Exercise guidance is mostly written with walking and running in mind. What should someone who uses a wheelchair do, and how much? The NHS gives the question a page of its own — the targets are the same as for other adults; what changes is the method and the muscles to watch. We set out the original and turned it into a week.
1. The targets are the same. Adults aged 19 to 64, wheelchair users included, should do at least 150 minutes of aerobic activity a week plus strength exercises on 2 or more days.
2. Start at 10 minutes and build to 20. If you are not used to exercise, begin with 10-minute sessions and build up gradually towards 20 minutes.
3. Ease the pushing muscles, build the pulling ones. The NHS explains that the chest and shoulders tend to tighten while the back tends to weaken.
The targets — 150 minutes and 2 days, without hurry
The NHS recommends that adults aged 19 to 64 — wheelchair users included — do at least 150 minutes a week of aerobic activity, plus strength exercises on 2 or more days a week. It follows straight on by telling readers not to worry about reaching those targets at once: what matters more, it says, is doing something active that you enjoy.
What 150 minutes and 2 days mean for adults in general, and how many repetitions and sets strength work involves, are in how much strength exercise.
Why it needs its own attention — the two reasons the NHS gives
| Circumstance | What the NHS says | The exercise it calls for |
|---|---|---|
| Raising the heart rate is harder | Using a wheelchair can make cardiovascular activity that raises the heart rate more difficult | Cardiovascular (aerobic) exercise |
| Load concentrates on part of the upper body | Steering and pushing a wheelchair loads particular upper-body muscles, so strains and other injuries become more likely | Muscle-strengthening exercise |
The pairing in the right-hand column is our tabulation of the flow of the NHS text. The NHS says strengthening work helps with handling the wheelchair day to day and with avoiding such problems.
Cardiovascular exercise — warm enough to sweat, from 10 minutes to 20
The aim the NHS states is getting the heart rate up and the body warm enough to sweat. The measure of intensity: slightly out of breath, enough that you can still hold a conversation but not sing the words of a song. If you are not used to exercise, it suggests starting with 10-minute sessions and gradually building up towards 20 minutes.
- Swimming
- Sitting exercises
- Wheelchair workouts
- Wheelchair sprinting — in a studio or at a track
- A rowing machine adapted for wheelchair use
- Wheelchair sports — basketball, netball and badminton
The list is the NHS's own examples. The "talk but not sing" measure is the same yardstick used for walking — see exercise intensity. Seated moves from the NHS are set out in sitting exercises.
The road to 150 minutes (our arithmetic)
| Stage | Per session | At 5 sessions a week |
|---|---|---|
| Start | 10 minutes | 50 minutes |
| After building up | 20 minutes | 100 minutes |
| Target | 30 minutes | 150 minutes |
The table is our multiplication. What the NHS writes on this page goes as far as "start with 10-minute sessions and build towards 20 minutes"; the 30-minute row and "5 sessions a week" are our example fitted to 150 minutes. At 20 minutes a session, 8 sessions a week make 160 minutes (20 × 8, our arithmetic). The NHS page gives no number of weeks for building up.
Muscle strengthening — pushing muscles and pulling muscles
This is the most specific part of the page. Repeating the pushing motion of a wheelchair, it explains, leaves the muscles lopsided.
| Muscles | What the NHS says | What the NHS recommends |
|---|---|---|
| Chest and shoulders | Can become tight and prone to injury | Concentrate on the smaller muscles that support pushing, the shoulder muscles for example |
| Back | Can become weaker because they are not worked as much | Exercises that involve a pulling motion, such as a pull-up |
- Where — the NHS recommends gyms that have equipment adapted for wheelchair users.
- At home — it notes that some wheelchair users do muscle-strengthening exercises at home using resistance bands.
The pull-up is the NHS's example of a pulling motion; specific band moves, repetitions and sets are not on this page. That anchoring a band to a door handle or post and pulling it towards you counts as a pulling exercise is our gloss. If a shoulder hurts, stop that move and see a clinician (our view — this page has no separate sentence telling you to consult a doctor).
Laid out as a week (our example)
| Day | Cardio | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Mon | 20 minutes (sitting exercises) | — |
| Tue | — | Band pulls + shoulder work |
| Wed | 20 minutes (swimming) | — |
| Fri | 20 minutes (wheelchair workout) | Band pulls + shoulder work |
| Sat | 20 minutes (wheelchair sport) | — |
That is 80 minutes of cardio (20 × 4) and 2 days of strength (our arithmetic). It is an example of a stage on the way up, short of 150 minutes — the days and activities are our choice, not an NHS plan.
Where to start — the places the NHS names are in the UK
The NHS points to Every Body Moves for getting involved in disability sport and to the Activity Alliance's Inclusive Fitness Initiative for finding accessible gyms, and notes that a local recreation centre must provide access to wheelchair users under the Disability Discrimination Act.
These are UK organisations and UK law. We did not check the facilities and schemes available in Korea this time — ask your local government or the local sports association for the disabled.
Checklist
- ☐ Started at 10 minutes (not trying to hit 150 minutes at once)
- ☐ Slightly out of breath but still able to talk
- ☐ Pulling moves on 2 days of the week
- ☐ Work for the smaller shoulder muscles included
- ☐ An activity you enjoy
Questions that remain
What if I am 65 or over?
This page is written for adults aged 19 to 64. Strength and balance work for older adults is covered separately in strength exercises for older adults.
Is this guidance current?
The foot of the NHS page gives a last review date of 22 December 2022 and a next review due date of 22 December 2025. When we read it on 7 October 2026 the due date had passed but the review date was unchanged.
My shoulders are stiff
Shoulder moves that can be done seated are in shoulder mobility stretches. That article was not written for wheelchair users, so pick only the moves you can do.
Sources
- NHS, Fitness advice for wheelchair users — original (checked 7 October 2026). Page last reviewed: 22 December 2022; next review due: 22 December 2025. Ages 19 to 64, 150 minutes, 2 days; 10 minutes, 20 minutes; cardiovascular examples; chest, shoulder and back muscles; pull-up; resistance bands.
- Not read. The material of the outside organisations the NHS links to, the detail of its weight-management service guidance, and facilities and schemes for disability sport in Korea.
- Our arithmetic and views. The table up to 150 minutes, the weekly example (80 minutes), the gloss on band moves, the line about shoulder pain.
Where to check further
- Your clinician or rehabilitation therapist — the moves to avoid for your condition.
- Seated moves — sitting exercises.
Written on 7 October 2026. The recommendations are set out from the NHS original; the arithmetic and examples in the tables are ours. This article is not a substitute for medical care.
