Meeting the challenge: new options are being pioneered for physically challenged exercisers

Many people who depend on wheelchairs to get around are out of shape, but that doesn't have to be the case. Across the country, the physically challenged are taking their lives back by exercising and participating in sporting events.

Bodybuilder, model and actress Maria Serrao describes herself as "just someone who happens to sit in a wheelchair." For most of her 31 years, she's been physically active. Though paralyzed from the knees down, the result of a drunk driver pushing her mother's car off the road when she was 5 years old, Serrao epitomizes the "just do it" attitude. "I do whatever I want to do," she says. "I live my life." Serrao has learned to deal with the way others perceive her physical limitations. It has only reinforced her resolve to be seen for her strengths.

Serrao's success is the result of her struggle. "People have helped me by seeing me for who I am and forgetting about the wheelchair," she says. "I've connected with a lot of great people who have not cared about the disability. It wasn't like that 10 years ago--there were a lot of stereotypes. Eventually, people's minds changed. It was a matter of persevering."

One of the biggest hurdles the physically challenged face is changing the views of society. Serrao doesn't call herself a disabled advocate, but believes people have to look at things from a new perspective. Part of her self-appointed role is to change preconceived ideas. There is often little encouragement for the disabled in mainstream society. They are seen as people in need of caretaking. There aren't many who believe a person sitting in a wheelchair can work out, or have a fit, trim body. Even at gyms with special facilities, wheelchair users are usually provided with good upper-body workouts but little to condition the lower body, and even less to make their cardiovascular system work more efficiently.

Like many wheelchair users, Serrao developed a weight problem. At one point, she weighed more than 150 pounds--50 pounds heavier than the optimal weight for a woman her height. To lose the extra weight, she went to plastic surgeons for liposuction. But she found medical intervention provided limited benefits and wasn't the healthiest way to achieve her goal.

Serrao began going to gyms on her own, but no one had enough experience to instruct someone in her situation. "It was really a waste--I never saw results, she says. "The most important thing about working out is seeing results. Finally, desperation for fitness led me to some personal trainers."

Fortunately, Serrao met the right people along the way. Fitness instructor and choreographer Linda Shelton contributed a lot of abdominal exercises. With help from Shelton, Serrao realized any exercise that can be done standing up could also be done while sitting. Because she had a previous disability, Shelton became an inspiration to Serrao.

Serrao realized others could benefit from what she had learned, and decided to create her own fitness videos. "When you're sitting down all the time, you have to find different ways to work out," says Serrao. "That's why I created my program. Everyone said, `You have to do a video and get it out there.' I did fitness videos for disabled people because there wasn't anything out there."

Serrao has produced two videos so far. Others are on the way. The first focuses on strengthening the body, while the second is an aerobic workout to help control fat. "Burning fat is strenuous," says Serrao. "People have to get strong before they can do it."

Weightlifter and chiropractor Ken Leistner, D.C., who owns the Iron Island Gym in Oceanside, New York, believes anyone can benefit from a program of weight training and exercise. "No matter what their personal history, the physically challenged need individualized treatment just as much as anyone else," he says. Leistner's gym and programs are designed with the idea of inclusion in mind.

For the most part, the equipment at Iron Island is not specially adapted for use by those with physical challenges. But the equipment incorporates a design aspect of adaptive devices--it allows for easy transfers from wheelchair to equipment. Each piece is tested to make sure it is accessible to all clients. The gym has gone through a series of equipment changes to achieve this goal. Everyone who comes to Iron Island is guaranteed the opportunity to work on the best and most advanced equipment. Neither clients nor staff shy away from someone who rolls in using a wheelchair. The gym's client list presently includes approximately a dozen wheelchair athletes who work out with the equipment on a regular basis.

Iron Island's ramps and other modifications make getting around easier as well. The parking lot is equipped with a sufficient number of parking spaces for wheelchair users. The locker room and gym facilities are all ramped and easily accessible. The gym recently underwent a major renovation which included the creation of a separate area for those who need extra room to get around. The area is stocked with equipment specifically designed with the wheelchair athlete in mind. For example, a racing wheelchair is mounted on rollers.