Whether you're confined to a wheelchair temporarily or permanently, burning fat and losing weight is obviously more challenging than it is for individuals with full use of their bodies. However, many fat-burning exercises are available to those in wheelchairs. These exercises provide several benefits beyond weight loss, including improved strength, mobility and flexibility, as well as increased efficiency in the operation of the heart and lungs.
Barbell
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Choose forms of cardiovascular exercise that are physically comfortable and enjoyable to perform. This will increase your motivation to perform the exercises, which is crucial, because consistency is key to burning fat.
Consult your doctor to determine which types of exercise and intensity levels are appropriate and safe for you.
Understand that targeted weight loss is actually impossible, according to many recent scientific studies including ones published in "Yale Scientific" magazine. This means that losing fat in the stomach region specifically, without losing weight in other parts of the body as well, is an unattainable goal. For example, if you perform exercises that seem to target your abdominal muscles, they will increase the muscular definition, strength and mass of your abs, but the resulting fat loss will occur in other regions of the body just as much as in the stomach.
Perform cardiovascular exercise to burn the calories you consume as food, as well as fat reserves stored in your abdominal region and other areas of your body. Examples of cardio ideally suited to those in wheelchairs include wheelchair basketball, swimming with appropriate safety devices, pedaling a hand bike, rowing and propelling yourself any time you need to get from one point to another, rather than relying on a helper to push you.
Perform upper-body strength-training exercises such as the bench press and dumbbell curls to build muscle mass, which burns more calories even at rest than fat tissue. This will help to ensure that the calories you consume go toward increasing muscular mass, density, strength and definition, rather than being stored as fat.
Consume fewer calories each day than you do normally. This, along with cardio and strength training, will help to create a daily caloric deficit, which is crucial to weight loss. Remember that you'll lose roughly 1 pound every time you burn 3,500 more calories than you consume, even if doing so takes weeks. Focus on eating healthy foods rich in protein, complex carbohydrates and unsaturated fats.
Incorporate interval training into your cardio routines as your fitness level improves. Work out at maximum intensity for 30 seconds, then drop to medium intensity for one minute, 30 seconds. Repeat until 20 to 25 minutes have passed. Interval training accelerates fat burning.
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Writer Bio
Kevin Richards has been a writer and editor since 2009, specializing in fitness, health and nutrition, as well as technology, finance and legal issues. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan.