Mobility, Magic, and More on the latest episode!

Our disabled bodies deserve to move well and enjoy movement! We explore some mobility and magical tips on the latest podcast episode. Available on your favorite platform! Click below or search your podcast app for "Disabled Girls Who Lift".

https://www.disabledgirlswholift.com/dgwl-podcast

GIF showing Mandy Moore on ‘Drunk History’ saying, “I brought your ass everything you need. You’re welcome, everybody.”

And since we're feeling generous, here's a quick summary of a few magical tips. Listen to the full episode for more context and conversation!

1. Mobility = how your joints moves, Stability = muscle strength, Flexibility = muscle length.

2. Depending on how you do a 'stretch', it can target both flexibility and stability.

3. Warm ups have a goldilocks zone, don't move around too much OR too little before the actual workout.

4. You owe it to yourself and your body some space to transition before you workout, give yourself time to mentally prepare for movement and see how you feel before starting. This happen with the warm up or before it.

5. All the magic isn’t just in the gym. Don't forget about posture, hydration, recovery between workouts, and getting good sleep!

6. Top 5 things to address with mobility work: unilateral exercises, core stabilization (bracing), chest expansion, hip openers, & balance

Injury, Aches and Pains?

Us disabled girls are full of aches, pains, and imbalances, and it’s super important that we learn how to listen to our bodies and what to do with them to keep lifting for the long haul.

On our latest episode we talk about past injuries, laugh at a few mistakes we’ve made along the way, and share tips on how to choose the right PT to meet your goals.

GIF showing DJ Khaled sitting in an executive chair hands folded saying “Major key alert.” Key emojis flash on the screen.

Here are the top major key alerts from that episode!

1. There are three types of injuries. One, the overuse injuries that are everyday aches and pains from our imbalances that we ignore. Two, the injuries you couldn’t have done anything to prevent or avoid (ie freak accidents). And three, the “you knew better” injuries. Just chill out, slow down, and pay attention to prevent those “you know better” injuries.

2. It can be hard to “listen to your body”, when your body doesn’t even know what it’s doing. Sometimes our bodies are not regulated, can't send us the right signals, or send us different signals than what we're taught. It's half the work in any fitness plan to learn how you as a person connect to your body and how your body responds to movement.

3. If you need help learning your body or recovering from injury, HIRE A PHYSICAL THERAPIST. Check if they're licensed, creep their social media to make sure they aren't a dick, and don't be afraid to ask all the questions in the world. If after all that they still suck, it's ok to fire them. This applies to any and all people you pay for a service. If the service doesn't serve you, move on!

Kellie S.

Kellie San Souci is shown in full cosplay attire as Luke Skywalker (from Star Wars) holding up a lightsaber prepared for battle. Her awesome robotic prosthetic is shown.

Trying to lift and work out just like everyone else…

My name is Kellie San Souci and I was born with one hand. due to an amniotic band while I was in utero.  

Before I started elementary school, I did go to a school with other children so I could learn skills like being able to tie my own shoes rather than having to use velcro.

Over the years I did have various body powered prosthesis as an assist for the missing hand, but it wasn't until I was in my late 40's that I started actively becoming interested in fitness, working out, and lifting. I don't know why it took so long for that to be the tipping point for me, but it did. I also have a myoelectric prosthesis for work so I can type, but this type of prosthesis isn't helpful for working out.

In January 2018, I joined the gym I belong to and got myself a personal trainer. My trainer, Lydia, was very enthused about helping me to develop further techniques to be able to lift with both arms. She is very active on Instagram and made great use of the tags as well as Youtube. She discovered this man, Warren Moore, and saw that he used straps as an assist. She then found the man who had made them and contacted him. Mogens Eggemann was very helpful for us to determine who lengths we would need. I have a small and medium length. 

When I started working with her, I only went for the two days we had together at the gym. As my outlook on fitness changed, I found myself working out on my own. Most weeks, I have one recovery day and even if I don't go to the gym, I do find myself doing something active like running.

Sometimes the straps do pinch and using dumbbells is a little awkward. So back to IG and Youtube we went. That's when Lydia sugested that I looked at what other hand handed atheletes who lift and even mountain climb. I followed some of these athletes like @Merrbertt, @Will.Lift.For.Food and @Mo.In.Mountains.  

"If you had told me two years ago that by having these adaptive tools, I would be able to be achieving results in both arms equally, I would have laughed in your face."

I also then started asking some of these athletes if they wouldn’t mind sharing the tools that they used with me so I could achieve different ways of lifting. Every one of these athletes is very supportive and a great resource. @Merrbertt uses Harbinger Lifting Hooks. These hooks are more comfortable for when I do Romanian deadlifts, Trap bar deadlifts, and even Sumo Squat deadlifts

If you had told me two years ago that by having these adaptive tools, I would be able to be achieving results in both arms equally, I would have laughed in your face. Now that I have been working out with Lydia and using the correct tools, I do realize this was the result I had been looking for all along. 

As we encounter new challenges in the gym and how I lift, we keep looking for new ways to adapt.

You can find Kellie on Instagram at @ladycat1170.