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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/21/s...ow-shaping-frail-clients.html?hpw&rref=sports
With his enormous muscles bulging beneath a small T-shirt, Martin Luther King Addo guided one of his most dedicated clients through a squat exercise inside his tiny Manhattan gym. “You can do it, Shirley,” he said.
Shirley Friedman, a silver-haired 90-year-old standing 4 feet 9 inches, shifted into another gear, bending at the knees for multiple repetitions.
“I never did this stuff before, but he gives you the confidence that you can do it, if you’re up to it,” Mrs. Friedman said afterward. “He’s not a phony. Got me?”
Mr. Addo, who honed his muscles using a mango tree as a pull-up bar and concrete blocks for dumbbells, is a two-time former winner of the Mr. Ghana bodybuilding championship. Years ago, his chiseled physique, bowling ball biceps and camera-ready smile brought him fame across his West African nation. Today Mr. Addo uses his imposing muscles and hard-won expertise to help frail seniors like Mrs. Friedman restore their balance, mobility and strength.
On a recent afternoon, Mary Killoran, 86, was willing herself through a kettlebell dead lift. Mrs. Killoran, a retired medical transcriber, has lived alone since 1971 in an apartment overlooking the East River. A few years ago she suffered a bad fall and was relegated to a walker.
Mr. Addo, 44, taught her exercises like balance lunges and stretching techniques. Gradually, she regained her balance and ditched the walker in favor of a cane.
Now, she drinks a protein shake each morning and strolls daily to the World Trade Center and back — twice. She works out about three times a week, but stops by the gym even on off days to visit Mr. Addo. He helps her “be more cheerful, so you don’t have to be depressed,” she said.
Mr. Addo, too, says the seniors energize him. Raised within the Ashanti tribe, Mr. Addo was always taught that improving the lives of one’s elders is of the highest virtue. “They remind me of my grandmothers and aunties back home,” he said.
With his enormous muscles bulging beneath a small T-shirt, Martin Luther King Addo guided one of his most dedicated clients through a squat exercise inside his tiny Manhattan gym. “You can do it, Shirley,” he said.
Shirley Friedman, a silver-haired 90-year-old standing 4 feet 9 inches, shifted into another gear, bending at the knees for multiple repetitions.
“I never did this stuff before, but he gives you the confidence that you can do it, if you’re up to it,” Mrs. Friedman said afterward. “He’s not a phony. Got me?”
Mr. Addo, who honed his muscles using a mango tree as a pull-up bar and concrete blocks for dumbbells, is a two-time former winner of the Mr. Ghana bodybuilding championship. Years ago, his chiseled physique, bowling ball biceps and camera-ready smile brought him fame across his West African nation. Today Mr. Addo uses his imposing muscles and hard-won expertise to help frail seniors like Mrs. Friedman restore their balance, mobility and strength.
On a recent afternoon, Mary Killoran, 86, was willing herself through a kettlebell dead lift. Mrs. Killoran, a retired medical transcriber, has lived alone since 1971 in an apartment overlooking the East River. A few years ago she suffered a bad fall and was relegated to a walker.
Mr. Addo, 44, taught her exercises like balance lunges and stretching techniques. Gradually, she regained her balance and ditched the walker in favor of a cane.
Now, she drinks a protein shake each morning and strolls daily to the World Trade Center and back — twice. She works out about three times a week, but stops by the gym even on off days to visit Mr. Addo. He helps her “be more cheerful, so you don’t have to be depressed,” she said.
Mr. Addo, too, says the seniors energize him. Raised within the Ashanti tribe, Mr. Addo was always taught that improving the lives of one’s elders is of the highest virtue. “They remind me of my grandmothers and aunties back home,” he said.
