Get Fit

Get Fit

We spend so much money on so many things; houses, cars, clothes, booze. But, when it comes to investing in our own bodies, the majority of us are super cheap. With obesity epidemics spawning movies like “Super Size Me” (an attack on the fast food industry) and the adoption of unhealthy carbohydrate free diets, we all seem to be scrambling improve our health. Fitness programs should play a role in everybody's life, disabled and non.

While being sedentary isn't good for anyone it can have a higher impact on the wheelchair using population. As with many other things in an SCI's life, we sort of get shafted in the general fitness category as well. We sit all day, and when we do move, we are recruiting smaller muscle groups, arms as opposed to legs, so we burn less calories. When the rain or snow falls, our small amount of exercise gets further cut down. We often end up with over-use injuries. Not to mention, the very thing we broke to get into a chair is poorly supported below the level of injury. So you ask, “Why don't we all give up and find a wheelchair accessible cliff to jump off?”

Well don't get to close to the edge yet, there is hope, and it's called a gym. Now for those of you who are thinking that this is an article for athletes and jocks, I would like to say, “Au contraire”. This one is for the general procrastinator, the unsure and the confused.

The word “gym” is often a bit scary. It's filled with machines you don't know how to use, people you don't know who all seem to be moving in synchronicity from one piece of equipment to the next. You might be tempted to think that it's probably better if you don't upset the flow. The truth is that most people in the place probably went through the same feelings when they first started.

To help get comfortable, I would recommend going with a friend the first few times. Next, look for a gym that you can get around in. Most gyms will let you try the facility for free or a small nominal fee the first time, just tell them your situation. When I first started, I would go with a close friend to help with transfers onto difficult equipment or to simulate what the transfer might look like, so I could decide if the effort was worth it (it always is). The friend is also good to keep the world from asking you if you need help. On the other hand, it impedes you from meeting all the fit members of the opposite sex, (yes my mind remains in the gutter about 70% of every day).

Now that you've got off your butt (figuratively), called a friend and actually entered the gym, you are faced with a common problem…What do I work out? Assuming you don't have a sport in mind, there are some basics that everyone should pay attention to. A problem most of us have to deal with is back support. You can't exercise muscles your nervous system isn't connected to. However, you can help things out by strengthening any abdominal and back muscles you may have. These muscles will help support the spine and lead to a healthier sitting posture as well as increased sitting comfort.

The next biggest problem most of us face is over-use-injury. This is often compounded by the fact that we are usually imbalanced with our strength. The constant pushing in our chairs leaves us with naturally strong chests and triceps but does little for our pull muscles like backs and biceps. To gain balance it's probably better to skip the bench press and head to the lat pull downs. If you describe the kind of workout you want, the gym staff is usually very helpful. Be careful not to get trapped into a personal trainer unless you have the money or really want one. Don't fall for the mandatory personal fitness test scam either – it's designed to make you think you need a personal trainer.

To go over a complete workout and the tricks I use to work certain muscles would take more than a few pages and may not work for many of you. The key is to get into the gym and start experimenting. You don't need an accessible gym station you just need some imagination and motivation. Trust me. If you stick with it for a couple months, going a few times a week, you will never want to stop.

I plan on putting some of the tricks I use to help me work out in the Tricks of the Trade section in http://www.cripcollege.com so you can get some ideas. My final advice is to start with light weight, set achievable short term goals, stop doing an exercise if it starts to hurt, and ask your doctor or physio if you have concerns.