A weight lifted: Sensible training routine gives young blind teen a boost of strength and confidence
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Zachary Grabowski, a garrulous youngster who just turned 14, looks forward eagerly to Wednesday nights. That's when he goes to the gym.
Zachary has been blind since birth. Because of his handicap, he couldn't get the exercise little boys with sight customarily do. Two years ago, when Zachary was 12, he was too weak to pour himself a glass of milk from a half-gallon carton.
Tony Tye, Post-GazetteZachary Grabowski, 14, who is blind, works out at the Exercise Warehouse Gym in Bloomfield. Zachary's spirits and his health have improved since he started at the gym.
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That's when his uncle, John Haggerty, started to take Zachary to the Exercise Warehouse gymnasium in Bloomfield, a short distance from Zachary's Lawrence- ville home.
The Exercise Warehouse, 4042 Liberty Ave., is an old-style gym for serious bodybuilders. It notes with pride on its Web page that it has no air conditioning, whirlpool or other "gimmicks to interfere with your workout."
Zachary follows an exercise program designed for him by his uncle. He does 10 different exercises to strengthen his chest, back, shoulders, arms and legs, and concludes an hour workout on a treadmill or an exercise bike.
Zachary's mother, Holly Grabowski, 41, a human resources administrator for Matrix Solutions, is thrilled with the changes the workout program has wrought in her son.
"He's stronger and has lost some weight," she said. "It gives him more confidence. It helps him with his posture."
"He was pretty clumsy before," added Zachary's grandfather, Tony Haggerty, 71, of Point Breeze. "He's much better coordinated now."
Initially, Zachary's workouts were supervised by Uncle John or by his grandfather. Now most weeks Zachary goes to the gym with "Andy." Andy works for a firm that is helping Zachary develop life skills, such as tying his shoes. Andy asked that he not be quoted, and that neither his last name nor the name of his employer be used in this story.
Doctors think it unwise for young people to begin weight training until about two years before they reach maturity, which, on average, is age 14 for females and age 16 for males.
"Premature weight lifting might stunt your growth," said Dr. Jan Grudziak, an orthopedic surgeon at Children's Hospital. "If you lift weights too soon, the ultimate growth of the bone might be affected."
The reason for this is that skeletally immature people have "open growth plates, which can be damaged if you put too much stress on them," said Dr. Patrick DeMeo, chairman of the department of orthopedic surgery at Allegheny General Hospital, and medical director of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
A growth plate, he explained, is the part of the bone that is composed of cartilage cells, which are responsible for longitudinal bone growth. Cartilage is softer than bone, and easier to damage.
It is safer for a young person to work out on exercise machines like those Zachary uses than to lift free weights, Dr. DeMeo said, but he cautioned: "Exercise machines were designed for adults. You could damage somebody because they weren't designed for a person that size on the machine."
When Zachary works out, he does many repetitions at a low weight. This is the safe and sensible way for a young person to begin weight training, said Drs. Grudziak and DeMeo.
"If you cannot repeat the exercise 50 times, the weight is too heavy," Dr. Grudziak said.
The key factor when a young person begins weight training is strict supervision, the doctors said.
Zachary has plenty of that. In addition to "Andy," Uncle John and Grandpa Tony, Mark Machi, the owner of the Exercise Warehouse, and the regulars there pay special attention to him.
Mr. Machi is a family friend who has known Zachary since he was a child. Zachary calls him "Big Dude." Mr. Machi calls Zachary "Little Dude."
"I like talking with Mark and the other guys that work out there," Zachary said. "I've met a lot of cool people. Mark tells me about the machines and how they work to help my muscles become stronger."
"He's a nice little kid," Mr. Machi said. "He's really outgoing. He knows everyone here. Everyone loves him. He'll hear someone's voice and say 'Hi Joe, or Steve, or whatever.' "
Zachary "does not have an off button," his mother said. "He talks from the time he gets up in the morning until he goes to sleep. He's very inquisitive. That's how he finds out about the world."
Zachary said he wants to be the mayor of Pittsburgh when he grows up.
"He thinks he's the mayor now, he knows so many people," his mother said.
Andy uses Zachary's loquaciousness as an incentive, Zachary said.
"Andy will let me socialize if I have a good workout," he said.
First Published August 9, 2006 12:00 am
