Real Strength – 2 Drills For the Paraplegic Athlete to Develop a Herculean Upper-Body!

I have to say that I recently was blown away by a special that I saw on the Science channel. During this special on technology I happened to catch a preview of what appeared to be a serious wheelchair racing league with a bit of the X games mixed into it. I saw wheelchair racers flying down ramps and turning back flips through the air! These guys were doing things that I have never seen done in a wheelchair, let alone any other sport. Lately I have been influenced to devote more ideas to training with paraplegics who are interested in getting competitive and back into shape again. The thing is that if you happen to be one of these guys or girls who is serious about fitness then you have to break away from the same old “bodybuilding” mindset on training. Here are 2 drills to help kick your rear back into shape.

1. Seesaw Kettlebell Presses: I understand that there are varying degrees of muscular function in paraplegics. Depending on yours you need to evaluate how you will need to execute the following drill. The less back support for this drill the better. This will force you to activate more of your trunk, therefore further strengthening your core. To begin, you will need the availability of 2 kettlebells of light to moderate resistance and equal weight. The objective here is about endurance, not power so don’t worry about throwing around something like the beast. At least not yet! You must be familiar with how to properly hold the bells in a clean position at your chest level. With the kettlebells at the proper resting point and clean position at your chest press one kettlebell above your head. Make sure that you lock out both the elbow and shoulder at the top. The next step is very important. As you lower the first bell immediately start pressing the other kettlebell. This will create a pressing consistency with continuous movement. Hence the name seesaw press. Execute this lift for 30 seconds. If you aren’t breathing hard afterwards you did wrong or you need to kick up the weight!

2. Medicine Ball Throws: For this drill you will need a medicine ball between 8 and 10 pounds, an open flat area, and a brick wall. Make sure it is the hard type ball and not the pillow soft type. It must be able to bounce. Next, you want to allow for about a distance of 8 to 10 feet between you and the wall. Hold the ball overhead and throw it against the wall. Perform an overhead throw and don’t favor one arm as you throw it. The objective is to catch the ball on a single bounce and immediately throw it again. You will learn 2 things from this drill. You will learn muscular control and muscular power. Give it a try.