Question: I'm looking for information on the types of stretching and cardio training that could be done by wheelchair users. I appreciated the info on resistance training on your website and thank you for that. I am a fitness student currently attending CompuCollege in Canada and have been asked to complete an assignment on the exercise regiment for wheelchair personal. Any information that you could send would be greatly appreciated. ~Stephen

Answer: I'm so glad our page on Wheelchair Exercise was helpful!

Regular exercise, including strength training, cardio and stretching, will help improve a wheelchair user's mobility by increasing upper body strength and endurance. Plus, regular exercise also reduces stress, fatigue and will increase energy level and endurance.

Generally, wheelchair users benefit the most from resistance exercises because these improve upper body strength and help reduce chance of injury. But stretching all of the major upper body muscles - the shoulders, arms, back and neck - are just as important for flexibility and for reducing the chance of injury.

Cardio activity is difficult for wheelchair users because they don't have use of their legs. However, wheelchair users can still benefit from 20 to 30 minutes of low-impact aerobic activity at least three times a week in the form of wheelchair sports such as basketball, hockey and volleyball. By doing simple laps around the park in a manual wheelchair works the arms, chest and shoulders and gets the heart pumping. Check out our page on Wheelchair Sports for more info.