Since the accident, my work out routine hasn’t been exactly the same.
I used to enjoy bench pressing and lifting weights, believe it or not, but I haven’t managed to figure out how to bench press with one hand, so I never do that anymore. Generally lifting weights is also pretty rare because I don’t want my muscles to be lopsided.
There’s also limitations on ab work outs. I generally adjust to anything that requires two hands by modifying it slightly, but this is usually within my own house and I’m by myself.
I recently went to a public fitness class though, and with only three people attending that morning, my disability was pretty obvious. To the class instructor’s credit, she adjusted very well. We were rotating through four different stations, and she didn’t make any of them require both hands even though she definitely could have. Jump ropes and weights were sitting on the side, and I’m assuming the stations have differed during other sessions.
To my delight, I didn’t have to experience the awkward moment of asking what I should do instead of jump roping or lifting weights or any other kind of two-handed exercise. The first set of stations were focused on legs, and she made sure I was comfortable before the next round of exercises, which included a plank.
She didn’t ask in front of the other people in class and just confirmed that I was OK to put weight on my arm in a plank.
The only part of the class where we ran into some difficulty was in stretching — one move involved holding your leg and twisting on the ground, which was easy for my right side but not for my left. Again, I was impressed when the instructor used her foot to push my leg in a certain position in place of my left hand.
What could have been a very awkward morning turned out to be a normal fitness class, which is exactly what I would hope for.
Lindsey Erdody 