A disability can cause major changes in your life, including your sense of purpose and questions about your future. Just because you have lost the ability to walk doesn't mean that you're resigned to a sedentary lifestyle without any physical activity. Keeping active helps you remain independent, gives you a sense of accomplishment and helps improve your physical fitness level, so getting active can have a positive effect on your overall quality of life. Check with your doctor to determine whether these exercises are right for your specific condition.
Stretching
Keeping your muscles and joints loose helps your ability to move when in a wheelchair. Try to stretch your shoulders, arms and back four to five times a week -- or even daily if possible. Try to stretch a little before each exercise session, but be sure that you only stretch as far as you can without feeling a painful pull in your muscles or joints. These exercises can help increase your range of motion while helping to stimulate blood flow to your muscles and extremities.
Resistance Training
Resistance training is exercise that uses resistance bands to help provide an equal resistance throughout the range of motion of the exercise you're performing. These exercises should be performed at least three times a week for around 30 minutes to help strengthen the muscles of your arms, shoulders, chest, back and core. Your doctor or physical therapist can design an exercise program that is right for your specific condition.
Strength Training
Whether you join a gym, buy some weights or simply use your body weight as resistance, training your muscles to become stronger should be a priority after your disability. Stronger arm, core and shoulder muscles help keep you healthy enough to maintain your independence while making you more confident and self-assured. Your strength-training program should target the major muscle groups of your body. You should try to perform strength-training exercises at least three times weekly, performing repetitions with enough weight that you can only perform eight to 10 repetitions per set. Check with your doctor or physical therapist about which exercises are right for you.
Aerobic Conditioning
The act of moving yourself when you're confined to a wheelchair is aerobic exercise in and of itself. Aerobic conditioning exercises can be performed daily, but you should try to do these exercises at least three times a week. Try to exercise hard enough that your heart rate is between 70 and 80 percent of your maximum heart rate, and maintain this heart rate for at least 30 minutes per session. This will help stimulate the flow of nutrients throughout your body, keeping your heart, lungs, bones and muscles strong and ready to work for you.
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