A 25-minute seated workout to build strength and feel great

If you’re also a Burnt Toast by Virginia Sole-Smith fan, you probably heard Virginia’s excellent interview with

Emily Ladau

a few weeks ago. I was so psyched when Emily popped up on the podcast, because I read Emily’s excellent book Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be an Ally a couple of years ago and return to it frequently for a quick reference and refresher. Emily’s writing is, like her, friendly, approachable, and accessible, and she makes it so clear why it’s important to center and show up for the many, many people in our world who have disabilities.

I’m not currently disabled, and I work in an industry that is in many ways inherently ableist, so I have a lot to learn. Inclusivity is important to me, but I screw it up a lot. In a lovely exchange with Emily and the also-wonderful

Jessica Slice

, I realized that I’ve unquestioningly worked on several incredibly ableist articles at various publications about the dangers of sitting. (Man, health publications love to tell you about how sitting is killing you.) Umm, hello! Of course those of us who are able may see health improvements if we move more frequently, but there’s a way to express that idea that doesn’t marginalize and stress out those of us who need to sit most or all of the time! I’m really grateful to Emily and Jessica for the generous way they discussed this with me — and to Emily for suggesting that I publish a seated workout.

I loved that idea! There are so many reasons why folks might want a seated workout, whether they use a wheelchair or not. And I asked Emily if she’d share some thoughts on the importance of having more options for movement for more types of bodies and abilities. I read this in the video as well, but here’s what she said:

“As a wheelchair user, I used to struggle mightily with conflicting messages that 1) my disability was just an excuse for laziness, and 2) unless I ran a marathon or climbed a mountain, exercise was pointless. It took years to push past these harmful ideas and come to realize that living life on wheels doesn’t make me ‘lazy,’ and however I choose to move is the right way to move for my body. But when I decided to search for exercise routines I could do, there were hardly any workouts that made me feel welcome or seen. That’s been slowly changing over the years, and I’ve come across seated workouts here and there. My hope is that people in the fitness world will continue to become more expansive and inclusive, because movement is for every body.”

As I also say in this video, I’m not about to act like one seated workout here on How to Move is moving any kinds of mountains in terms of improving accessibility and inclusivity in the fitness industry — and not every part of this workout will work for every seated person, of course — but I’m excited to take at least one small step toward doing better in my own work, and I hope to inspire other fitness pros to do the same.

Let this also serve as yet another reminder that if you have requests, needs, or dreams for future workouts, I am all ears!

And one last thing: Today is Emily’s wedding day! (I did not know that when I planned this post, but I love it so much.) Emily, wishing you the loveliest, most joyful celebration today. Thanks for all you do!