havent worked out with weights in 4-5 years. Oh and i use my every day chair in the gym. My sports chair is too wide.
 
Hey man, I was reading some of your posts, and I can honestly say that I'm both impressed and intrigued with your situation. A lot of people that are parylized from the waist down don't even think about fitness, or even persue it. I hope I'm not being rude, but I was wondering how you became parylized. I'm just curious, because I actually sold my motorcycle because I have a friend that had an accident and has the same handicap as you do. But moving on.... I was wondering what you do for cardio exercise. I know you can't run, or get on an elipse machine, or a stair climber, so I was just wondering what the options are. My buddy had his accident almost a year and half ago, and as if becoming paralyzed hasn't depressed him enough, he is even more depressed because he is getting fat. He's gained 35lbs since the accident, and he used to be a pretty fit guy with no formal exercise. He wants to exercise, but he doesn't know what to do. I told him to weight lift, but he thinks that weight lifting will just put bulk on him and make him look fatter without doing cardio with it to cut the fat. So any advice you could give, I'm sure he'd appreciate it. He's going through a rough time, and I know that exercise makes me feel good, and I know it will have a positive effect on him.
 
Hey. The best thing i can reccomend for your friend is wheelchair basketball! I have been playing nationally since i was 11 and its a blast. There are atleast a few teams in MN. There is a team in Bloomington, greenfield, South West State has one too. His fitness level doesnt really matter either. Alot of people in his situation pick up wheelchair basketball after an injury so pretty much all coaches are understanding. If he doesnt want to do that or youre too far away, he can try just getting out and pushing his chair around a track, or what i think is the best, swimming. Since he hasnt done much since the accident, i would suggest starting out swimming with a professional. Its a great upperbody work out when thats all you can use haha. And since youre on this website, i know youve read that weightlifting doesnt just make you bulk up, so try to convince him lift as well. Anything else you want just let me know, or send me a PM.
 
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