Exercise and Movement

It’s winter time here in Northeast Ohio and because of that, getting outside to go anywhere is nearly impossible sometimes.  But, in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, we must move or do some type of exercise every single day.  

Exercise from a wheelchair perspective is definitely harder than an “able-body.”  But, it’s not impossible, and there are a lot of us out there that exercise or workout every single day, or mostly everyday.  Moving can be stretching, some form of cardio, or some form of strength training.  And, you don’t have to have any equipment or go anywhere to accomplish it.  

What’s the best?

In my opinion, everyone should do some cardio and some strength training weekly.  Strength training is (obviously) good for building muscle.  The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest.  So, when working out, you don’t burn as much doing strength training as you do cardio, however, strength training has a bigger benefit for burning calories at rest.

Wait, hold on.

Okay, before going any further, I do want to make this statement.  I am not certified or specifically trained in fitness or exercise or anything.  My information is what I have learned over the years from the experts that I follow on social media, and the articles that I have read.  This is meant to just inform and give the basics for what I have learned over the years with my health and fitness journey.

Back to our discussion.

This is what I do.  I am a member of a local gym that offers group exercise classes.  These classes include Zumba, Boot Camp, Core & More, Powersculpt, and Yoga (among others).  Additionally, these classes are not meant for persons in wheelchairs, but the instructors are amazing and have worked with me throughout the years.  I have actually gained new (AMAZING) friends from going to Zumba, and I would not trade them for anything.

While everyone is doing lower body exercises, I am doing more upper body.  Usually the instructor will start with upper body exercises, so I know what I still need to hit while they are doing lower body.  From working out consistently over the past 3 years, I have learned what exercises targets what body parts, but if I ever get stuck, the instructor will give me something to do.  Or, with one particular instructor, she will have me do something else entirely.  Did I mention that she is amazing, but KILLER?!  I always hate her while I’m there, but absolutely love her when I’m done.  So great!

Click to see Body Weight Exercise

With Zumba, coming from a cheerleading and gymnastics background, I had no problems coming up with arm moves to do when a routine is “leg heavy.”  And, with Zumba, it’s all about having fun while moving.  If you are having fun, you are doing something right!  I love to dance, so the fact that I get to dance 2-4 times a week and burn some calories is a win-win situation for me!  If you love to dance, I highly, highly recommend finding a Zumba class near you!

And, there are days where I just want to kill myself in the gym with dumbbells and/or machines.  There aren’t many machines that I can use – however there are some adaptive gyms out there with SO MANY that wheelchairs can use – so I mainly stick to dumbbells.

But didn’t I say you can work out from home?!

Yes!  I definitely did, and here comes that part.  I simply wanted to let you know what I do at the gym as a possibility if that is of interest to anyone.  But, there are some days where I just simply cannot make it to the gym, or I don’t want to and just want to get something quick done at home.  

Strength Training

In all transparency, I do have a couple sets of dumbbells and some exercise bands at home that I do utilize.  But, different household items can be used for a (just as effective) great workout.  Items like soup cans, broomsticks, or shopping bags with different items in it can be used as weights when strength training.  You can do a bicep curls, tricep curls, or anything else with any ot the items I listed, or others that you find in your house.  If you have no idea where to start, you can go to YouTube, or do a google search for seated exercises, or exercising in a wheelchair.  Or, feel free to ask me and I can see how I can help!

Cardio

For cardio, if you don’t want to dance or do something like Zumba (which there are videos on YouTube of routines), you can do like a kickboxing “routine.”  Start with some punches, some uppercuts, or hooks for a couple minutes.  I guarantee that you will get your heart rate up and lose your breath.  You can build up how long you do it, or do some for a couple minutes, take a minute or two rest, and repeat.  Anything is better than nothing!

Restoration

And, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the benefit of stretching, or a yoga-type work out.  Stretching, posture exercises, and breathing exercises are just as important as strength training and cardio.  Start by YouTubing stretches and breathing exercises.  Work up from there.  I do attend a yoga and a stretch and release class. So, I take those techniques home with me and work on them when I have time on the weekends (mostly Sundays).  Or, if there is a day during the week that my body is just yelling at me, and I know doing my normal strength training or cardio workouts would do damage, I will use these restoration exercises.

I will certainly write more on this topic. But, I wanted to at least give some basics to help motivate you do move every day.  You don’t have to work out everyday, but you should move and at least stretch daily.  

As always, leave me some feedback either here – below this post, e-mail me (megs@thewheellifeblog.com), or on any of my social media platforms! (FB/IG/TW @wheellifeblog and Snapchat @megsh8).  I would love to hear from you and what I can do to help.

Megs