hi there - im new and looking for help

[locky]

i have just joined. i am a 28 year old male with muscular dystrophy and im in a wheelchair. im looking for any help or support anyone can give me to help with my training whether its as a trainer, a mentor or anyone with advice i need all the help i can get. so if you can help me in anyway please let me know? thanks

[IronGame]

Welcome mate, I am a trainer but I'll be the first to admit that I don't have any experience with training people in your particular situation.

However I would suggest overhead pressing with dumb bells and bar bell, horizontal rowing movements (could start with bands for this) Vertical pulling i.e. pull downs with various grips (maby even chins with a spotter) Horizontal pushing (again with bands/cables) bicep curls, overhead tricep exteisions.

All depends on your current level, training history, how long you have been in a wheelchair and with atrophy?

Do you have any other conditions? proper organ function, medication?

Diet is another bigie, lots of clean food high protein moderate fats and carbs, assuming that you have no other conditions that limit what you can eat.

Answer these questions and some of us here can help you.

[Dumbelldog]

Welcome to NZBB Locky, I'm sure we will all be more than willing to help, yust post up some questions in the right forums and they shall be answered. If you are looking for someone to help with your training day to day then let us know where you live and we know may someone that can help.

[Pseudonym]

Hey man, good to have you here!

I've just performed a Wikipedia diagnosis (so obviously now I'm a medical expert!), and I'm guessing you have Becker's muscular dystrophy - am I right? Like IronGame says, tell us a bit more about what you can and can't do, and together we'll work something out for you.

(BTW, I merged your two questions into one. We're a pretty small forum here, so everyone reads everything anyway...)

[poos_n_wees]

Welcome to the board locky :grin:

Ditto to what everyone has said :nod: What type of muscular dystrophy do you have?

[Pseudonym]

Aha! You should have waited for me to edit my post, PnW! That's one point to me. :grin:

(Well, maybe. Perhaps I should wait for Locky to confirm that before I start crowing too much, eh?!)

[poos_n_wees]

Damn them wikipedia skillzz...

[locky]

yep i have becker muscular dystrophy. well done.

my diet is very healthy, lots of clean food, lots of protein not much carbs and fats. there is nothing to limit my diet so thats good.

i am not on any medication and my organs are very strong, much stronger than most in my position.

i live on the north shore in Auckland so if there is anyone in my area keen to help then that would be greatly appreciated.

i have been in a wheelchair for about 8 years and there is quite a bit of atrophy mainly through the adductors in my arms and legs most other muscles are good. i am definetly trying to reverse the effects and get as strong as i can to get the most out of life.

thanks so much for being so friendly and keen to help

oh as for exercises currently i am swimming for an hour once a week - no freestyle just 2 laps of hopping/walking, 2 laps of crab walking, 2 laps of kicking with assistance, 10 mins or so balancing on a noodle while people try to knock me off and some arms movements as well

also the gym once a week doing triceps and pull downs.

i have a standing frame i have been usinf for about for months i stand for an hour four times a week

i do stretches every day

i do alot of core and grip exercises six days a week aroun 5-8 hours a day except sunday.

also i need assistance to get my arms over my head although i work my biceps, triceps and shoulders with assistance from caregivers when possible

i hope this helps any advice is appreciated - thanks

[Pseudonym]

So what advice are you looking for, Locky? Are you wanting suggestions for more exercises to do in the gym? I haven't got any suggestions yet, but I've got some more questions...

oh as for exercises currently i am swimming for an hour once a week - no freestyle just 2 laps of hopping/walking, 2 laps of crab walking, 2 laps of kicking with assistance, 10 mins or so balancing on a noodle while people try to knock me off and some arms movements as well

It took me a while to work out what a noodle was, and how you balanced on it! Is it one of those long sponge rubber tubes which you straddle? That would kind of make sense... All of those exercises are targeting the adductors. Why no freestyle? This all seems quite leg-dominant - is there a reason arms are left out? Sculling is a great swim stroke - ever tried that?

i do alot of core and grip exercises six days a week aroun 5-8 hours a day except sunday.

5-8 hours a day?! Wow! What does this involve?

also i need assistance to get my arms over my head although i work my biceps, triceps and shoulders with assistance from caregivers when possible

Sorry if this is an ignorant question, but what's the hurdle in getting your arms over your head? Is it strength or flexibility, and what muscles does it affect? Is that something we can improve?

Another dumb question... How strong are your legs? If you're in a wheelchair, is standing an effort, or an impossibility? I guess what I'm asking here is, there are excercises in the gym to strengthen adductors, but are they out of the question at this stage?

[locky]

well mainly im looking for advice on how to find people to assist me with my training, someone very motivated. and yes any exercises that people can think of? or any websites that may help me?

yes a noodle is one of those long sponge things. freestyle is physically impossible at the moment but im working on it. yes sculling will work thanks for that. i am focusing on my arms and legs equally (trying to) i do incorporate alot of arm movements and exercises when in the pool. what else could i do for my arms any suggestions?

the core and grip exercises involve - biking, swiss ball, assisted movements to strengthen my abs and obliques and lower back muscles - its hard to explain them in detail and im not quite sure on the termanology. and grip - i have alot of rehab equibment that i use, therabands, and some light weights. any suggestions on exercises for grip or core?

i cant get my arms over my head because of lack of strength, im not quite sure what muscles are affected but traps, shoulders and some back muscles. im sure it can be improved with consist training which i havent always been able to get. so need to find committed trainers.

im not sure what i can do in the gym for my adductors unless i try but i can only stand with a frame and not on my own at this point, i hope this helps

[Pseudonym]

Well, we do have a SpotterSearch function, and from time to time people ask for training partners in the main forums, but I don't know what their success rate is. You never know - you might strike it lucky, Locky! :wink:

I was thinking about the swimming... what about breaststroke? If that's within your range of motion, it could be quite a good one - a lot of back and tricep work involved in that. If you wanted to avoid kicking, you could try doing it with a noodle or some other floaty foam thing held between your legs. Again, that will be working adductors.

In the gym, you could try some of these suggestions at ExRx. The cable adduction is good because it doesn't require any special equipment, but you might well find your gym already has a specific adductor machine.

At home, lie on your back with your legs straight up above you, and slowly open and close them into a V-shape. I don't know whether you're wanting to work the abductors as well, but these are done by lying on your side, and raising one leg.

Regarding your overhead movements, here are a few things to try:

1) Front deltoid raises. Keeping your arms straight, bring your hands from your hips out in front of you, right up to eye level. If you hold a dumbell here, I'd suggest holding it "hammer-grip" (vertical rather than horizontal). This obviously works the front part of the shoulder which (I think) is what will be playing the biggest part in getting your arms over your head.

2) Side deltoid raises. Same as above, only keep a slight bend in your elbows, and raise them at the sides rather than in front.

3) Shrugs. Pull your shoulders as high up to your ears as you can, relax, repeat. If you need weight, hold a pair of dumbells while you do it.

Having said all this, I want to point out I'm not a PT. We do have quite a few PTs on this forum, but the buggers are all keeping quiet right now. I want to know what they think of my suggestions. If they don't stir themselves soon, I'll go get my prodding stick...