The Move To Improve SCI Approach
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The fundamental principle behind Move To Improve SCI’s approach for helping you achieve your best SCI life is that purposeful physical movement is the mechanism to increased health and wellness.
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As people with spinal cord injury, we are at a deficit of physical movement and activity. Research has established that wheelchair users are the least active demographic in society. Having paralysis literally means having limbs that don’t move. Therefore, it is indisputable that we move less than the non-wheelchair-using population.
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The medical community uses a framework based on “Out of an Abundance of Caution” AKA “Cover my Ass” to direct our lives. They assume that the high incidence of shoulder pain among wheelchair users must be the result of “overuse”. This conclusion is widely promoted by the Wheelchair Industry which profits from selling us the maximum number of (highly expensive) powered assistive technology.
It is our contention that the wide prevalence of shoulder problems among wheelchair users comes not from “Overuse”, but from continual “Unbalanced Use” which has created long term muscular imbalances and postural problems. These issues typically create chronic shoulder pain through shoulder impingement syndrome. They leave wheelchair users vulnerable to acute injuries from difficult/missed transfers and the lifting of objects in awkward ways due to sitting/core instability.
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Where the medical community takes a “Less is More” viewpoint (move less), we take the “More is More”, approach where we feel that more “corrective” movements are needed to reverse these inevitable imbalances.
It is not sufficient to just move more. You must move in ways that are targeted at reducing your imbalances while also increasing your overall movement level so you can reduce your existing movement deficit.
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It is important to recognize that having difficulty with wheelchair use and/or becoming tired from Activities of Daily Living are not the same as having a high level of physical activity. Many wheelchair users falsely believe that transferring multiple times a day and a few thousand push strokes throughout the entire day corresponds to a high level of baseline activity. When, in fact, this is a relatively low level of activity.
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The choice is up to you. You can move less, or you can move more. If you do choose to move more, we hope you will engage with our protocols and methods which are designed to help you move to improve your life.
Your Coaches
Hey, I’m Tim.
Strength coach, educator, SCI athlete, and the architect of Move to Improve SCI.
Eighteen years ago, I sustained a T3 spinal cord injury, flipping my life upside down.
But instead of surrendering to the limitations,
I turned them into fuel.
With 20 years of award-winning coaching experience as a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, with a master’s degree in Kinesiology-Pedagogy, I’ve spent nearly two decades combining lived experience with professional expertise to help wheelchair users reclaim their strength, mobility, independence, and confidence.
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After my injury, I realized that the fitness world had almost nothing tailored to us.
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Wheelchair users who want more than just to get by. I wanted to train with purpose, get stronger, stay lean, and live fully. So I built Move to Improve SCI as the resource I wish I had when I was newly injured.
This isn’t adapted fitness.
It’s a movement that empowers people with SCI to take control of their health and performance with science-based, wheelchair-friendly programming.
Whether your goal is to drop body fat, move pain-free, improve your shoulder health, or simply feel strong and independent, I’ve got you.
Every training plan I offer is grounded in real-world experience, backed by research, and designed with the unique challenges of SCI in mind. You’ll find practical tools, progressive workouts, therapeutic warm-ups, and realistic goal tracking...
All adapted to YOUR body and YOUR life.
If you’re tired of one-size-fits-all programs and want something that finally fits YOU, you’re in the right place.
Move to Improve SCI is more than a brand...
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It’s your path to a stronger, more capable version of yourself. Let’s get to work.
Move To Improve SCI didn’t just change my workout routine, it revolutionized my entire lifestyle. I’ve never felt stronger, healthier or happier!
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- Mark, 58 (power chair user who's lost over 100 lbs)
Questions & Answers with M2I
Erik Kondo
I am Erik, and unlike Tim, I am not a certified trainer.
As a wheelchair user for the past 40 years, I have always had a passion for wheeled movement. As a lifelong athletic person in a variety of domains (wheelchairboarding, martial arts, aMTB, monoskiing, wheelchair hiking, road races, working out, etc), I have studied movement principles, dynamics, and their intersection with adaptive recreation and mobility devices extensively.
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My goal is to pass on what I have learned over the years to help my fellow wheelchair users develop and improve their movement skills and techniques within the M2I teaching framework.
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