Help Wife After Accident.

[wfretza]

My wife and I are going to get back into shape together and we are looking for some help with her dilema. Mine is simple, after college, where I worked out and played a little football, I let myself go from working out. Kept eating right but that was not enough. My wife on the other hand has a bit baffled. She was in a bad car accident that left her with zero muscle tone left. She is now able to walk again and the therapy has her back up and moving. Of course she lost weight and we made sure he eats properly, but without using the muscles they just went South. Her big problem areas now are the abs and hips, and general tone as well as no muscle mass what so ever. Any suggestions on what types of equipment we may want to look into for our home gym. We are too far away from a health club to facilitate using it. We live in the middle of Northern Wisconsin. Also is there an excise routine that someone could recomend for her. Thanks for the help! :confused:

Always start with the basics:

• Abdominal Crunch
• Bench
• Squat
• Dumbbell dead lifts

Start out with bodyweight only if that is all strength permits. When you can use weights, add weight as necessary to make a it a stimulating workout. Keep your rep ranges around 10 to 15 per exercise. Be extra careful to MAINTAIN PROPER FORM!!! When rebuilding from an accident form will be everything to getting back into good shape.

[Merrida]

Personally I'd avoid deadlifts because it sounds like she had a spine injury?

Ask her physical therapist, orthopedic surgeon, general practioner, chiropractor, etc., for recommendations. The information we'd have here would be very basic, but THEY could provide just the right info for HER and for her situation, for what she can/cannot do, what she needs/shouldn't do and how.

They probably won't give her a routine, but if you had more information, such as what happened, what went wrong, what her injuries were, what her limitations are, etc., perhaps we could suggest exercises based on that.

I'd be less worried about her "abs and hips" than I would her total body conditioning. Without a strong and toned and fit foundation (ie: her whole body) to work from, trying to spot-attack what she perceives as problem areas will be an exhaustive and unproductive endeavor that will quite likely just be frustrating.

[wfretza]

Again thanks for all the info this site has been very helpful . She did not have a spine injury. She broke both legs and smashed her right foot/ankle. She also had upper body bruising, lacerations interanally, and major sprains/tears of arms and/or chest. The upper body was allowed to heal itself and has. The reason for the abs and hips going was the time spent in a wheel chair and bed. Since the muscles were allowed to relax and had nothing to do that is where she thinks her biggest problem area is. She has rods, pins, and screws in her legs, knees,and hips and they are going to do more surgery on her foot and ankle. The doctors have basically told us there is no real limitations at this stage other than deep squats and lunges. The therapists have tried to improve the upper body and have moved on to the legs and ankles; however, they are more concerned with mobility than really doing anything for the whole body or toning. Furthermore, the insurance company regulates how much therapy she can do and that just stinks as we can not afford $100 per hour to go in for more help. We also are looking to go beyond what the therapists have done. We want to build on their foundation and improve her overall health. I have always done mass building with weights and strength training and am at a complete loss here. Again thanks!

The possiblity of back problems is why I suggested dumbbell deads, Merrida. DB deads are much easier on the back to perform, and it is a movement we all use through out our daily lives. Picking up boxes, groceries, kids, etc. It is an exercise that transfers well into daily life.

The doctors have basically told us there is no real limitations at this stage other than deep squats and lunges.

Of course, that changes using squats and deads.