Category: Barwis Methods

It was Sean’s 14th birthday but he of all people knows first-hand how IMPERATIVE it is that I go to Barwis.  It was the only time I was scheduled for that week so I HAD to go!  I worked with Sue on a black table.  We started with the PNFs I always do.  This time Sue added a different PNF.  I laid on my back and instead of me pushing my leg straight out (which I am getting pretty good at!), she turned my foot in and left my knee straight.  I needed to push my foot out.  It felt extremely strange and Sue had to talk me through it and touch the spots in my legs and hips where I needed to use.  It was DIFFICULT and it made my butt and outside of my hips ache from overuse because I NEVER use those muscles.

Sue explained to me that this stretch will help me with pivoting and changing direction when I stand or walk.  Standing up from my chair has become A LOT easier for me but I don’t know what to do after that.  I just smile once I am standing straight up with my weight evenly distributed on my feet and tell whomever I am working with that day that I don’t know what to do and have them help me to the table.  I don’t feel upset anymore that nowadays my time at Barwis is largely comprised of stretching and PNFs because NOW I understand that all of these PNFs ARE getting my muscles stronger.  It’s a piecemeal.  I’m activating different muscles one-by-one in isolation and when I will put all the activated muscles together, I will walk.

Sue looked over to the shuttle and then at her phone.  She told me that we would not have time to go over to the shuttle so instead she was going to be the human shuttle and mimic the movements I would need to do as if I was on the shuttle and she would offer the resistance like the shuttle did.  I liked this because it was a movement I was familiar with and am getting kind of GOOD at!  My legs proved to be pretty Jell-O-y as I tried to stand to transfer back to my chair so Sue had to help out a lot.  Once in my chair, my legs felt looser and warm. I LOVE that feeling and I was satisfied and knew that I worked extremely hard.

I worked with Sue Monday and she took me a little early because I got there early.  My legs were SO tight that I couldn’t even bend them!  I wasn’t on the schedule last week at all and I FELT it!  Sue did too.  She REALLY worked me hard.  I was afraid that not being on the schedule (that hamstring tear REALLY stunk!) would make me lose some of the progress I’ve recently felt that I’ve been making.  As Sue worked me and my legs gradually loosened, I kept exclaiming that, “It’s NOT lost!” as my legs started doing what Sue told them to do.

The PNFs were strong and that made me happy.  After Sue stretched me out, it was apparent that I hadn’t lost the strength and control that I slowly have been gaining.  I was working HARD and that was apparent to me when I could feel the bile rising in my throat.  I remembered Adam telling me that it was a good thing if I threw up.  It means that I have pushed my body THAT hard. GROSS! I remembered Mike Rhoades telling me that PNFs were working and I didn’t really believe him.  Then, I thought of my days of teaching English and teaching the book, The Outsiders because I was chewing my gum hard (just like Cherry Valance did when she met Dally).  She did it because she was mad but I did it because I was trying to keep getting sick at bay.  Random things that I have kept in my head over 11 years of teaching.

My time was just about over and my legs felt SO relaxed and I knew that I would sleep well.  It felt good to be at Barwis after what seemed like a LONG absence from it.  I can’t wait until I can feel this loose all the time.  Seems that when I’m walking, I wont get so stiff.  That’s what I am working toward.

I worked with Sue on Wednesday and we started with the normal PNFs as we always do.  She’s added a new stretch.  I’ve done it a few times and I’m not very good at it.  I’ve explained to Sue that I am getting stronger standing.  I feel really sturdy on my feet and that feels really good but once I am standing after using my quads to stand and I am up tall;  I don’t know what to do.  I can’t move or shift my weight at all.  She explained to me which muscles I would need to activate to pivot and shift my weight to transfer onto the table from my chair.  These are the same muscles I would need to use when I am walking.

Well, no wonder I’m bad at it!  This stretch has me activate a small muscle group on the insides of my legs.  I need to push my leg in on a diagonal and on the next set, push them out on that same diagonal.  These movements are particularly difficult and Sue explains that using my quads or even my hamstrings to push or pull in a straight movement is much easier.  THAT is SO true!  I think I did two sets of like 5 on each leg both pushing and pulling and it felt like a MILLION.  I think it’s the diagonal part that makes it SO difficult!

i look forward to the day that these movements will become easy for me but that day was not here yet and I was EXHAUSTED!!!  My legs felt like Jell-O and it was difficult to even stand to transfer to my chair.  I had to just sit for a minute.  Sue told me that my legs felt looser than they did on Monday so that encouraged me.  It was a bit discouraging however, how difficult this new stretch was for me.  I sat in my chair absolutely still because I was SO tired!  It was “Wacky Sock Wednesday” #36 and I didn’t even take a picture of my socks!  I had my Mom take this picture because I couldn’t move because I was so tired.  My ankles were a little bit swollen.

 

 

I worked with Mike on Friday.  We worked on the last black table.  We did all of our normal PNFs and then Mike said we would work on standing.  I inched to the edge of the table as he pulled my ankles the rest of they way.  I closed my eyes and activated all the muscles that ALL of my trainers have told me to and I was standing tall!  My back was straight and I was standing!  Mike was impressed and I stood tall for what Mike told me was “at least 1/2 a song.”  I wish I knew what song was playing but I didn’t.  I was so busy concentrating on keeping my muscles firing that I wasn’t aware iof the music.  After my knees bent and Mike helped me back on the table I was just too tired to really listen.

Mike had us move over to right in front of the mirror so I could see myself stand.  I didn’t dig that because I could see how ENORMOUS my butt was when I stood.  Standing got difficult and the stander was nearby.  I told Mike that this stander kind of looked like the stander I used with Adam but it had a tray in front of it like it was a high chair.  He told me that this stander used to have a tray on it but they took it off so this was the same stander.  He adjusted the feet rests so the stander would hold my knees in place while I stood.  My legs are pretty short.  Well, I’m pretty short so Mike raised the foot petals so it would hold my knees in place.

i vaguely remember Phil adjusting the petals the same way.  Once I was in the stander, instead of cranking it up as Phil used to, Mike had me standup on my own.  This was progress!  It was difficult to stand in the stander so I eventually I sat down to rest.  Mike told me that we’d figure it out and put his arms out to help me out of the stander.  I grabbed his arms and stepped out of the stander.  I stood up straight just as my Mom came into the gym from talking with Elle.  She got to see me standing tall.  It felt good to have her witness my progress.  It may be slow but it’s steady!

Recently, while watching football on the weekends, I have seen THIS Jolly Rancher commercial and it has become my favorite!  I think it’s HILARIOUS!  Gurley has been on my fantasy team a few times so far this season.  I keep saying, “Dance Gurley man!… Dance!”  My son shakes his head at me and tells me that it’s not as funny as I think it is.  I don’t care.  I kept saying it on the way to Barwis last Monday and when we stopped, before we got there, I showed my Mom the commercial and laughed and laughed.  I think that is a funny line – “keep on sucking.”

Barwis was busy, there were a bunch of little kids there.  I think there were 3 or 4 teams working out there.  I worked with Sue and we did our normal PNFs.  I was a lot stronger doing these and I talked about how I used to think that just being stretched out was NOT productive.  I told her how I had to stop “Walking Wednesdays” with Adam and how Mike Rhoades used to stretch me out.  I explained the “Ooh Doggie!” stretch to her and she completely knew what I was talking about.  After we did that diagonal stretch that I’m not good at, she had me roll my leg out.

I remember doing this, or rather, ATTEMPTING to do this with BOTH Jesse and Phil.  It was SO difficult that I was TERRIBLE at it!  Thinking of the Todd Gurley commercial, I told Sue that, “I sucked!”  and laughed and asked if she saw the Jolly Rancher commercial.  She told me that I didn’t and then she bent my legs and I STILL could do it.  It felt REALLY good!  My Mom came over and she didn’t realize that I was the one moving my legs until Sue told her.  I texted Jesse and Phil the good news.  I told them, “Look who’s not sucking anymore” and explained the Gurley reference.  I told Jesse, “who would have thought that it would take 2 years, 4 months, and 11 days?”  Well, I didn’t think it would but it feels SO GOOD to get control of my legs again… regardless of how slowly getting that control takes…

I wished Sue a “Happy Thanksgiving” because that was the only time I was at Barwis before Thanksgiving.

I was scheduled with Sue at Barwis but I had to cancel because Sean was sick (he didn’t go to school).  I took him to the doctor after I got out of work  It’s my duty as a Mom.

I will be back in action at Barwis on December 7th.

Elle called me on Thursday and told me that Mike had a 6 o’clock appointment available.  I checked with my Mom, (she’s driving) and then called Elle back because I was going to take it.  We got to Barwis a bit early and Sue was able to take me early so I could get home early.  Sue and I did our normal PNFs and they felt really strong!  Sue told me hat I didn’t feel THAT tight and I hadn’t been to Barwis since the Monday before Thanksgiving!  I was strong and my responses were immediate and complete.  When told to push or pull my legs, I do so immediately and completed the motion through the entire movement.

Mike had just finished his 5 o’clock appointment and Sue asked for his help with stands.  He came over and he and Sue adjusted my feet and placed their feet in front of mine as stops.  They gave  their outside hands to me and placed their inside hands on my elbows.  I grabbed their thumbs and they held my hands in return.  I pushed with my quads to get to a standing position.  I squeezed their thumbs and my eyes equally as tight.  I gritted my teeth and did my best to keep my quads and butt engaged by squeezing them as tightly as I could.  It was INCREDIBLY difficult but it was the longest I have remained standing in a LONG time.

I told Mike and Sue it had to be 10 hours.  After I sat to rest, my hands felt tingly from squeezing theirs so tightly.  I apologized to them because I was sure I was squeezing the blood flow out of their hands.  For my second stand, I told them it would be for 7 hours as Mike told me to lock my knees and bend forward for a minute and then straighten up so I could more easily throw my hips forward.  Easier said than done!  For my third and final stand, I was trying to decide how long I was going to stand.  It was decided that I would stand for a total of 32 hours because that’s how old Sue is ? and that was Mike’s football number in high school.

I’m not sure how long I REALLY stood for but it was a LONG time.  It felt good and I was tired.  It wasn’t until my Mom was pushing me across the gym and out to the car that I realized that it was not Wednesday.  I asked my Mom and she told me that it was just a random Thursday.  Ive never been to Barwis on a Thursday but it’s no wonder I did SO well!  I LOVE Thursdays!

So, I was scheduled with Sue yesterday.  My Mom picked me up from work and we got a flat tire.  Getting that taken care of takes awhile!  I called Elle to tell her I wasn’t going to make it. BUMMER!!!  I don’t know how to change a flat tire!

Check out what was in it:

Man!  What IS that?!  That tire insurance was the wisest thing I did when I bought my car!  Thank you, Ali Reda!!!

My legs were really tight and they felt “gnarl-y.”  I worked with Mike and it was evident how tight my legs were.  It took some REAL stretching on his part to get them to loosen up before we could begin our PNFs.  It had been a little while since I had last been there but the weather wasn’t bad so it really stunk that my legs were so tight.  He told me to, “Force them [my legs] to relax!”  It was silent for a moment and then we both started to laugh.  He admitted it was a contradictory statement and I continued to laugh at its oxymoronic nature but at the same time; I tried to will my legs to relax.  They slowly began to but it wasn’t from my will but from Mike’s strength.  Once my legs were loose, I could begin our PNFs.  Mike told me to pull my right leg down and I did as he held my leg up for resistance.  I pulled my leg down all the way to the table and when I was finished, Mike told me that it was, “Good sh*t.”

I laughed  and kept laughing every time Mike said it.  I joined in saying it too because I was making a good showing with my PNFs.  I pushed and pulled as if I knew what I was doing.  As if I could easily control my legs.  Mike raised my left leg higher so I was able to take this picture for “Wacky Sock Wednesday” #37:

I tweeted this one but didn’t want to crop the picture any further because you could really see Mike’s beard that he’s been growing for a while.

I would like to report that I did extraordinary things but given how tight my legs were when I got here; all I can report is a good showing in my PNFs.  It frustrates me that I just get stretched the whole time but I understand the value of PNFs as Mike Rhoades used to explain to me so long ago.  I can only do so much when my body is resisting me so badly but over time; my PNFs have proved to be some “Good sh*t.”

Continue reading 12.9.15 “Wacky Sock Wednesday #37 OR “Force Them to Relax” OR Good Sh*t

I worked with Sue and it had been almost a week since I’d been to Barwis.  My legs were pretty tight  and Sue stretched my legs accordingly.  She took the time to  stretch me really good before we began PNFs.  My legs felt relaxed and stopped hurting which is normal whoever stretches me at Barwis.  My legs relaxed enough so we could do our normal PNFs.

She added in those other ones that still feel kind of strange.  The movements are improving but they still feel foreign and strange.  I guess it’s progressive but progress is SO slow!  It’s crazy how moving my legs can feel SO foreign but it does.  After we did these PNFs a few sets on each leg, we went back to our normal pushes and pulls.

As my time wore down, Sue told me that she wanted to work on the shuttle today but we didn’t have time so she mimicked the movements with her providing the resistance with our PNFs.  I told her that she was “The human shuttle take 2.”  She laughed and my time was up.  I thanked her for making my legs feel better and I was able to sleep well.