Using inclusive equipment to exercise at home could be key to enabling a person living with a disability to take the first steps to leading an independent life.
When you live with a disability getting to and from the gym can be a challenge and time consuming. Confidence levels can also often be low in the initial stages of living with a disability and attending a gym can be a daunting task. In these circumstances, working out privately at home to gain strength and confidence first can be the motivating step a person living with their disability needs to start their road to fitness. This is certainly true of one man, Tim Hart, age 27 from Essex who suffers from Friedreich’s Ataxia an inherited disease where the nervous system does not allow messages sent out from the brain to travel as quickly as they need to the muscles. This slow muscle response results in a lack of control over the body’s muscles and movement in general takes a lot longer.
Tim’s condition means he is in a wheelchair and his disability has been further complicated by also developing Scoliosis. He underwent corrective spinal surgery for the Scoliosis to insert a metal rod but which subsequently failed, snapping in half whilst in position. After several painful operations to correct this, Tim was left with very little fitness as the intense pain around his spine meant he was unable to keep up with his usual gym routine. Sadly, not being able to work his muscles also made the Friedreich’s Ataxia worse as regular exercise can help to keep it under control.
This lack of exercise led to Tim gaining weight and lacking in confidence to attend the gym and so instead he decided to create his own gym at home as Tim explains:
“Visiting the gym has become like a long and tedious task and with my fitness as it is currently I don’t really like going. Also, as I need to exercise everyday to get my fitness and strength back up to where it was before the spinal surgery, it just made sense to create a small workout area at home. I selected the SCIFIT PRO1 Upper Body Exerciser as its suitable for use with a wheelchair and is Inclusive Fitness Initiative accredited so its is really easy to use. I try and use the PRO1 everyday: 45 minutes in morning, 25 minutes in the afternoon before doing some weight training and then a 15-minute sprint in the evening. I’ve noticed that even after only a couple of weeks my upper body strength and general cardio fitness has really improved and this is motivating me to get back to my full fitness prior to the spinal injury.”
SCIFIT is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of specialist cardio fitness machines, including the PRO1 Upper Body Exerciser. The Inclusive Fitness Initiative accreditation by the English Federation of Disability Sport, recognises exercise equipment that has been designed with inclusive features to enable both disabled and non-disabled users to enjoy a full and effective workout.
So choosing the right inclusive exercise equipment to enable a person living with a disability to workout safely and effectively at home can encourage them to increase their strength, fitness and well-being. The improvements seen can further motivate the person to gain more confidence and, in time, enjoy a fully independent life.
