Specialised Multigym for Tetraplegics

The UPPERTONE

Let me introduce you to the Uppertone. The Uppertone is a multi-exercise gym designed especially for tetraplegics who have no hand movement. There are no cuffs or straps involved so you can just go straight in and start exercising without any help from anyone. Adjusting the weights is a piece of cake, they are a slider so you basically just push them to where you want.

There are something like 16 separate exercises that you can do on the Uppertone which will enable you to exercise virtually all of the muscles in your upper body. It doesn't matter whether you have only a slight movement in your arms, or very good function, the Upper tone can accommodate weights from less than 1 lb in weight, right up to 50 LB +, you can even exercise with out having weights attached so, so this will still enable you to tone your muscles gradually.

Take it easy when you first start exercising, the last thing you want to do is pull a muscle, all that will do is set you back a few days. If you're going to do cardiovascular exercises, i.e. exercise the heart rather than build muscle then you need only use very light weights, this will enable you to do a fairly lengthy workout without your muscles giving up on you. However, if you're going to exercise to build muscle and strength then you will have to do use much heavier weights. Building strength and muscle will require you to lift as much weight as your muscles will allow. The exercise regime I would recommend would be to do between 10 and 16 repetitions lifting as much weight as you can. When you start off for the first time just do the one set, in other words just 10 of 16 repetitions. You'll know when you're ready to move on to set two and then three, just take your time and don't overdo it. Once you are doing three sets fairly comfortably and you feel like you can increase the weight then add more weights until you can do between 8 and 12 repetitions. Once again, work your way up to 3 sets.

If you start off your weightlifting regime lifting very light weights you will probably find that you progress fairly quickly in the first six months to a year and will probably easily double the amount of weight you can left in this time. However, you will get to a stage where things really start slowing down and you are not increasing the weight quite so quickly. Remember that you will get to a stage where you will not to be able to lift any more weight. This is quite normal, we are not superhuman, our bodies can only do so much before it reaches its limit.

When you are exercising your muscles using heavyweights, they will need time to recover. So you really don't want to be exercising the same muscles on a daily basis. I alternate my exercises on a daily basis so as to give them a rest in between my exercise regime. It  also isn't necessary to do a seven day exercise week, many people only do three or four days a week. If you just want to tone yourself up and build some muscle and strength then take it easy and don't get obsessed with exercising because believe me, exercising can become very addictive.

Exercising on a regular basis is not just good for your health and muscle tone, it will also make you feel good. Obviously not everyone is going to be able to afford to buy an Uppertone, I believe the cost for an Uppertone is now in excess of £5000 in the UK. When I bought mine it was less than £3000, still extremely expensive.

Click here for more information on where to obtain the Uppertone in the UK