wheelchair workout question

[Chicagowheels]

I have been working out hard, getting some results. I don't have use of my trunk area muscles, so with this it's hard to keep my belly in check.

I realize I wont get rock hard abs but would any of those tens units help at least burn some of the fat around the area and tone up the muscles that I have no use of?

By tens unit I mean the electrode stimulus machines/belts.

Thanks for any help.

 

[oldfella]

Hey bro, what level of disability do you have? can you flex from the waist? if yes then you can do cable crunches with the aid of a spotter to hold the chair steady while you crunch down and to the sides. You can even back your chair right up to the post on the cable crossover and set your brakes. I used to do this with some wheelies at my gym. I used to love training these guys and gals. Be creative and try to do movements which bring your midsection into play. Nothing more needed other than to watch your diet so you don't get too flabby around the gut.

 

[Gunsmith]

IFBB wheel chair pro Kyle Roberts is a good friend of mine and while his paralysis is not to high (around the navel) he has great abs and he just uses isometric type workouts for them , just leanin and squeezing the shit out of them.
Kyle is a huge inspiration , never down has an infectious smile and great attitude about life , several months ago he was guest posing and while we were all hanging out talking at weigh ins one guy was bitching about all the cardio his trainer had him doing and Kyle said "I wish I could get on a stair master" and the guys just shut up. He is a good testament to diet being key to low body fat

 

[maldorf]

Well, if you cant flex your own abdominal muscles then I think the TENS machine would help you because it would flex those muscles. Its better than nothing. Now as far as burning fat in the area it wouldn't do a thing, but I think it would help at least firm up those muscles and perhaps even build a bit to a small degree. I think most of those units can give you isometric contractions for a certain amount of time as well as cycle on and off to simulate natural muscle usage.

 

[Chicagowheels]

Thanks for the responses, I really appreciate all of them.

I can't flex them, have absolutely no movement in my ab area muscles. The injury was a c6-7 break which is in the neck, it has rendered me immobile from basically the rib cage down.

I do have feeling everywhere which is a blessing and a curse both in one.

I'm going to use the tens unit to keep my muscles as tone as possible and restrict my diet to a complete healthy and lower carb diet to try and keep my waist in tact.

 

[maldorf]

Thanks for the responses, I really appreciate all of them.

I can't flex them, have absolutely no movement in my ab area muscles. The injury was a c6-7 break which is in the neck, it has rendered me immobile from basically the rib cage down.

I do have feeling everywhere which is a blessing and a curse both in one.

I'm going to use the tens unit to keep my muscles as tone as possible and restrict my diet to a complete healthy and lower carb diet to try and keep my waist in tact.

SOunds like a good plan to me. If you don't mind, how do you break your neck? c6-7 is right there at the bottom. Glad you survived though. Were you into bodybuilding before the accident?

 

[humpthebobcat]

If u can get to a track or just down the street I'd try like 100yard sprints...had a trainer tell me that was the only way to get rid of that pesky little body fat around the belly button...like if u look at long distance runners they are a little flabby but sprinters are always shredded

 

[Randa]

Message my boyfriend, jrod, on here. He is paralyzed from the nipple down. He has used a tens unit in the past. He makes a way for everything including strapping weights to his hands to get a good workout in with no grip function in his hands. I'm certain that you guys can communicate some good ideas with each other from a level of understanding that not everyone can provide. Best of luck!

 

[Chicagowheels]

Thanks guys, I will look for your boyfriend on here and message him.

I broke my neck riding my bike. It was in 2004. I had a Harley Road King. A guy came into my lane and hit me, broke my neck and nothing else, not even a scratch.

In the rehab hospital we had 5 people on the floor with broken necks and paralyzed. All from motorcycles.

 

[Chicagowheels]

SOunds like a good plan to me. If you don't mind, how do you break your neck? c6-7 is right there at the bottom. Glad you survived though. Were you into bodybuilding before the accident?

Also specifically, c6-7 is more towards the middle. The higher the number the worse the injury.

If you hear an injury that says t6-7 then it is in the back area, which seems to be a better area to break believe it or not.


As for before my accident, I wasn't body building but I was working out three times a week to stay strong. I was an ironworker and it was bull work so I was always physical and stronger and bigger than the average.

 

[maldorf]

Also specifically, c6-7 is more towards the middle. The higher the number the worse the injury.

If you hear an injury that says t6-7 then it is in the back area, which seems to be a better area to break believe it or not.


As for before my accident, I wasn't body building but I was working out three times a week to stay strong. I was an ironworker and it was bull work so I was always physical and stronger and bigger than the average.

Yeah, c6 and 7 is right at the bottom where the thoracic vertebrae start. It is a good thing that it didn't happen up higher at say c2-c3 you would have been a quad probably. Chrisopher Reeves had his higher up when he fell from his horse. The brachial plexus which controls the upper limbs comes off around c5-c7 and T1. Its a good thing you have full use of your upper limbs. some of that plexus might have been affected in your injury.

I bet that was a rough time in your life. Keep up the hard work! Ive never really ridden a motorcycle but everyone that I know that rides much has been in at least one accident where they were hit by a car. My best friend gave up riding after being hit 2x and luckily the only thing that got screwed up on him was one of his knees.

 

[Chicagowheels]

Yeah, c6 and 7 is right at the bottom where the thoracic vertebrae start. It is a good thing that it didn't happen up higher at say c2-c3 you would have been a quad probably. Chrisopher Reeves had his higher up when he fell from his horse. The brachial plexus which controls the upper limbs comes off around c5-c7 and T1. Its a good thing you have full use of your upper limbs. some of that plexus might have been affected in your injury.

I bet that was a rough time in your life. Keep up the hard work! Ive never really ridden a motorcycle but everyone that I know that rides much has been in at least one accident where they were hit by a car. My best friend gave up riding after being hit 2x and luckily the only thing that got screwed up on him was one of his knees.

Yeah, I know I'm lucky. I did lose use of a couple muscles that controls my hand, unfortunately the padding at the bottom of the thumb is almost gone.

It was a hard time. I had and still have her, a beautiful, strong and smart wife. Tiny as she is she packs a lot of woman in her 100lbs.

I guess the worst thing is demanding you're going to beat this and walk. I could and still can wiggle my toes and feet. I would spend hours trying to make more happen, started drinking hard, I couldn't drive at the time. One day it was too much and I took over 150 pills, I woke up gasping for air and was going into cardiac arrest, we're 2 blocks from the firestation. They came into my room, was using the defibrillator and took me to the hospital. They told my wife, mother, brothers and family I wouldn't make it. Spent a week in a medical induced coma.

Enough of the bad news. I'm living 8 years later, love my wife, love my life. I have a honda element that drops out ramp, I take my chair in, a pin like a semi trailer uses automatically locks me in and I press a button to fold up the ramp. If it's the weekend and I have a free day I have a 2011 camaro that I take out for fun. I just transfer in, back up my chair and drive out of the garage. I have an ultralight chair, made out of titanium actually, in the back seat if I want or need to get out. I started working out again, getting, stronger feeling better I don't drink anything anymore and feel good. I still have feeling below my injury site which is nice that it allows me to enjoy sex with my wife. I can perform without viagra but face it, I can use the little boost it gives. I also always liked her on top. :headbang:

 

[Chicagowheels]

Sorry to babble too. I usually don't ramble on like that.

 

[Randa]

When people try feeling sorry for Jarrod, I usually lighten the mood by saying, "his weiner still works and although he can't feel it, he gets to enjoy the view." We take advantage of his muscle spasms. Haha!

 

[Randa]

We're in the process of building a motor for Jarrod's Mustang to be equipped with hand controls and such for him to be able to start driving soon. I'm learning a lot in the shop and it sounds like he's buying parts for a "give 'er hell" speed demon. It kind of gives me a heart attack, but I know he'll have it no other way. Men. Pshh.

 

[Chicagowheels]

When people try feeling sorry for Jarrod, I usually lighten the mood by saying, "his weiner still works and although he can't feel it, he gets to enjoy the view." We take advantage of his muscle spasms. Haha!

As I said, I can still feel. Right after the accident, in rehab I couldn't. Feeling came back rather quickly, my toes started wiggling and that started me insisting I would walk again. Having feeling is nice but at times not, my feet hurt at night sometimes and sitting all day can cause my bottom to get sore. I do have a standing frame that is great for circulation and a permobil chair that stands up and drives around while standing. Luckily insurance paid for them.

We're in the process of building a motor for Jarrod's Mustang to be equipped with hand controls and such for him to be able to start driving soon. I'm learning a lot in the shop and it sounds like he's buying parts for a "give 'er hell" speed demon. It kind of gives me a heart attack, but I know he'll have it no other way. Men. Pshh.

I know how he feels. It's nice to have the car to turn a few heads and especially in the camaro nobody thinks I'm in a wheelchair.

 

[Randa]

**broken link removed**

 

[maldorf]

Yeah, I know I'm lucky. I did lose use of a couple muscles that controls my hand, unfortunately the padding at the bottom of the thumb is almost gone.

It was a hard time. I had and still have her, a beautiful, strong and smart wife. Tiny as she is she packs a lot of woman in her 100lbs.

I guess the worst thing is demanding you're going to beat this and walk. I could and still can wiggle my toes and feet. I would spend hours trying to make more happen, started drinking hard, I couldn't drive at the time. One day it was too much and I took over 150 pills, I woke up gasping for air and was going into cardiac arrest, we're 2 blocks from the firestation. They came into my room, was using the defibrillator and took me to the hospital. They told my wife, mother, brothers and family I wouldn't make it. Spent a week in a medical induced coma.

Enough of the bad news. I'm living 8 years later, love my wife, love my life. I have a honda element that drops out ramp, I take my chair in, a pin like a semi trailer uses automatically locks me in and I press a button to fold up the ramp. If it's the weekend and I have a free day I have a 2011 camaro that I take out for fun. I just transfer in, back up my chair and drive out of the garage. I have an ultralight chair, made out of titanium actually, in the back seat if I want or need to get out. I started working out again, getting, stronger feeling better I don't drink anything anymore and feel good. I still have feeling below my injury site which is nice that it allows me to enjoy sex with my wife. I can perform without viagra but face it, I can use the little boost it gives. I also always liked her on top. :headbang:

Wow, I get depressed a lot with what happened to me but your situation would have been really hard for me to deal with. I would have been just like you but probably wouldn't have pulled out of the tailspin like you did. Its a good thing you have a great wife, mine helped me so much too after my heart attack.

I've been defibrillated too and now have one in my chest that had to fire off just one time. Once you face death you realize how much you want to be alive and how good it is. Keep on keepin on.

 

[BBeagle]

Hi bro you should try Russian waves instead TENS. Russian waves recruits every muscle fiber available. TENS is for pain treatment. although it can produce some muscle activity it mainly targets sensitive nerves easing the pain.
keep your attitude