by Tiff -

Podcast 97: Neil Picone – wheelchair bodybuilder

In podcast 97, Neil Picone, an IFBB Pro wheelchair bodybuilder from New Jersey is on the show (he was paralyzed 6 years ago in a motorbike crash), and boy is he awesome. With an upper body that is better than most guys and a sweetheart to boot, this relatively new bodybuilder has an amazing story.

In this episode, Tiffiny and Neil discuss everything from dating and how he gets a lot of stares to his training regimen (and diet) and his plans for 2013. If you’ve ever wanted to sneak a peek inside the world of wheelchair bodybuilding, then this is your chance.

Listen below. Run time is 50 minutes.

No Free Rides is brought to you by Easystand

Links:

– Neil Picone Ifbb Pro on Facebook

– Neil’s bio on Wheelchairbodybuilding.com

[powerpress]

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Dr. Glen House

There are only a handful of medical doctors in the world with a spinal cord injury, and Dr. Glen House is one of the most fearless of them all.

From becoming the first person with a spinal cord injury to graduate with a medical degree from the University of Washington School of Medicine to founding a pair of major companies, Dr. Glen House is a quadriplegic unlike any other. Read this entry

by Tiff -

Green thumbs on wheels

When in a rut, grow stuff. That’s what I say. Growing things has been the zen-moment of humans for centuries, and when you have a spinal cord injury, there’s something even more therapeutic about growing things.

A sense of control, the peace from being enveloped by nature, all the senses are stimulated when you garden. Gotta love it.

Here are four really cool gardening videos for wheelchair-users that show how to do it right and taking care of your plants once they’ve sprouted. Read this entry

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Candace Cable

Sometimes we can become incredibly passionate about a certain sport after our injury. This happens with countless people with a SCI, and a few even excel at it beyond their wildest dreams. This has certainly been the case with Candace Cable – a six-time Paralympian in cross-country skiing.

Adapted sports have been “the sun” in Candace’s post-injury life. From being known as a pioneer of wheelchair racing to creating a slew of educational videos for the Reeve foundation, let’s delve into the fearless world of Candace Cable. Read this entry

by Tiff -

A little wheelchair TLC goes a long way

A little TLC can go a long way with a wheelchair. You can’t expect your wheelchair to keep up with you if you don’t treat it right. Just like a shiny sports car, you need to go all out with how you treat your four wheels. If you do, it’ll love you back.

From regularly maintaining your casters to one of the coolest wheelchair wash days ever, check out these three videos that emulate our point to a tee. Read this entry

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Tomas Young

When 9/11 occurred, Tomas Young knew exactly what he wanted to do – he wanted to serve the United States in the war on terror. He enlisted days after the bombings, leaving his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri and was sent to Afghanistan. Now a quadriplegic and anti-war activist, discover a man who’s passion for his beliefs will never waver.

As a young 24 year old, Tomas was rearing to go – he wanted to help defeat the Taliban. President Bush’s speech at Ground Zero had fired him up. But after only days of arriving, he was hit by a sniper, becoming a C5-6 quadriplegic as a result.

And as you can imagine, the transformation a young hopeful soldier into a quadriplegic (with a much broader life perspective) can completely change you, and this is exactly what happened to Tomas. Read this entry

by Tiff -

Call me why don’t ya?

You can ring my bell, oh yes you can. Cell phones are one of the best things to happen to people with disabilities. They give us a lifeline, they are the givers of independence. Just think, how many times has your cell phone saved you from a possibly dangerous situation?

But using a cell phone isn’t easy if you have a high level spinal cord injury.  From hitting the keys to holding the phone, all of this can be incredibly hard for people with quadriplegia.

Even if you’re a paraplegic, it can be tricky to find a safe spot to store your phone.  Check out these three phone-inspired videos showing cool phone adaptations and tricks for using the keys. Read this entry

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Nick Scott

Wheelchair Pro bodybuilder, motivational speaker and even a wheelchair ballroom dancer, Nick Scott is without question the global promoter of wheelchair bodybuilding.

It may be a self-given moniker, but it’s hard to disagree. An incomplete T12-L1 injury, Nick is one of the buffest men you’ll ever see with a SCI. Read this entry (with videos)

by Tiff -

Crazy never-before-seen wheelchair tricks

There are wheelchair tricks, and then there are the wheelchair tricks we dig up at SPINALpedia. We’ve profiled some impressive wheelchair tricks before, big tricks like like Aaron “Wheelz” Fotheringham’s 50ft wheelchair jump or quirky tricks like Johnny Hollenstein’s huge portraits he paints with his wheels.

And there are always new videos popping up online. We’ve chosen three of our favorite s that either completely blew us away or tickled us pink. Get ready for three big OMG wheelchair-trick moments.

Our first video literally will make you gasp. It shows the only wheelchair-user stunt cheerleader on the planet doing a routine with his team – WheelchairPS (Partner Stunt) – at the USASF Worlds 2012 .

As they perform, you’ll see Rick, the team member in the wheelchair (he has full upper-body movement) do a majority of the lifts. And needless to say, yeah his upper body is HUGE. Read this entry