I hurt my ankle and I'm having surgery next week. The orthopedic surgeon says I'll be in a cast for a month, then in a walking boot for up to eight weeks. I don't want to lose all my fitness gains, but I don't know what I can do. Do you have any ideas? ...
You'll still be able to do core and low-back exercises. You can do all your upper-body work. ... You might also investigate a chairobics or chair dance video. Although these are designed for physically impaired people and you might not identify with the models, these programs provide a structure for movement.
—Betty Weider, "Down but not out: lessons from the pros for recovery and rehab after injury," Muscle & Fitness, June 1, 2003
Lisa Ericson teaches aerobics. She motivates her class the same as most instructors: "Rotate those shoulders, forward and backward. Come on now, squeeze, up and out ... extend."
But Ericson does her teaching from a wheelchair.
She calls it chairobics and it's becoming popular not only in the handicapped community, but with able-bodied people as well.
Because the program works only the upper body, it is a good alternative for those with broken legs, problem knees or sprained ankles. Pregnant women, people with arthritis and those with bad hips participate as well.
—Carol Boos, "Instructor rolls chairobics to a place in fitness scene," The Denver Post, May 28, 1991
