Five Best Exercises in Your Wheelchair

Arm Raises 

Being in a wheelchair means you’re pretty much using your arms a majority of the time. You must keep your arms strong and active. Arm raises are a good start to building endurance in your arms, and building up muscle. As you exercise more and more you can add even more weight to this exercise. 

Here's how to do arm raises: 

1. 
   Start by holding a small handheld weight or medicine ball to your chest. 
2. Keep your arms straight and raise them over your head. 
3. And then back down in front of your chest again, your elbows want to be pointing towards your legs. 
4. Do this for about 12 to 15 reps (you can build up your reps over time by adding one or two more as you go, don’t strain yourself or cause injury). 
5. Over time you can use heavier weights when you feel ready. 

Side Twists

Another good exercise to do if you are wheelchair-bound is side twists. This exercise is simple because all you need is your body. With this exercise, you can strengthen your core. 

Here’s how to do side twists: 

1. 
   Sit up straight in your wheelchair with good posture. 
2. Start by twisting your body to the left or right (whatever side you prefer to start with) 
3. Go back to sitting forward and twist your body to the other side. 
4. Do this about 12 to 15 times. 

Airplane Arms

This is an easy but kind of fun exercise to do daily. Over time, completing this exercise daily can strengthen your arm muscles. 

Here’s how to do airplane arms: 

1. 
   Sit straight in your wheelchair and make sure you keep your back straight. 
2. Extend your arms straight out to the side. 
3. Start slowly and create circular movements with your arms. You especially want to start with small circular movements if your arms tire out easily. You can make your circles bigger over time. 
4. Aim to do at least 20 reps of moving your arms in forward circles and backward circles, in whichever order you like. 

Sitting Bicycle Crunches

This exercise is a bit more challenging than the others listed above. This exercise will work out your abs and oblique muscles to strengthen your core. 

Here’s how you do sitting bicycle crunches: 

1. 
   Sit with your back straight. 
2. Put your palms together with your elbows facing outwards, your forearms should be parallel to your lap (You can interlace your fingers if that gives you better balance).
3. Twist your body so that your left elbow touches your right knee (and vice versa) 
4. Straighten up to starting position 
5. Twist your body with the opposite elbow used in step 3 and touch the opposite knee. 
6. Do this for about 5 to 8 reps. 

Chest Stretch 

Maintaining a proper posture in a wheelchair is a must. Sitting in a wheelchair can make your back muscles weaken over time since those muscles aren’t used a lot. Your arms to push your wheelchair can make your shoulder muscles sore or stiff, which could potentially lead to injury. To prevent injury, exercise your chest and back with a bit of stretching every day. 

Here’s how you do chest stretches: 

1. 
   Sit upright with good posture in your wheelchair, but make sure your back is not touching the backrest of your chair. 
2. Extend your arms out on your side and pull your shoulders back. 
3. Gently and slowly push your chest forward until you feel your chest and shoulder muscles stretching. 
4. Hold this position for about 5 to 10 seconds. Make sure you don’t strain your muscles. 
5. Repeat this stretch about 5 times.