Exercise and Disabilities

Regular Physical Activity can Help Keep Your Body and Mind Healthy

Sep 21, 2009 Megan Drummond

Exercise is important for everyone to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Having a disability can make regular exercise more difficult, but also makes it more important.

Exercise is important for everyone. If you have a physical disability, exercise is all the more important to help keep your body and mind in shape.

The Benefits of Exercise

Any time is a good time to begin a diet and fitness routine. Fitness is for everyone, including those with physical disabilities and limitations. Exercise can help you maintain your weight, avoid health problems such as heart disease and diabetes, relieve stress, increase stamina, feel better and look better.

Diet

Before you begin a fitness program, it is a good idea to start by adjusting your diet to meet your new healthy lifestyle expectations. This does not mean that you have to completely overhaul your diet. Add more fruits and vegetables and cut back on sweets and other sugary items. Any major changes in diet can interfere with some medications. For example, people who take Coumadin (warfarin) are instructed to avoid vitamin K, which is found mostly in green vegetables. Be sure to check with your physician before making any major changes to your diet to avoid any complications with your medications.

Exercises & Equipment

If you are in a wheelchair, resistance exercises that will help increase your upper body strength should be your main focus. There are a variety of exercise videos that are targeted to people with disabilities available today. The best thing about these videos is that they allow you to work out in the privacy of your own home at your convenience. Pilates is a good resistance exercise program and works well for the beginner.

If you prefer doing your complete workout at home, there is a variety of fitness equipment for people with disabilities available. This equipment includes exercise bikes that can be used while you are seated in your chair, arm bikes, weight machines, bikes that you power yourself and FES (functional electric stimulation) bikes that are designed to mechanically stimulate and exercise paralyzed muscles. Many of these machines and pieces of equipment are also available in gyms. Call around to local gyms to find one that is accessible.

Exercise, especially aerobic exercise, is a great way to boost your energy. Aerobic exercise lets you maintain an increased heart rate by performing a series of moderate exercises for an extended period of time (15-20 minutes). Aerobic exercise can be as complex as a whole routine or as simple as swinging your arms at your sides – anything that gets your heart rate up and keeps it there for at least 20 minutes.

Sports

If you’re already in shape and are looking for a fun way to maintain your health and level of activity, why not try organized sports. Wheelchair sports include basketball, rugby, tennis, archery, fencing and many more.

The National Center on Physical Activity and Disability, or NCPAD, can help you find a sports program or a fitness program in your area.

Whatever your level of injury or disability, there is an exercise and fitness program out there for you. Find one that suits your needs and get started! You’ll be surprised at how much better you’ll look and feel.

Please be safe and be sure to check with your doctor before you begin any exercise or sports program.

The copyright of the article Exercise and Disabilities in Disabilities is owned by Megan Drummond. Permission to republish Exercise and Disabilities in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

People in Wheelchairs Excercising

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