To manage life well is to manage the unexpected. You have to be able to push past tragedy and on to a better, brighter tomorrow. This is the primary job of a person who has suffered a disability. Job one is to survive. From there, it is a matter of rebuilding and regaining some sense of normalcy. Finally, one has to learn how to overcome the situation and prosper in their new reality. It takes a lot of work over a long period of time. If you have recently suffered a disability, you have to give yourself grace, encouragement, and most of all, time.

Once you are past the survival stage, you have to start establishing a new normal. Wallowing in self-pity is not allowed at this stage. You have to do more than survive. You have to get healthy. This can be exceedingly difficult depending on the particular disability you have. If you have lost most of your functional vision, there are very few extreme sports available to you, if any. ;If you are confined to a wheelchair, long nature walks on advanced trails is out of the question. Just getting out of your house will be a challenge without a wheelchair ramp. That doesn’t mean you have an excuse to be inactive and unfit. When you are ready to move beyond mere survival, try the following:

Exercise Classes

It has to be particularly disheartening to suddenly find yourself disabled in a city like San Diego, Honolulu, Orlando, or any other city prized for its climate. That is because there is so much to do and too much to see and enjoy in one lifetime. It will take time but you can get back out there. If you want to go back to experiencing the best that San Diego has to offer, look for workout classes in San Diego (or your local city). You’ll do best if you find a gym that not only offers great cardio and strength training equipment but also classes. Attending a workout class can really help with motivation and accountability.

If your disability is related to mobility, you will very likely have to do several rounds of physical therapy to help you regain as much mobility as possible. More generalized workout classes are a natural next move because since the instigating event that caused your disability, you have likely had very little productive movement. You will need to put some work into all of your muscle groups. Participating in group workout classes can help you get out of your headspace and into a better social space where there is accountability and encouragement. People come to these classes for lots of different reasons. You might be pleasantly surprised at how many people you find there who are on the same journey of recovery as you.

Special Olympics

Raising money for Special Olympics is always a good thing. In the past, you might have even donated to the cause. If you were already athletically inclined before suffering your disability, becoming a part of the Special Olympics is a great way to regain your athleticism within the confines of your physical limitations. 

People who compete in the Special Olympics are no less athletes than anyone else in the profession. If anything, they have to be even more athletic, fit, and driven. Try running with one leg and a prosthetic. Try playing basketball or any other team sport while being confined to a wheelchair. Try being a blind runner of a distance race with your hand on the shoulder or elbow of another runner to guide you through the course. Everything a disabled athlete does is harder by an order of magnitude. For a true athlete, that’s what makes it worth doing.

Movement by Any Means

If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, get on an electric scooter and stand. If you can’t stand, get a manual wheelchair and push. If you can’t push, get out of bed and sit upright. Any movement you can do has health benefits as opposed to no movement at all. You don’t have to run a marathon to get fitness benefits. You don’t have to be strong or fast or even work out for a long time. You don’t have to perform the same activities you once did to achieve similar health benefits. Just keep moving in whatever form it takes.

Suffering a disability does not mean the end of health and fitness. Get back in the game by joining an exercise class, participating in Special Olympics, and continuing positive movement by whatever means is available to you.