Coach Bentz
11-22-2005, 08:34 PM
This'll probably be of limited interest, but it was fun so I thought I'd share it.
Over the past week, we've had some guests from Portland staying where I am. After dinner one night, doing dishes, I heard one of them lamenting that she could no longer lift her entire set of dinner plates to the shelf they went on. She figured it was just age-related (mid 50s) and settled for doing half the stack at a time. Without thinking, I said I might be able to help her with that if she wanted, but with all the other commotion in the room she didn't hear me, and I didn't repeat it.
But I couldn't let it go either. I honestly wasn't sure why I spoke up though, especially after I gathered from comments made later that her workouts were basically work and housework. I had a feeling that calisthenics or isometrics just weren't going to fly very well, much less anything involving weights or tubes or that.
I forget where I read it, maybe it was in the Clubbell CST book but I'm not sure anymore, but there was a blurb about somebody lifting a broom off the ground with a brick on the end of it. Hmmmm... I wonder if a broom could be used like a very light clubbell, but with a large choke range?
After grabbing one and testing it out, I was satisfied enough to pull her aside the next morning. I asked her first if she actually was interested in getting that skill back, and when she was, if she had a broom laying around the house. (hoping that I wouldn't tell me she only had a vacuum... I really wasn't looking forward to the idea of demo'ing with a Hoover or something, for all the obvious reasons :) )
I didn't show her any CST exercises, just some isolated exercises to work delts, biceps, and wrist (extension & radial deviation). Then how (and why) to run the full range of motion, to do both arms (cuz you can't lift dishes with one arm, right!) and to stay choked way up until it's so easy it's boring. And to not do any of them more than 10x a day. And when she gets all the way to the end of the broom (zero choke), to give all that up and go play samurai in the backyard several times a week (I dunno if she thought I was serious or not, but at least she got a kick out of the demo I gave her!)
She was sharp, too. "This is how you use those black things, isn't it?" I just smiled and nodded (i didnt remember that I had used them once while she was wandering the property). "Will this make me look like a linebacker?" Well, probably not, but it'll tone up your shoulders and arms a bit. I thought she was concerned about bulking up or something, but she surprised me! "Oh darn! It'd be fun to look like a linebacker!" Well, I know of a goddess in Portland who can take you to the next step! :)
Wish I'd have had more time to go through a few joint circles or something, but she had to finish packing to leave. But it was a fun experience. And, at the very least, I have another way to do wrist casts while I'm still getting used to the 10#'ers.
Over the past week, we've had some guests from Portland staying where I am. After dinner one night, doing dishes, I heard one of them lamenting that she could no longer lift her entire set of dinner plates to the shelf they went on. She figured it was just age-related (mid 50s) and settled for doing half the stack at a time. Without thinking, I said I might be able to help her with that if she wanted, but with all the other commotion in the room she didn't hear me, and I didn't repeat it.
But I couldn't let it go either. I honestly wasn't sure why I spoke up though, especially after I gathered from comments made later that her workouts were basically work and housework. I had a feeling that calisthenics or isometrics just weren't going to fly very well, much less anything involving weights or tubes or that.
I forget where I read it, maybe it was in the Clubbell CST book but I'm not sure anymore, but there was a blurb about somebody lifting a broom off the ground with a brick on the end of it. Hmmmm... I wonder if a broom could be used like a very light clubbell, but with a large choke range?
After grabbing one and testing it out, I was satisfied enough to pull her aside the next morning. I asked her first if she actually was interested in getting that skill back, and when she was, if she had a broom laying around the house. (hoping that I wouldn't tell me she only had a vacuum... I really wasn't looking forward to the idea of demo'ing with a Hoover or something, for all the obvious reasons :) )
I didn't show her any CST exercises, just some isolated exercises to work delts, biceps, and wrist (extension & radial deviation). Then how (and why) to run the full range of motion, to do both arms (cuz you can't lift dishes with one arm, right!) and to stay choked way up until it's so easy it's boring. And to not do any of them more than 10x a day. And when she gets all the way to the end of the broom (zero choke), to give all that up and go play samurai in the backyard several times a week (I dunno if she thought I was serious or not, but at least she got a kick out of the demo I gave her!)
She was sharp, too. "This is how you use those black things, isn't it?" I just smiled and nodded (i didnt remember that I had used them once while she was wandering the property). "Will this make me look like a linebacker?" Well, probably not, but it'll tone up your shoulders and arms a bit. I thought she was concerned about bulking up or something, but she surprised me! "Oh darn! It'd be fun to look like a linebacker!" Well, I know of a goddess in Portland who can take you to the next step! :)
Wish I'd have had more time to go through a few joint circles or something, but she had to finish packing to leave. But it was a fun experience. And, at the very least, I have another way to do wrist casts while I'm still getting used to the 10#'ers.