Jenny Bolland
Posted by Concept2 News on the 28th of August 2006
Jenny Bolland, a 15 year old from Calverton in Nottingham has suffered from Cerebral Palsy since birth. Her condition causes her to have bad posture and sloppy body movements and, due to being wheelchair-bound, she does not do much exercise to combat these symptoms.After seeing a feature in the Nottingham Evening Post about adaptive rowing on the Concept2 Indoor Rower, Jenny's Mum Sally contacted Concept2 and bought an Indoor Rower for her to exercise on. Along with the Indoor Rower they also purchased an adaptive seat, which enables easy positioning on the machine. As I'm in a wheelchair I don't get much opportunity to raise my heart rate or take part in exercise, explained Jenny. I've also been studying for my GCSEs and haven't had much time to even think about exercising. However having the Concept2 at home has made it ideal for me to do a few minutes training each night.Cerebral Palsy is a chronic condition affecting body movement and muscle coordination. It is caused by damage to one or more specific areas of the brain, usually during foetal development before, during or shortly after birth. Concept2 has developed an adaptive rowing seat for those people who require a greater degree of support than is offered with the standard Concept2 seat. It is manufactured from glass fibre with a polished gel coat and is available in a range of colours. Jenny's Mum Sally is delighted with the way the Indoor Rower has helped her fitness. She commented: Jenny's not even been using the machine for two months yet but the difference in her fitness is clear. There's more definition in her shoulders and she's more supple and therefore finds it easier to put on her school uniform. Jenny's tried other equipment machines in the past but bikes and other machines are difficult to lift her onto and nothing works as well as the Concept2. It's very easy for me to lift Jenny on and off the machine and the adaptive seat makes it very accessible.Many Cerebral Palsy sufferers have a tendency to lean forward or backward from the hips due to their poor muscle tone and unstable hip joints so by using the Concept2 Indoor Rower they can stretch their hamstring and back muscles and improve their posture.I'm feeling great now I'm using the Indoor Rower, added Jenny. I feel much more energetic and I think it's reflecting very positively on my lifestyle.So far I've not been timing myself but I'm going to start to and then see if I can beat my own times.