[Lee]

Sorry if this post has been done. I wanting to go to the gym. Since having to use a chair from Oct 06 i know stuff will go south, lol so i want to try and use the gym to stay healthier and maybe increase my upper body strength. Sounds a stupid question but can a chair user use normal weight equipment or does it have to be adapted? Sorry for sounding stupid but i have never been weight training before even when on my feet as i could never walk very far and if had a workout probably couldnt walk back out, lol. Any advice or info welcome.

Cheers Lee

[hockeydahc]

Hey Lee,

First thing is... can you get in and around the gym in your chair? I go to a small gym and theres no way a wheelchair woud fit. so you have to check that out. make sure you can get to every piece of equipment you would use.

second is really your answer. yes of course you can use the same equipment, provided you can load or unload weight and get on and off yourself. I highly suggest using machines not freeweights for safety. so back to number 1...can you actually reach the pin and the weightstack?

if all checks out, ask to speak with a trainer from teh gym to show you teh equipment and help you get used to it. It may cost you a nominal fee for "training" or they may waive it the first time.

Sometimes you may not be able to do a certain excersize with ablebodied equipment. this i'm sure would come into play if you can't transfer. and certainly if you want to lift while still in your chair. for that, seek out a gym in a rehab facility. they have teh equipment.


anyone else got anything to add?

[edlee]

I'm using our local gym/health center, and have found that some brands of eqipment are designed in a way that allows the seat to be removed and some aren't. Most can be ordered that way, but most gyms don't think about it when ordering.

At my place, there is one peice that has movable arms, allowing for a lot of different positioning. This is the one I use. I am capable of transfering on to any of the other peices, but since my skill at remounting my chair from the ground is lacking , I don't like taking the chance of a mistep the number of times necessary for a good workout.

I have also found a "recumbant stepper" that I use. It is like a normal stepper ( foot pedals and arm levers) but you sit in/on it. I started out using only the levers, but soon found that I could place my feet on the pedals and get my legs a bit of stretching at the same time. Machines that do the same thing are available, but cost quite a lot. This is cheaper and works for me.

Any way you do it, the exercise is important to your future independence. Find something that you can stick with. You'll be glad you did when you hit 60.
ed

[4estGimp]

Lee, on Jul 18 2007, 03:09 AM, said:

Sorry if this post has been done. I wanting to go to the gym. Since having to use a chair from Oct 06 i know stuff will go south, lol so i want to try and use the gym to stay healthier and maybe increase my upper body strength. Sounds a stupid question but can a chair user use normal weight equipment or does it have to be adapted? Sorry for sounding stupid but i have never been weight training before even when on my feet as i could never walk very far and if had a workout probably couldnt walk back out, lol. Any advice or info welcome.

Cheers Lee

Go for it. I started lifting again about a year after my wreck. I've had to learn to adapt and invent several lifts. You can use very basic equip and get good results. I'm a member of a private powerlifting gym. The only "machine" I use is a cable machine for doing face pulls. Everything else is done on benches or the floor... or hanging from a rack ;) Lifting weights while in a chair sucks, it's too unstable. You want to lift from regular benches.

I have some of my training logged here: http://blog.bodybuilding.com/4estGimp

Also, there is a wheelchair bodybuilding group on Myspace: http://www.myspace.c...airbodybuilding



BTW, one of the things you really want to focus on is strengthening your shoulders/rotator cuff.

Give me a yell if you need any more info.

[Texaswheelz]

Also be careful if you do use your chair while lifting. Almost all ultra lights are rated for a certain load, the majority of them stop at 250 lbs. So if your 220 and doing 20 lbs curls your almost at the limit. The extra weight could cause your chair to break, doubtful, but possible. I use mostly machines and work out my back a lot. A doctor once told me that with how I transfer and roll around and my every day living that I build up my shoulders, arms and chest plenty and that to off set that I should do extra work in weight training for my back muscles.