Exercise is essential to maintain health, both physical and mental. This fact is true for both abled and differently-abled people. Physical activity helps promote the pumping of blood, which in turn will help keep the body healthy. It is better to be moving than not moving at all during your day. Even the smallest amount can benefit the body. It may be challenging to find ways to exercise if you are differently-abled, but there are many ways to still be active.
Depending on the situation, there are ways to be active in any lifestyle. Being productive at home is possible with resources and supports. Using the outdoors can also be another way to be active without needing to be transported somewhere. Using corporations like the Center For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to find community resources and exercises can also help.
Incorporating some of these resources can help anyone be more active, no matter their physical ability. As stated above, being active is better than sitting around and doing nothing. You can do an activity for five to ten minutes and get more benefits than choosing not to exercise. You can benefit even from just adding more movement to daily chores.
What Exercises Are The Best To Do At Home?
If you cannot leave the house due to a disability, you can still find exercises to do at home. A gym is not a necessity, nor is the weather if you live in a four seasons area. Exercising at home also gives you the benefit of timing your workouts on your schedule rather than needing to follow a plan or appointment time. You can also use bodyweight or household items as weights if you want to do strength training,
Incorporate More Activity Into Daily Chores
If it is hard to find time to workout during the day, find ways to exercise while completing chores. Depending on what you can and can’t do, challenge yourself to lift more clothes per laundry load, or stay on your feet longer while cleaning the bathrooms before sitting down for a break. Do more laps around the house while putting away groceries to get more activity into your day. It can be as easy as adding five minutes to your chores.
Use Items Around The House To Challenge Yourself
If you don’t own any exercise equipment, never fear! You can use canned goods or paper towels as free weights to work on strength training. Building muscle can be great for the parts of your body that you can move freely, or that you may be relying on if you can’t move other extremities. Growing those muscles can make daily life more comfortable, as well as becoming more active and healthy.
What Exercises Can I Do Outside?
If you are more of an outdoorsy type, you can incorporate exercise outside. Fresh air and the sun’s rays can help spark your energy level, especially if you have been cooped up inside and just need a reason to get outside. If you live alone, going out can also be a great way to talk to neighbors or see family who lives nearby.
Do Laps Around The Neighborhood
Going around your neighborhood can be a great way to get some exercise. You can check out favorite parts of where you live or visit neighbors. You can walk them or wheel around, however, you can move will work. If you have a grocery store nearby, you can also make a quick trip to pick up a few things rather than having someone pick it up or drive there. If you can ride a bike, that can be another option.
Take Your Strength Training Or Yoga Outside
Sometimes it can be hard to get out of your head while stuck indoors. A change of scenery can help promote a more positive outlook and a break from being cooped up. You can take your free weights or household items you are using as weights outside and do your reps there. You can also do yoga outside for some fresh air while also practicing mindfulness and physical activity.
How Can I Get Started?
If you haven’t been exercising, it can be hard to incorporate it into your routine. Whether from a lack of motivation, or from feeling like you aren’t able to exercise, there can be many reasons you haven’t started yet. Whatever the reason, there is never a wrong time to start exercising, so don’t worry about that. A healthy lifestyle is a massive change to anyone’s life, so make sure to start small, so you don’t feel overwhelmed.
Be Sure To Start Small
Incorporating too much exercise can lead to burnout or injury, so make sure to start exercising in small doses. Include five to ten-minute workouts to start, as well as workouts catered towards beginners or that have modifications for your ability level. Nothing is more upsetting than finding out you can’t do something that you applied to do. Plus, it will likely turn you off to exercising, and you will go back to not exercising at all.
Build A Support System
Being held accountable by someone or a group of people can help promote success when exercising. Look for a group of people with similar abilities as you to keep each other motivated. You can experience your journey together rather than feel like you’re behind extremely fit people leading a class. You can also ask for help from people in your family who can hold you accountable or get you things you need to be successful.
How Can I Get More Resources?
Whether you chose to workout outside or in your house, you’ll need to find resources to help you start. It can be overwhelming to choose a program when there are literally thousands online, all promising you a healthier and happier lifestyle. Trialing them all can be overwhelming and trying on your mind and body. Make sure to do your research before trying out a program, so you don’t get fatigued.
Check Out The CDC Programs
The CDC has a lot of options for resources and programs catering to differently-abled people. This is an excellent place to start looking over other applications that promise to help you get fit or lose weight. A program providing to your ability level will be easier to complete and make gains in over a generic plan. The CDC also provides links to YouTube videos that offer great at-home programs that you can follow.
Make An Appointment With a Physical Therapist Or Personal Trainer
These experts are excellent resources to get you started on your exercising journey. They can cater to a personal plan for your lifestyle and ability level. Plus, you can meet them at the gym or office, or even virtually for a consultation. You can search for professionals in your area and meet with a few to get some quotes on prices and personality matches. If you mesh well with one, you are more likely to stick to the plan set up for you.
Overall, these are just some ideas for exercises that you can do. There are far more ways to incorporate exercise and a healthy lifestyle into your routine. The important thing is to be consistent and make sure to promote your mental health along the way. Don’t force yourself to follow a program you hate or can’t complete. Move on to the next program until you find one that you like and can stick to for the long haul.