Can he do weighted chins?
Member
Enabling Heavy Presses and Rows for a Wheelchair Athlete
Coach Rip,
I recently got the opportunity to advise a Team USA Wheelchair Rugby athlete on his strength training. He is paralyzed from the waist down and his hands have limited dexterity. This aside, the man is a genetic freak, and he has competed on the national team for nearly a decade. I was hoping to pick your brain regarding his program.
He has been able to bench in a fairly standard manner for awhile, but his overhead work is lacking. Today, we did some brainstorming for the press. We can strap his abdomen and hips to an adjustable bench set at 90 degrees, and this allows for a fairly decent base. Unfortunately, keeping his press racked for a full set kept throwing this base off-kilter. We then came up with a way to perform seated pin presses from shoulder height, allowing me to make minor adjustments to his position as-necessary between reps. If your experience has a better solution, I'm all ears.
Heavy pulls are a more complicated challenge. He currently straps his body to his chair for seated cable rows and lat pulldowns, but he will be too strong for the cables very soon. He is also strong enough to row our heaviest dumbells when strapped prone to a 15 degree bench, but this severely limits his range of motion (he is 6' 4" with long arms). Have you or one of your coaches ever managed to modify the barbell row for such an athlete? Is there a different way to enable heavy rows? I've thought about it long and hard but can't seem to come up with a viable solution. If you know of a good method, I'd love to hear it.
As far as reps, I like fives for the presses and horizontal pulls, and 6-8 for the vertical pulls. If you think a different rep scheme is warranted, please let me know. Your advice is much appreciated, and I'm looking forward to attending your Atlanta seminar. Thanks!
Sam
TMPHBITEU
Can he do weighted chins?
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If I'm reading this correctly, you could have him do seal rows.
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He can. If we can get him to heavy weights, would it be appropriate to drop the heavy horizontal rows? If I've understood your previous writing correctly, full ROM chins can provide a fairly well-rounded pull (one that is both vertical and horizontal). Is this correct?Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe
Coach Herbison, I feel like a dumbass now for not realizing there was such a simple solution. I would need to find him (or build) some better plyo boxes than we currently have (I train people at the YMCA of all places), but I think it would work well as an addition to his pulling. Thank you!If I'm reading this correctly, you could have him do seal rows.
TMPHBITEU
He will like heavy chins better than the equipment-dependent alternatives.
Member
Hadn't thought about it this way, but it makes a lot of sense. Thanks Coach!
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