It was cooler yesterday and I didn’t have to close my eyes as I waited for my time at Barwis. Phil stretched me at the Keiser machine, placed the bar a little lower, and went to get the half popcorn ball thing. He came back with the orange one. Wait a minute, NOT the PURPLE one AND the bar is lower?! This isn’t good!!! Phil has told me before that changing up the height of the bar forces me to engage different muscles. He set my feet and the half popcorn ball thing and told me to stand. It felt WAY different! I was able to stand with A LOT of help from Phil and his hands remained on me for the duration of my stand. I WAS able to “click” in the process and I stood for a LONG while and put my fist out when I sat down. Phil didn’t put his fist out but just grabbed my fist, yelled, “Joystick,” and shook it instead. My second stand was the same. Phil kept his hands on me, I “clicked,” stood for a long time, and Phil grabbed my fist when I put it out. I asked him how long I stood and he told me, “an hour.” I asked him the significance of standing. I hadn’t walked in FOREVER so I was feeling a bit discouraged. Phil explained the importance of standing and engaging muscles that I otherwise don’t use. I told him that his explanation made me feel productive (even if I wasn’t walking) which I was sure I wasn’t going to AGAIN.
I asked if we could raise the bar back to its usual spot because standing was quite uncomfortable. Phil moved the bar and the third stand was more of the same, Phil told me to put my shoulders back, push my stomach forward and to tuck my butt underneath me. I did and when I sat he shook my fist for A THIRD TIME. Man, THREE “joysticks” in a row!!! For my fourth stand, I did EVERYTHING Phil told me to and I happened to glance down at Phil while I stood. He sits on the weight bench in front if me, facing me. He isn’t much shorter than me while I am standing because he is a Sasquatch. I also saw his hands at his sides. Wait a minute!!! How are Phil’s hands at his sides when I am STILL standing?! And STILL standing TALL!!! I remained standing until Phil told me to sit. Upon sitting, I didn’t put my fist out and instead was having flashbacks to learning to ride a bike. You know when the kid is riding the bike with their dad’s hand holding the back of the seat and when the kid turns the corner, he sees that his dad is standing back half way down the block; and it turns out that the kid has been riding the bike on his own this whole time. I thought, is that what Phil is doing?!
For my fifth and final stand, I get up and make sure that I am engaging all my muscles as Phil has instructed me to. As I am going through the mental checklist of muscle engagement, Phil puts both of his hands on the bar on either side of me. That is EXACTLY what Phil is doing! I’m the kid who has been riding his bike all alone for a while! And here I am – STILL standing. ALL BY MYSELF!!! I smiled and remained standing for as long as I could. I sat down feeling pretty good about myself! I was tired but giddy at the same time. Phil told me to gather my things and then he pushed me out to my car. Phil always waits for me to try to get into my car by myself first. This time, I was able to get in ALL BY MYSELF! This fact made me feel EVEN better about myself! Phil congratulated me, wished me a good weekend, and told me that I did a good job. Then he shut my door. What?! NO “Joytick!”?! He DID do 3 of them earlier at the Keiser machine; but, maybe he was impressed with my showing. I know I WAS!!! Man! Walking CANNOT be THAT far off!!!
Woo-Hoo!!!