"A blurred mobile video shows my first success on the Motomed. That was in early 2013, a few months after the accident, which left me almost completely paralyzed from the hips down. So I sit in my wheelchair in front of the ergometer-like device and proudly read the display like Bolle, which certifies that my legs, which have just lost their function, are capable of their own. Even though it may sound arrogant to call less than one watt "power", it was a gigantic breakthrough for me on my way to becoming a pedestrian.
I had been training with the Motomed for some time - with my arms, to warm up for training in the weight room and with my legs, at that time still as pure mental training. Of course, I could also lie in bed and visualize movements, always hoping that my body would finally feel compelled to repair something by the constantly arriving nerve impulses. But let's be honest, it is much easier to imagine movements and to take part in the spirit when you really see them. The nice thing about the Motomed is that it can move my legs without any muscle power of its own. But it also recognizes the slightest impulses of movement and then lets me do it by myself. When I lose strength, the engine takes over again and I continue training mentally.
Countless more training days followed with some remarkable experiences. When my legs became so strong that I no longer needed the engine support, I started to adjust a slight resistance occasionally. As in the past, I did longer "rides" at a moderate pace, alternating with shorter ones with more resistance and crisp interval training, which pushed the limits of my performance further and further.
Success didn't come overnight, but it did. Almost a year after the accident, I was able to stand for a second again for the first time. I learned to walk longer and longer distances with fewer and fewer aids. Today I practice the first free steps. In the last years I have certainly tried many training variants. Often enough I had to determine how much creativity is required to find the right exercises at any time, because (fortunately) something has constantly changed. This shows the ingenious versatility of the Motomed, which has accompanied me almost from the beginning in therapy and still does today".
Here you can see the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1EN9Az9K-8
Best regards,
Susanne Boehme
More about Susanne Böhme can be found here: http://wingsuit.de/