There is one single exercise that mimics pushing a wheelchair.
This fun exercise will train your back to better handle pushing against a wheelchair – even up inclined walkways.
I have experience pushing a wheelchair, including up inclined walkways, and never did I feel any strain in my back or any kind of exhaustion or fatigue.
It’s fair to point out that for years I’ve been doing hardcore gym workouts. However, there is one exercise that has serious carryover to the action of pushing a wheelchair.
It’s the sled push.
Though the way your hands grab onto the sled handles is not identical to the way they grip a wheelchair’s push handles, the overall action of sled pushing is strikingly similar to pushing a wheelchair.
If you do sled pushing just once a week, this will create a training effect that will carry over to pushing someone in a wheelchair.
My father uses a walker, but when we are at an airport he needs to be pushed in a wheelchair.
As you probably already know, airports typically have areas where the floor is slightly inclined.
Pushing my father up the inclined portions was a breeze, even though he weighed 170. I also had no problems controlling the deceleration when we went down inclines.
When we were in Las Vegas there was a walkway that joined our hotel to a casino.
Many times I pushed my father in a wheelchair on this walkway – which was inclined. I moved briskly, considering this a good though brief stint of exercise for myself.
I also did a lot of wheelchair pushing inside casinos, and the carpeting is not wheelchair friendly, either.
There is no humble way to say this, but never did I feel fatigued or tired out from any of this pushing.
Certainly my once a week (sometimes once every two weeks) sled workouts factored into this ease.
Sled Exercise
• Few conventional gyms have sleds, which drastically lowers the number of people doing sled workouts.
• Two of the gyms I go to have sleds. RARELY are they in use.
• Sled workouts are par for the course for football players, which I’m betting is a major reason few women who go to gyms with sleds are drawn to this piece of equipment for exercise.
• For most people new to the sled, the first body part that will fatigue are the calves. This is perfectly fine, as durable calves are needed for prolonged pushing of a wheelchair, especially up inclines.
Sled workouts aren’t just for big male football players!
If you anticipate pushing a wheelchair or are currently in this capacity, it’s time you bring sled workouts into your life.
• Will make your back more durable for pushing a wheelchair.
• Provides a whole body workout.
• Can be done for a few minutes at a time with very light weight or even no weight added.
NOTE: It’s not necessary to bend way forward to push an exercise sled. It can be done with upright posture if the weight load is light enough.
Study Finds Pushing Wheelchairs Is Hard on the Back
A report appears in a July 2017 Ergonomics from Ohio State University Spine Research stating that back injury may occur from pushing a wheelchair.
One of the study authors, William Marras, explains in the report that there exists no specific ergonomic standard relating to pushing a wheelchair.
Caregivers typically judge when their back has had enough simply by how their back feels.
The study points out that simple design changes in wheelchairs would make pushing easier on the caregiver’s back.
One such change would be that of designing the handles to be like those on shopping carts. In fact, it’s mind boggling that wheelchair manufacturers have not figured out to do this.
Think about how much easier it would be to push a wheelchair with a heavy person sitting in it if the handle was like a shopping cart’s.
The fact that exercise sleds don’t always have handles like a wheelchair in NO way will diminish a sled workout’s ability to prime your back and the rest of your body for frequent pushing of a wheelchair.
The Study
• Thirty-one men and 31 women, average age 25, pushed against a rig that simulated the mechanics of a wheelchair.
• The resistance increased gradually until the participants felt they could no longer push against it.
• The discs of their spines were subjected to forces that the researchers measured.
• On average the participants continued pushing 17 to 18 percent beyond the point at which they should have stopped, based on the forces on their vertebral discs.
The reason for this beyond-point is that discs have few nerve endings that can reveal discomfort from overload.
Turning the Wheelchair: Sled Exercise Preparation
The study mentions that turning a wheelchair places more stress on the back than does pushing in a linear fashion.
When doing sled exercise, you can include turning the sled. This will further strengthen your entire spinal network and its supporting muscles.
If your gym has a sled, start pushing. If it doesn’t, see if you can somehow gain access to this great workout tool.
Many makes and models are sold online, and you can do sled exercises in your yard.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
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