Brant Daye was a football player at North Carolina Central University when one afternoon playing a pick-up game of football, he collided with another guy leaving him a C-6 quad. “I was in survival mode while in rehabilitation,” says Daye. “It was so new and so sudden, I just had to push through it all and move forward. My recreation therapist re-introduced me to the weight room, and I’ve been going ever since.”

Staying active kept Daye focused once he got home. “It wasn’t comfortable being at home at first. Counter tops were too high, stuff was out of reach, and getting around the house was a pain. I just wanted to feel normal again. So, I worked out. It brought back normalcy to my life. It was something that I enjoyed before my injury and was still able to enjoy after.” Not only did exercising improve his confidence, it improved his mobility. In a few months, Daye went from using a sliding board and assistance from others for wheelchair transfers to independently transferring himself.

Exercise after SCI improves:

  • Breathing ability
  • Muscle strength and ability to move about
  • Circulation
  • Self confidence
  • Body composition (more muscle and less fat)
  • Prevention of secondary conditions (pressure sores, UTI, respiratory infections).


“It’s work. Every day I wake up and take care of a quadriplegic. It’s hard, but you do it because every day is a new day and maybe today it will be easier because of something you learned yesterday," offers Daye. In addition to playing wheelchair rugby a couple times a week, Daye works out at least three times a week: strength training, using the handbike for endurance, and stretching.

Fitness Guidelines
Try to incorporate the activities you enjoy doing so you are more likely to stick with the program and remember variety is the spice of the fitness life. It is important for your fitness program to contain each of the following fitness components: cardiovascular, strength, and flexibility.

Cardiovascular endurance (aerobic exercise)—This is the ability of the heart and lungs to get oxygen and nutrients to the muscles over a period of time. This allows you to maintain a healthy heart and helps build endurance to meet the needs of your daily activity. Examples include pushing for a long distance, playing in a basketball game, or rugby.

Here, Brant uses an uppercycle for his cardiovascular workout.


Muscle strength and muscle endurance—It is developed when you work the muscle by lifting a weight for several repetitions. Daily examples include: lifting a back-pack or wheeling up a steep ramp.

Flexibility—This is the ability of the muscle or group of muscles to move the joint through the full range of motion (ROM). Flexibility exercises can be performed no matter what your level of injury or whether performing active (doing yourself) or passive stretches (someone stretches you). There are many examples of everyday activities, such as throwing a ball or reaching to pick up a grocery bag.

When doing specific exercises that require more grip, you may choose to use different pieces of specialized equipment to assist with your grip. Examples include: a grasping cuff or wrist cuffs with hooks.

Another solution is to alter the exercise so that grip is no longer a factor, for example instead of using dumbbells, use wrist weights.

Brant Daye’s advice for starting out:

  • If you have a manual chair, push in it, even if it is a short distance at first. When I first started playing rugby, I could barely push half the court. Now I’m stronger and faster.
  • Get out of the house and stay active, even if it’s just for a push down the street. Think of it as pushing through adversity.
  • Make fitness a routine like waking up and brushing your teeth. Find ways of incorporating it into your daily activity.
  • Challenge yourself. This gives you the confidence that carries over to your everyday life. Now I am able to do my own laundry and brush my teeth. Challenging myself with my workouts gives me the boost to know that if I can do this, I can overcome another obstacle.
  • My mom told me that there is no gray area; you either do or you don’t. If you put in the work, it will pay off and you move forward. If you don’t put in the work, you’ll be stuck.
  • Everyday wake up with a purpose.


So, Disaboomers, what is your purpose today?

See Related Articles
For tips on preventing shoulder burnout,  see Wheelchair User? How to Avoid Sore Shoulders.

See From Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation to the Gym: How to Get Active and to learn how to stay active with a disability.