Wheelchair basketball is a fun sport to watch. They are just unbelievable. I had the opportunity to work a wheelchair basketball camp last summer. On one of the last days, they got us interns into chairs and let us play for a little bit. That’s hard!
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<p>As annoying as they are to learn, the various squats and lunges are targeted specifically at the strength and mobility needed to sit down and stand up. The inability to do this is what ultimately puts old people in a nursing home. Improving this kind of strength and conditioning is really easy and there are ton of exercises that move from fairly easy to very difficult as you get stronger. The simple squat or lunge, even done without weights, improves hip flexibiity, ankle flexibility, knee stability, strengthens every muscle in the thighs, and improves balance.</p>
<p>I don’t think everyone needs to throw a barbell on their back and do powerlifter squats, but everyone would benefit from a regular routine of squat/lunge type exercises.</p>
<p>And, now for the exercise of the day: </p>
<p>[Mike</a> Boyle Demonstrates the Goblet Squat](<a href=“http://blip.tv/play/AYKK3VsC]Mike”>http://blip.tv/play/AYKK3VsC)</p>
<p>I spent six months trying to make my body squat and the first time I tried this goblet squat, I got it – like a light bulb. Grab a dumbbell or kettle ball or a gallon of milk or a rock from the yard and give it a go.</p>
<p>There is wheelchair tennis too. There are a set of regulars at my club that play tennis in this way.</p>
<p>Took a hoe and chipped ice for about 40 minutes and then picked up the ice with a shovel and dumped it. I can barely type as my fingers aren’t very responsive. Didn’t even wear a coat - the workout generated a lot of body heat. It’s about 35 here and chipping it while it’s fairly easy.</p>
<p>When I wear my heavy parka with the snowblower, I just wear a polartech lightweight baselayer shirt under it. Otherwise, It’s too hot. One of those and a lightweight fleece plus the light running windbreaker is more than enough for walking or shovelling.</p>
<p>OK, bring on the snow. I’ve got another boneless center loin pork roast to throw on the grill tomorrow before it snows again. I figure I’ve busted my back shoveling that damn deck, so I might as well use the Weber while I can get to it. I’ve got the ingredients for another batch of my South Carolina style mustard Bar-b-q sauce. I’ll just do a heavy workout and eat some pork fat! Who cares about snow?</p>
<p>Bar-b-q pork is low-cal, isnt’ it? Heck, I’m not having any corn bread with it. It must be diet…</p>
<p>PS: Only a damn yankee fool would have bar-b-q pork and fresh brocolli. LOL.</p>
<p>Just finished my workout for today. I slacked off for a couple days. Have to do better this week. Did 20 minutes on the recumbent bike and then 4x7 BOSU squats and lunges, and dumbbell bench press. Now I’m icing my knee. It’s nice working at a PT clinic… got ice and e-stim on the knee now 
Play with the fun electrical toys ;)</p>
<p>They’re calling for ice in our area…</p>
<p>Those BOSU ball squats look wicked hard. I have enough trouble staying upright on squats doing them on terra firma!</p>
<p>Day off for me. I just did a quick daily set of the two things I’m workin’ on: chinups/pull ups and one-leg squats. I’m doing the squats standing on a milk crate and hanging on to a suspension trainer strap for assistance. I was able to get full depth on both sides today, so that’s progress even if it is well short of full body weight. Gotta start somewhere.</p>
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<p>Awesome. Keep it up! I knda jumped right into the BOSU squats, but I’ve played around with them here and there for quite awhile. Originally saw them being used as a rehab exercise and I’ve adapted them…</p>
<p>BTW, I did some burpees the other day. My goodness – how can anyone do those things!!! I was able to do six, take a break doing other things, and then do six more. I was done for the night.</p>
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<p>Crazy, aren’t they? I mean, on #2, you might be thinking, “Hey, these aren’t so bad…” Then, you get up around the fourth one or the fifth one and you realize that you are seriously gassed. I think the worst part is jumping up with your arms in the air.</p>
<p>It’s almost a perfect exercise. A pushup, a squat, and a jump.</p>
<p>The workout program I’m doing adds burpees in phase 2 – six to ten of them, starting every 60 seconds for 10 minutes – as a “metabolic finisher” for the workout. I’m pretty sure they are going “metabolically finish” me. As a concession, they do recommend doing them without the pushup part. Just going down to a pushup position, then the squat and jump, and back down. I’m pretty sure that I will do that part of the workout on a separate day. We’ll see.</p>
<p>Idad, how often do you do the “New Rules” workout? I’m considering purchasing the book off Amazon to incorporate the program into my current program. Right now I do bench press, parallel squat, and hang clean and I have no intention of stopping those, but I’d like to possibly add more to what I’m already doing…</p>
<p>idad on burpees:
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<p>If my bootcamp instructor had just put it that way, I wouldn’t have been swearing under my breath all this time! ;)</p>
<p>I LOVE the Bosu Ball and it will be the next exercise related purchase I make.</p>
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<p>I haven’t actually used it, but I may suggest you look at the BOSU Sport. It’s a little bit smaller, but about $40-50 cheaper…</p>
<p>[Product</a> - BOSU Sport 55 Balance Trainer](<a href=“http://www.performbetter.com/detail.aspx?ID=4747]Product”>http://www.performbetter.com/detail.aspx?ID=4747)</p>
<p>I’m still here. Neither H nor I have given up on exercise. I just feel that if I post something about how nice the weather has been or how much running I have done, it could sound like I’m rubbing it in while the rest of my CC friends is dealing with bad weather and nasty colds. Hang in there, everyone!</p>
<p>This weekend we tried to exercise slightly different muscle groups - the dancing one and the walking one. :)</p>
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<p>Each phase of *New Rules of Lifting for Abs *has two workouts: Workout A and Workout B that you alternate until you have done each one 6 to 8 times. I do one three times a week, so it would take me 4 weeks to complete six times each, but you can do them on whatever schedule you like.</p>
<p>If you are advanced in your workouts, you could simply use these as a framework. Each workout has:</p>
<p>a) a terrific dynamic/flexibility warmup
b) a core section with progressions that present unlimited challenge
c) a four excercise strength section (push, pull, hip dominant (deadlift), knee dominant (squat)</p>
<p>The later phases also add some metabolic intervals (like burpees and swings) and some explosive power stuff (jump squats, med ball, etc.) I don’t think there are any hang cleans because it would be just too hard to teach in book like this, but you could certainly subsitute your own lifts, one from each of the four categories. Or, go lighter on these and use these as alternates to your heavy lifting days. The strength stuff is pretty diabolical in the way it challenges the core. For example, dumbell squats with one heavy and one light dumbbell held at the shoulder. Or, dumbbell bench press, but with only your head and shoulders on the bench.</p>
<p>Basically, you can tailor each phase to suit. For example, I am a little further down the road with the core stuff, so I’m doing some of the tougher variations: plank and side plank with my feet in the TRX, birddog plank (raising one leg and the opposite arm), and so forth. I’m a rank novice at the lifting stuff, so I’m doing the basics there. In phase one, Workout A is pushups (with a dozen possible variations), inverted rows, split squat (front foot elevated), and Romanian deadlift. Workout B is single leg Romanian deadlift, standing alternating dumbbell press (absolutely brutal – pressing one DB while holding the other one fully extended), overhead squat, kneeling lat pulldown. Wanna make it harder? Do the pushups with your feet on a step. Or in the TRX straps. Or, if you are seriously insane, alternate t-pushups in a superset with split squats and go ahead and load it up…</p>
<p>It’s a good learning tool. For example, split squats go from front foot elevated (in phase 1) to both feet on the ground (in phase 2) to rear foot elevated (in phase 3). The progressions for the core exercises are worth the price of the book, IMO. They go all the way to plank with one foot in the TRX, one foot in the air, one hand on a stability ball, and one hand in the air (good luck with that one!)</p>
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<p>No. Go right ahead. We need some vicarious sunshine!</p>
<p>No sunshine here. Snowing, cold, and heading down to zero tonight. Brrr. I’m making chicken soup for dinner. </p>
<p>I did the first lifting workout yesterday, and even with puny weights and not many repetitions, I am sore today in the upper body and calves. OTOH, nothing feels “damaged” though I was worried that I’d end up with a calf cramp last night. Didn’t happen, though.</p>
<p>arabrab:</p>
<p>That kind of sore is the good kind of sore! Calf cramp? Let me guess? Were you doing some kind of step-up exercise? Or squat/lunges? </p>
<p>As long as the last rep is hard, there’s no such thing as a “puny” weight!</p>
<p>Another day, another *New Rules of Lifting for Abs *workout. Got through the warmup with no injuries – which is about all I can ask for! </p>
<p>Did core in the TRX straps: 4 x 25 seconds of plank. 4 x 25 seconds of side plank. Man, that is seriously hard with your feet swaying back and forth in those straps. Plus 30 seconds x 4 of pulling on resistance bands sideways from my knees – basically using core to keep the bands from rotating my upper body – arms fully extended. </p>
<p>Then on to lifting weights. Did the single leg deadlifts with a 40 pound dumbbell in a super set with the alternating dumbbelll overhead presses. Did those with two 30 pounds dumbbells for the first time and it was all I could do to keep from dropping them on my head. </p>
<p>Then, overhead squats (with a 32 pound barbell). The weight is not the challenge, it’s the whole balance core stability of squatting while holding something over your head with outstretched arms. Superset this one with a lat bar pulldown.</p>
<p>Good solid workout. Now, it’s time for bar-b-q pig!</p>