Blog
Meet our spring Step Count Champion
This year, the Step Count Champion crown went to Sheena from team Burning Rubber. Sheena shared a few words with us about her experience of taking part in the challenge as a wheelchair user, and how her team kept her motivated during the challenge.
Hello. My name is Sheena and I am a cyclist. You may think that is a bold statement and if you saw me you would be confident it was a bold statement.
I am a cyclist who does not possess one item of lycra clothing. I don’t have the weatherbeaten look of someone who spends hours in the great outdoors and nor is my skin the colour of sun-kissed bronze. I never feel the wind blowing through my hair and that is because I am an indoor cyclist.
The reason for all of the above is because I am a permanent wheelchair user and have been for the last 12 years. What I do possess is the most marvellous piece of equipment called a MOTOmed Therapy bike. The MOTOmed allows me to handcycle at a high resistance level (because my upper limb function is intact). This gives me a good cardiovascular workout. I can also cycle with my legs (which don’t really work) but the MOTOmed converts minimal muscle power and allows me to cycle myself. Unfortunately the resistance level setting is on zero, which means at the end of a 30 min cycle, I may only have used up 50 calories – not even the equivalent of a digestive biscuit!!
I was invited to join my social work colleagues and the team Burning Rubber was created. We are all in roles which mean a significant amount of time is spent at desks and in front of computer screens so I was delighted to participate in anything which was activity based. Prior to the wheelchair, I enjoyed a number of sporting activities and was also a wee bit competitive so this challenge resurrected all these personality traits! I was on my MOTOmed every day and at weekends would strive for 3 stints per day. Cycle sessions are usually accompanied by me watching TV. I love dramas so worked my way through quite a few offerings from ‘Walter Presents’.
Kirsty – thank you for the invite to join the team and for all your attempts to push us onto more physical activity. Charlie- you were our torch bearer who achieved a huge number of steps. Eilidh and Angie – you were both beaten by someone in a wheelchair!
I loved it and cannot wait for the autumn challenge.
