You don’t need to have full mobility to benefit from exercise. Those with disabilities and mobility challenges can also access the excellent benefits of a healthy and active lifestyle. Below you will find practical and helpful tips on how to increase your quality of life through exercise even if you’re limited in your range of movement or abilities.
Start slowly and increase activity levels
Even able-bodied people struggle to motivate themselves to exercise, so it can be harder for those with physical disabilities and challenges to find that extra spark to get them started. However, once you get going, able-bodied or not, you start to feel the benefits.
The trick is to start slowly with something you enjoy that isn’t too difficult. That could mean a short walk in the garden or park, or an activity in your home like, lifting weights or doing some yoga exercises.
Integrate activity into your daily life
If you think of your exercise routine as a chore or something you would rather not be doing, it can be difficult to continually motivate yourself to get started. That routine you had high expectations for soon falls away and you go back to wishing you were more active.
The way around this is to integrate your activity into your daily life. Choose an activity that appeals to you, not only for the exercise, but for some other reason as well. Maybe this activity lets you listen to an audiobook or visit someone you know. You can use Ergoactives to help you out.
Turn it into a daily habit
We all have habits. They develop organically, such as eating our favorite unhealthy food, or procrastinating when we should be working. Other habits are more intentional, such as exercising, using the phone less often, or eating oatmeal in the morning.
The point is that habits exist anyway and they can be either beneficial or unhelpful. In terms of your exercise routine, it will be far more useful if you view it as a positive habit and stick to your schedule until it becomes second nature.
Don’t expect your journey to be smooth sailing
Life is often unpredictable and things tend to happen that get in the way of your exercise routine. This can be frustrating if you have a dedicated practice. However, try not to worry too much or let it affect your long term goals and ambitions. You need to go with the flow then re-establish your old routine.
You might feel disheartened that your exercise routine was knocked off schedule when you were doing so well. Now you’ve fallen behind. The good news is that you now know how to get started again and you can re-establish the old habits more easily.
Stop the activity if you experience pain
If you have a physical disability or challenge, it’s important that you stay aware of this and don’t overdo it. If you experience even moderate degrees of pain and discomfort, it’s a good idea to take your foot off the gas until you feel up to it again.
Thank you for reading!