My name is Susie, I’m 28 years old and I’m from Hungary. I got injured when I was 9, so I’ve been dealing with an incomplete spinal cord injury (T7-9) for a very long time. Taking care of my body is my number one priority right now. I love going to the gym and lifting weights; I enjoy the feeling that I’m getting stronger.
As I got injured at a very young age, I needed a long time to deal with denial and depression, especially during my teenage years. After all those wasted years I felt like I had to change my mindset or I’ll never be able to move on. I started focusing on my body and I fell in love with the process and the results I got. My biggest challenge was staying consistent and trusting the process even when I didn’t see any improvement.
“Taking care of my body is my number one priority right now. I love going to the gym and lifting weights; I enjoy the feeling that I’m getting stronger.“
Weight training at the gym is my absolute favourite thing to do. For cardio, I love the SkiErg machine and hand biking. I used to wheelchair fence for years and a few months ago I started fencing again. Since starting I’ve gained more muscle, especially on my back and shoulders. I have fewer spasms and I used to have back pain more often, this has made my daily activities easier.
Now that training has become a habit and I need it in my life I know that I’m capable of changing and holding myself accountable. That gives me confidence. I often experience ups and downs along the way. There are times when my energy levels are lower than usual. I used to freak out when that happened but now I know that it’s only temporary and I’m not going to lose the progress I made and I am capable of getting back on track.
“After all those wasted years I felt like I had to change my mindset or I’ll never be able to move on. I started focusing on my body and I fell in love with the process and the results I got.“
The biggest challenge was to keep showing up until I started seeing results. I started working out at home but after a while, I needed heavier weights and it was a real challenge for me to start going to the gym. I felt awkward and I thought people would think I didn’t belong there as a wheelchair user. Now I don’t even think about that anymore and the gym is my favourite place to go.
In Hungary, I haven’t found my people and that’s why I decided to start a social media account related to fitness. My goal was to find people like me and connect with them. It was a good decision. I’m excited to meet new people and find new opportunities to inspire others to start living a more active life and to stay consistent with their fitness journey. I feel like it would’ve been so much easier to start my fitness journey with people like myself around me.
“Now that training has become a habit and I need it in my life I know that I’m capable of changing and holding myself accountable. That gives me confidence.”
Don’t be too hard on yourself. Results will come because the work you put in will pay off. A fitness journey is a long process and we should always make sure that we enjoy the activities we do because that’s the only way we can stay consistent and make our new habits sustainable. In my home country, there aren’t many options, so I had to figure it all out myself when it came to adaptive exercise. Adapt to Perform is a great program I would recommend to anyone who wants to live a more active life and helped me on my fitness journey.
“The biggest challenge was to keep showing up until I started seeing results. I felt awkward and I thought people would think I didn’t belong there as a wheelchair user. Now I don’t even think about that anymore and the gym is my favourite place to go.”
Using heavier weights at the gym is my number one goal! Also, I’m trying to get better at sharing my workouts with people on social media and connecting with them. Plus, I want to compete again when it comes to wheelchair fencing.
My message is: never think that you’re alone and you have to figure it out all by yourself. When I first got injured, there wasn’t Instagram or social media and I didn’t get the chance to connect with disabled people like me. Now I see several wheelchair users I can relate to and it helps me remember that if they can do it, then I can do it too!
Susie