Fitness Gifts Not To Get Me For My Birthday

It’s my birthday! Birthdays are fun, because it’s a chance to celebrate another year of life, and you get to eat cake and open presents, and who wouldn’t want to do that? I love getting gifts that can help me improve my fitness because it’s hard to exercise when you are disabled, and I will always be appreciative of gifts that can make it easier. There is a lot of fitness equipment that I can use as a disabled person, but because of my physical disability, I am more limited and don’t benefit from the same types of fitness equipment that non-disabled people do. Some fitness equipment I wish I could use but don’t benefit from at all because I don’t have the muscles to be able to operate that piece of machinery, which is why most of the exercises I do are either with weights or weightless. What fitness equipment should you not get me for my birthday? In this post, I am going to talk about a few pieces of fitness equipment that you should return to the store if you got them for me for my birthday.

Exercise bike– Before I had hip replacement surgery, an exercise bike would have been a great gift because if I had full range of motion in both of my legs, but if you were to get me an exercise bike today, I would not benefit from it. I lost a lot of mobility in one of my legs and am not able to pedal a bike fast enough for it to be considered exercise. I wish I could use a bike for cardio instead of walking because I can push myself harder when I am doing a seated workout, since I can’t stand for as long as a non-disabled person can. An exercise bike would not be a good gift unless that bike had hand controls, because I don’t have enough mobility in my right leg to be able to go fast enough and get a good workout. Any fitness equipment that requires the use of your legs to operate would not be a good gift for me because I don’t have the range of motion that non-disabled people do. Leave the exercise bikes at the store because, unless I get mobility back, I will not benefit from them.

Ab roller– An ab roller is a great way to improve your core strength, but as a physically disabled person, it can be difficult for me to use. I am able to roll down with the ab roller because gravity helps you, but coming back up can be a challenge. I don’t have as much stability in my hips that a non-disabled person does, and a lot of the time, I end up falling because my hips want to do all kinds of things it’s not supposed to. If I want to improve my core strength, I am better off doing body-weight movements such as sit-ups because I don’t really benefit from core trainers. My ability to use an ab roller has nothing to do with how strong my core is, because mine is very strong, and has everything to do with my physical disability. I can be very consistent with my workout, but there are some things I can’t do because of my disability.

Foam roller- If you have sore muscles, a foam roller is a great way to get a deeper stretch. My arms are sore all the time because there aren’t a lot of workouts I can do without using my arms, and my arms pretty much never get a break since I use them for everything I do. I thought I would benefit from a foam roller, but because of my physical disability, it can be very hard to use. I am not able to stay on the foam roller easily and roll at the same time because I don’t have as much stability and often fall off. I am better off getting a massage and doing static stretches to relieve muscle soreness.

Treadmill- Non-disabled people sometimes will walk on a treadmill because not everyone enjoys outside workouts, and that is okay. I hate exercising outside this time of year because it’s unbearably hot, but swimming and walking are my only choices for getting a good cardio workout. My physical disability makes walking more difficult, and I struggle to walk on ground that doesn’t move. Can you imagine how disastrous it would be if I tried to use a piece of fitness equipment that was constantly moving? I couldn’t use any piece of fitness equipment that was constantly moving, even if it was on the lowest speed, because I can’t let go of my crutches to hold on to the handles, and I would end up falling and hurting myself. I wish I could use a treadmill because I love exercising in the air conditioning, but because of my physical disability, a treadmill would be impossible for me to use.

Resistance bands- I love resistance bands because they’re a great way to add a little bit of resistance to your muscles. Resistance bands are inexpensive and are sold everywhere, and everyone who wants to improve their fitness and doesn’t have access to weights should have them. I use resistance bands often, and sometimes I will even travel with them to maintain my arm strength while on vacation. My physical disability does not prevent me from being able to use resistance bands, but I have so many and don’t need them.

Exercise is important for both disabled and non-disabled people, but it can be more difficult for disabled people. Disabled people often don’t have unlimited options like non-disabled people and sometimes have to do exercises because it’s all we can do. I will always appreciate a set of weights because, although I have to modify some exercises, my physical disability does not prevent me from being able to lift. Strength training is important when you have a physical disability because when you build more muscle, it makes life easier. I benefit from some fitness equipment, but most of it I don’t because fitness is not accessible, which is why I prefer to exercise at home and not in a gym. If you want to get me fitness equipment for my birthday, please consider my physical disability, and never hesitate to ask me if you aren’t sure, because there is nothing worse than getting fitness equipment you can’t use. What fitness equipment can you not use because of your disability? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.

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