People with low motor control, such as Brayden, who has ASD, struggle with safely using dumbbells, especially in overhead movements. As a trainer/coach, I've learned that providing a target for the client to reach toward with his dumbbells helps him keep control.
In this video, I lessen as many of the moving parts in this lift as I can, by having Brayden sit on a box, and by only having him lift 1 arm at a time. Then he can focus fully on lifting 1 dumbbell to the target, reaching the target and bringing the target back down to his shoulder before refocusing on the other dumbbell to lift. We continue this by counting out loud to the designated number of reps. After finishing this designated exercise, we cross it off the dry erase board list and move fully and focused onto the next exercise.
For more information about training clients with adaptive fitness programming, check out my course information below.
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