Excercise for disabled person

Hi. I have some limitations that make it hard for me to do an intense, fast paced workout. Then there is the motivation thing to. I need structure and can't seem to do it on my own. I need to lose weight not just for my health. I need to drop at least 75lbs for surgery. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions.

Replies

  • Cappy29
    Cappy29 Posts: 30 Member
    Odeen, you might look into hiring a personal trainer. I've seen many disabled folks at a gym I worked out at use personal trainers. The trainer can give you a plan of action, hopefully, influence your motivation, and help you monitor progress. Good luck.
  • ShaleSelkies
    ShaleSelkies Posts: 251 Member
    It'd be hard to suggest things without knowing what your limitations are and what has or hasn't worked for you so far.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
    Certainly there are lots of people doing this & lots of exercises of lower impact & intensity. Water exer c uses & swimmimg, weights, bike or elliptical,never sit down exercises. You can do some Web research for specifics.
  • CurlyCockney
    CurlyCockney Posts: 1,394 Member
    There are lots of exercise videos on YouTube for people with restricted movement.
  • Moyer22
    Moyer22 Posts: 20 Member
    edited January 2017
    For pure weight loss, you don't need to necessarily work out. It's all about diet, specifically calories consumed vs. calories burned. Being here to track your food is the right place to be! I'm not sure if you've tracked or not, but I highly recommend starting out. Just eat as you would normally, but track all of your foods for the day. It's a bit tedious at first, but once you get the hang of it it'll become second nature and there's also a handy barcode scanner on the phone app that took me awhile to actually realize was available to use. Once you track for a week or two, go through the guided set up under goals and fill in the blanks and how much you want to lose (it ranges from .5lb to 2lb per week, losing less per week has a less aggressive caloric deficit and may be easier to start out on and maintain over time). After that, keep tracking and be consistent about it. You'll miss meals at first or completely forget a day, but always get back into it and it'll become a habit and I promise that you will start seeing results. So I'd worry about getting your diet down first and not becoming overwhelmed with exercise unless you really want to do it. As far as your disability, you didn't get too specific so I would definitely ask your doctor first. If you do not agree with their recommendations, don't hesitate to get a second opinion. For example, I have rheumatoid arthritis which really makes me feel fatigued. It mostly affects my hands and I have terrible grip strength. A lot of doctors would tell me to stay away from lifting weights, but doing it (properly and gradually) actually helps with grip strength and strengthening the muscles will help to support joints over time. Plus staying active makes me feel great. So once you start working out try to get into something that you enjoy, because if you don't like it you're not going to keep up with it, especially if you have motivation issues. For me, my dog is a big motivator because I know that he loves doing for walks and hiking, so that makes me get my lazy butt out there some days where I really don't feel like it. You don't have to do high intensity cardio workouts to lose weight, or even get "fit", so try not to let your disability discourage you. Coming from someone that also has a disability, you might be amazed to find what your body can actually do and it might even help with your illness to be more active. Good luck to you and let me know if you have any more questions or anything!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,843 Member
    My workouts are intense, but they are not the least bit fast-paced, in fact, the women racing around the weight machines crack me up.

    I don't like face-paced cardio either - I like a nice, long hike in the woods and despise the elliptical.

    Ask your doctor for a referral to a physical therapist who can design a program just for you.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
    Can you do water exercises? My mom uses a wheelchair but she loves doing water aerobics. Great workout. She wears a swim belt to help with flotation.
  • Shoelips33
    Shoelips33 Posts: 8 Member
    Hi there. I too have limited mobility and have undergone surgeries, setbacks and challenges. I agree with the previous posts but also suggest that you listen to your doctor and physical therapists. Be kind, gentle and understanding with yourself. Your body transformation will take time. Once you accept this piece and the ups and downs that come with this reality, you can then dive right in. Set out some easily accomplished goals... like adding 10 min of exercise or stretching to your daily routine. There are great videos out there on YouTube or on DVD on chair exercises or gentle yoga for those who have limited mobility. Remember....you can do this!
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    Can you do water exercises? My mom uses a wheelchair but she loves doing water aerobics. Great workout. She wears a swim belt to help with flotation.

    I was going to suggest swimming or water aerobics myself. There are SO many different exercises that you can do and the bouyancy is wonderful for all sorts of range of motion with out impact sorts of movements. I credit the therapy pool for my mother's amazing recovery after a stroke that left her paralyzed on her entire left side, and for my own recovery after ankle replacement surgery.

    My local YMCA has both a full lap pool and a smaller (and warmer) therapy pool and water aerobics classes, and in both my case and my mother's, our physical therapists gave us complete "prescriptions" for workouts targeted for our specific needs that we could do on our own in the pool.