Fitness Carter

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Fitness inspirations - San Antonio Express

Need motivation for that New Year's resolution to get in shape? Meet three folks who don't let physical obstacles get in their way of physical fitness:


Krystal Cantu[1]


Age: 24


Why she's inspirational: Cantu didn't let the partial amputation of her right arm stop her intense workouts.


Her workouts: CrossFit, mud runs


Her story: Cantu, a UTSA grad who works in sales at Rackspace, was in good shape after losing more than 50 pounds a few years ago. Then she and her boyfriend were in a car accident Aug. 2. Her right arm was so injured, doctors amputated it above the elbow.


It never occurred to her to quit CrossFit, a notoriously demanding program that's heavy on weight-lifting, which she does Monday through Friday at Rackspace.


“I was really upset that I couldn't work out until the stitches were out,” she said. “Once I started a few years back and I saw the weight come off and I saw how good I felt and how much energy I had, I couldn't let it go. I wasn't going to be a person that was crying on the couch, saying, 'Why me?'”


She returned to the gym about a month after the accident and has figured out ways to adapt. She can use a rowing machine by strapping the handle to what remains of her right arm, for example, and she performs power snatches by grasping the center of a barbell with her left arm. She's almost back to lifting her pre-amputation record of 65 pounds.


“I feel really good about it,” she said. “Things are back to normal.”


Three months after the accident, Cantu was invited to Virginia to compete in her first CrossFit competition, the Working Wounded Games for people with disabilities. She also took part in the Gladiator Rock'n Run, skipping some obstacles, such as climbing over a wall.


Cantu is contemplating a prosthesis but said she's adapted well to life without her right arm. Her biggest challenges are doing her hair and learning to write with her left hand.


“I need to practice,” she said. “It looks like a little kid's handwriting.”


Aurelio Valdez


Age: 78


Why he's inspirational: Valdez started working out at 70 and hasn't stopped since.


His workout: Using nearly every piece of equipment at the Mays Family YMCA


His story: Valdez, who worked for the state's department of mental health and mental retardation, was enjoying retirement in El Paso when he received a letter from the University of Texas at El Paso[2] about a fitness program for seniors.


A diagnosis of pre-diabetes had scared Valdez, so he applied for the program, called Physical Fitness in the Golden Age.


Valdez had dabbled in exercise on his own before but would lose interest. In the UTEP program, kinesiology students gathered 30 seniors to exercise three days a week, for 90 minutes at a time, doing cardiovascular activity, weight-training and balance work.


“We were companions to each other, and we motivated each other, and that motivated me to continue,” Valdez said.


Valdez was embarrassed at how little he could do at first, but he kept going. He also improved his diet and cut down on his portion sizes.


After moving to San Antonio, Valdez began exercising at the YMCA several days a week.


“It's done wonders for me,” Valdez said. “I've reduced my medications significantly. I'm not on insulin. I'm not on cholesterol medication anymore. My blood pressure medication's only half a pill. I'm doing great.”


Seniors often feel intimidated by exercise, but Valdez said there's no age limit. Regular workouts can improve daily functioning.


“You're never too old to start exercising,” he said. “You're not training so you can compete in the Olympics. It has to do with quality of life. I'm training for a better quality of life.”


Shirley Montalvo[3]


Age: 38


Why she's inspirational: Montalvo began exercising more than 20 years after becoming quadriplegic.


Her workouts: Twice-weekly two-hour training sessions at Beyond the Chair, a nonprofit gym for people with neurological disabilities


Her story: Montalvo was a 15-year-old sophomore at Holmes High School[4] when she broke her neck in a car accident. Her spinal cord was partially severed, causing her to lose most mobility and sensation below the injury.


Montalvo spent months at University Hospital[5] and Warm Springs Rehabilitation Hospital. When she left, she could do little more than control her power wheelchair.


For the next 20 years, Montalvo's improvement stalled. Physical and occupational therapy helped little. Then she heard about Beyond the Chair, a post-rehab center that offers specialized exercise programs for people like Montalvo.


“All these years, I have just been sitting in my chair,” she said. “I gave up about 10 years after my injury. I got into a big funk. My body was so atrophied. But I still have a body. It still wants to move. It still wants to feel.”


At Beyond the Chair, the staff “puts you in positions your body should be in, whether you're paralyzed or not,” Montalvo said. Nito Blochlinger, the center's co-founder, guides Montalvo through squats using a weight machine to bend her knees. One machine moves her feet in a cycling motion when she cranks hand pedals. She does crunches and planks, trembling with effort.


After a year, Montalvo has regained some mobility and feels tingling in areas she's never felt since the accident. Her stamina has increased, she said, and she no longer gets frequent bouts of pneumonia. Her body alignment is improved and she can balance without assistance.


And her confidence has skyrocketed.


One of her favorite exercises is simply kneeling with Blochlinger's help.


“I'm upright and I'm not in my chair,” she said. “It just feels good. I can't be in that position on my own. I can feel my heart going and going.”


Montalvo, a UTSA student who will graduate in May with a bachelor's degree in Mexican-American studies, believes she will continue to improve.


“It just changed my life,” she said. “I have hope.”


jbelasco@express-news.net



References



  1. ^ Krystal Cantu (www.mysanantonio.com)

  2. ^ University of Texas at El Paso (www.mysanantonio.com)

  3. ^ Shirley Montalvo (www.mysanantonio.com)

  4. ^ Holmes High School (www.mysanantonio.com)

  5. ^ University Hospital (www.mysanantonio.com)



No comments :

Post a Comment