Red cord equals red face

This is the new physio system (top of the line, state of the art) at Glassier's Physiotherapy in Wingham. It is called RedCord. Ask anyone who has used it (able bodied or otherwise) and they will tell you it is tough. It is obvious from the look on my face how hard I am working here, but let me explain. I am holding onto handles that I used to do a rowing action which lifts my upper body off the bed. Then I pivot with my arms from side to side and lift my hips off the bed at the same time. This is the interesting part - I lift my hips. There is a strap under my hips but it is attached to the ropes above with bungie cords (stretchy ones) so in order for my hips to come off the bed my muscles have to engage.

If my shoulders and back were doing all the work here then my hips would stay on the bed. Can you see the air between me and the bed? I actually have core muscles (and maybe even some glutes and hip flexors) that are working to lift and turn my hips from side to side. This is new, it is different even from what I am able to do in the pool. This is good, because even though I am coming up on 20 months post injury, I am still seeing gains.

It even earned me a high-five from Mark - and that means a lot. If you want to see this in action checkout my facebook page.