Fitness Made Easy.  As I write this article, it is International Disability Day and I’m at our Mobility Solutions stand at Durban Deep Expo at the City Hall.  The theme at our stand this year is Active Health, which, as you probably know, is the health and wellness side of our disability division.  On show at our stand is a host of fitness products specifically for the disabled community so it seems only fitting that this column should carry on the theme, especially as we are now in the festive season where most of us can experience overindulgence.

I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it until I get the message across.  It doesn’t matter what your physical disability is, there is absolutely no excuse for not keeping your body and mind as healthy as possible.  What the majority of people don’t realise – able bodied or not – is that even a few minutes of gentle exercise will make a difference to general well being.  I hear the same story over and over, “I’m disabled, there isn’t any point” – “Too hot”  – Too cold”  – “Too Tired”.  All those are done to death and I don’t listen to any of them.

When it comes to fitness we cannot differentiate between able bodied or physically challenged as we each have the choice between choosing a healthy body or a lazy body.  I say you owe it to yourself & your future health as you reap what you sow – choose health now and you will enjoy a healthier body and mind.  Choose apathy & your body will respond accordingly by becoming tired, sluggish, with poor circulation and that dreadful feeling of not wanting to do anything but sit around.

You can change all of that so easily and so quickly.  The body is an incredible machine that adapts quickly to change and rewards the user accordingly.

Just start – wave your arms around, stretch high up into the sky, smile, laugh at yourself – do you see what I mean, already you feel just a little bit happier.

Stretches have a holistic effect on the body, they relax tense muscles, relieve stress, improve mobility of joints and flexibility within the whole body and best of all they are just so simple and easy to do.  15 minutes of stretching and you will experience a lovely sensation of calm, feel looser and be able to get on with the daily grind so much easier.

As part of our quest to promote health and wellness around SA, I have compiled a number of stretching routines for you to try, just send me a mail and I will email them to you.

If you really want to make that difference to your body, we have a variety of products that work extremely well.

Passive exerciser – proven to reduce spasms, assist in good circulation, relieves painful joints and a host of other great benefits.  What’s wonderful about this machine is that it electronically exercises your legs OR arms while you are sitting watching tv or lying down, you do nothing at all.  Perfect for quads, paras & any neurological conditions.

B-Active Passive Exerciser Legs

Active Exerciser – for either arms or legs, simply cycle the pedals for a leg workout or grip with your hands and hand cycle for a good upper body workout.  Simple, yet very effective.

Then we have our tubes with handles and door anchor which allows anyone, seated or standing to perform a whole set of exercises which will work the entire body easily and very effectively.

Don’t forget the humble gym ball, it’s amazing what can be achieved throwing this ball around!

Give yourself the present of health and fitness.  Our present to you is a set of exercises and stretches designed for the physically impaired.  Please do not embark on any strenuous exercise routine without first consulting your doctor or healthcare professional.

Until next time, take care and keep smiling.

Lorraine