Hi im Amber and ive been parayzed from the chest down for about 3 years now due to a car accident not only a few days after my highschool graduation. I've came upon your videos and you're such an inspiration. You're a very strong person mentally and physically. Keep up the good work. God bless you
Thank you so much for your videos! As an Occupational Therapy student, it can be very hard to visualize what life looks like for people post-injury. Your videos help a lot with that!
I just had a c6 complete injury a month ago and I'm still in rehab right now. I've been looking for how to get back to the gym, thank you for making this video!!
I love your videos. I'm not paraplegic but I think your videos are really helpful for people that are! In my Physical Therapy program we were talking about spinal cord injuries and my professor wanted to show us transfers so I refered her to your videos :)
Yes, keeping active when you have a physical injury or disability helps the body stay flexible. Not working out makes the muscles tightened up making mobility more difficult. You also slow down the progress of arthritis in your joints and help your circulation stay flowing. Good workout man. ☺
Fantastic video with some great tips for the gym!! 😃💪🏻 As a C 4/5 incomplete & T 4 complete SCI since 1994, I can identify with you on the struggle with core control. But I think there is ways to use free weights to get beyond this. The trick is to use lightweights with greater reps - I tend to do three sets of 35 reps with a 5 pound and 8 pound dumbbell. Another suggested dumbbell use for arm curls is to go from a vertical curl directly into an overhead press, returning to the shoulder, & then to the lowered straight arm. Then repeat the rep. It’s a killer arm builder! 😜 I also have an equalizer gym myself. A word of caution to the military press - as you age in a wheelchair, using the military press overhead can compress the spine with lack of core to support it. It is why I gave up using it for the sake of lighter free weights & greater reps. By applying prolonged compression on an unsupported spine it can lead to scoliosis or kyphosis. Trust me, I know! As a T 1, I’m impressed with how you’ve managed to maintain your core condition! Any tips on how we might maintain a healthy diet and protein intake while not in appropriately growing the abdomen core? 😉🫃
Thanks for your workout ideas....I am a trainer and workout with a guy whose injury is similar to yours...so hard to come up with fresh ideas...thank you so much!
You do fantastic! I'm going to take your video to the gym so I can have them see what I'm talking about. I've pushed a chair for 18 years and now have used an electric one for 21 years after that. I'm a T6 complete and have never been able to explain well enough that they understand what I'm trying to do. Thanks,
I'm a T10-12 incomplete due to tethered cord syndrome, and this video is really helpful in giving me a few ideas of exercises to do, as I am looking into going to the gym more. Thanks for this!
Nice video! Did lol at the start, just finished at the gym doing a chest and arms workout - I’m a T12 para, your gym looks awesome I transfer into machines and benches to workout
You used the word 'tricky' like 7 times, but this doesn't matter. What matters is how you help others by sharing your amazing videos. I'm doing a project on paraplegia, your channel aids me a lot! :)
Thank you for this video, Brian! I am a C7 Quad/Para (my hand grip is impaired, but most people consider me paraplegic), and have been trying really hard to get my shoulders/chest/back/arms to stand out over my goofy core, and this gave me some good ideas. You mention at one point that resistance bands at home work just as well for some things. There is no gym around my area as accessible as the one you were at, so most of my workouts are at home. On days you don't go to the gym but want to workout, what home exercises do you do? Would you make a video for that? I know you're not as gaga over exercising as a lot of other people are, but you look great compared to most people who have lost core function, and people notice that.
I live in a small town so my Y doesn't have a lot of handicap accessible machines. I could always transfer, but I find it easier to just do free weight
I have to say as a Low Quad and an Ex body builder. Your completely backwards on what muscle groups your working. As pushing in a wheelchair your constantly using, deltoid, Traps, Infaruspinatus, Teres Major, and Triceps if you have them. your working chest and front front and Anterior Deltoid in most your begening lifts.
I was at the gym today and was searching for tips since I'm paraplegic as well and always want to learn more...i found it funny cuz people think I'm crazy working out in jeans haha.
+Alexander Gromov My cardio routine consists of an arm bike (UBE) and a rope pull down machine. I have another video related to this so check it out. (uploading now)
l have never been to a gym, always just got massive exercise pushing my chair miles and miles! Great information, l hope to be able to utalize what you are teaching here. l wonder Brian, what seat back are you using? Getting ready for a new chair. Thanks a lot, Randy
+SitDownPerspective Hi Randy. My backrest is called the ROHO Jetstream Pro and it's a solid piece of carbon fiber with a pad attached to it. I highly recommend this backrest due to it's solid construction and support it provides. It's also REDICULOUSLY light weight.
Great lifting, Brian! You made a lot of sense when you said we need to focus on the back. I agree and I'll keep that in mind. My question is: do you feel a bit of spasticity when you lift dumbbells?
No, I don't really get upper body spasms. It's usually in my legs and only if I've been sitting for a long time. This is rarely an issue when working out because I'm moving around so much.
These moves are ok but you really need to work on abdominal part as it droops over time. As a paraplegic l know that it is the most difficult part to handle. I would love to see if you have any tricks in order to prevent this prolapse.
awesome video thanks ill do it next week im t7 live in Cleveland if u know some groups that can help me to know how can i b more independent pleaseee let me know
Hello good afternoon. I tried to do a lot of exercise but my lack of trunk control hinders me to do, I wonder if you showed these exercises serve to also improve trunk control? since my injury is T5 level, I think q like yours. greetings from Medellin Colombia, congratulations on your videos.
+julian esteban gomez cartagena Yes, these workouts definitely help you core stability. Even with my high injury level I have managed to maintain more core stability than most.
Thank you so much for your videos they are such an inspiration My sister was in a car Accident in Grandview Ohio.She now is a Paraplegic she is still in the hospital it been a week and she is unable to speak they had to go in and relive pressure from her brain. I am an older brother and not knowing what to expect is there some book or a video to watch? Hard question and not sure if there's an answer but how long before she comes around and what should we expect?Is there anything we (her family can do to help her) a long.
Ironically, my accident was also in Grandview Ohio. I can't really say how she will recover but the most functionality usually returns (if it's going to) in the first 12 months. There's not a ton you can do...actually it's almost better if you don't do everything for her because it's important for her to figure out how to take care of herself. I really hope the brain injury clears up. Just give it time.
Your wheelchair locks seem to be really easy engage (flick of the wrist). Who makes them? I'm guessing the same as the chair, but was hoping they might be something I could buy and attach to my chair.
They are composite scissor locks that came on my TiLite chair. They are plastic though and tend to wear out over time. I suggest looking up Eagle aluminum scissor brakes online. They are the same design but much more sturdy since they are metal and not much more money than the plastic ones.
This was very helpful! Thank you! I'm curious, what sort of things do you do for aerobics? I had a trainer recently tell me that studies are showing that if we do muscle building, cardio isn't quite as important as we once believed.
Getting boxing gloves and finding a punching bag (most gyms/kickboxing gyms have them) is awesome cardio! So is finding a side street when it's nice out (or any open flat area) and pushing up and down it several times, timing yourself and trying to beat your time each time!
i got weighed last week, which is not an easy thing to be able to do here (uk), sit down weight scales are really hard to find, i had to go to my hospitals A & E (E.R) department to find one. basically i'm about 15-20 pounds heavier than i want to be, not much but i am a bit flabbier than i like, so was wondering if you had any advice on exercises i could do from my chair to help assist with weight loss, obviously i know less KFC and Mcdonalds is the main thing but just wondered if there are any simple exercises to help along the way.
+soni sachin Hi Soni. Unfortunately I don't have any ab control since my injury is from the armpits down. Since I don't have control of my abs cannot work out my ab muscles.
How long do you typically spend at the gym with your workouts? I'm a t4 complete injury for only 8 months now looking for a gym and I'm just wondering how long I might spend there
I think doing more reps with less weight is a little more beneficial and easier to control if you have poor core control. So maybe 16-20 reps. If you are just starting out you could do less. It’s always best to not go too crazy at first until you’ve built up some muscle endurance. That way you can still roll your wheelchair without feeling like your arms are gonna fall off. Lol
Hi Bryan, thanks for your videos, help us a lot. I'm from Ecuador, i'm T4 - T5 paraplegic. I sent a query by private message 1 week ago, I hope you can help me, greetings