Adapted Fitness: What it is & what it is not

Let’s start with the definition of “fitness,” the condition of being physically fit, healthy, and more specifically, the ability to perform aspects of sports, occupations, and daily activities. There are hundreds of different subsets under fitness, from Boutique Cycling and CrossFit to Running and beyond, so when someone describes “fitness,” they have a lot of options and need to narrow down what they actually do.

What is Adapted Fitness?

First, define what it is not. It is not one type of adapted workout, for example, Senior’s workouts, that work for the entire Disability Community. It’s not strictly seated workouts or throwing captions on a screen. It is not 3 workouts inside a library of 1,000. And it’s most certainly not, a “do what you can” initiative inside of a workout constructed for Individuals without disabilities.

Adapted Fitness is a workout one can do, period. A workout that can be adapted to meet anyone’s needs.

One job of Kakana and other Adapted Fitness entities, including Disability Advocates, is to show that access to becoming fit and healthy should be commonplace and not unattainable. This will then move companies and other fitness brands to become inclusive. It needs to be part of the focus and should not be a minuscule subsection of a bigger platform where you send individuals with disabilities.

It’s also not one type of workout. There is Peloton, Soul Cycle, Mirror, Tonal, Tempo, P90X, Fitness on Demand, Plank, FitOn, Orange Theory, Bar Method, Crunch, Planet Fitness, Gold’s Gym, CrossFit, Yoga, Pilates, and we could keep going. Those are all different types of workouts that attract a different type of person who is interested in that style of workout.

Through our partnership, our community will be able to provide a line-up of workouts ranging from different types of accessible workouts (and not senior workouts for 25–35-year-old badass men and women).

Crosscycle: the only boutique adapted cycling class in the world that takes the Peloton/SoulCycle idea and makes it accessible. It’s a mix of Cardio and Strength.

Strength: We have two Strength Instructors that take different approaches. Not all Strength training is the same.

Cardio Boxing: A Cardio Shadow Boxing class that works on your cardiovascular system, without blowing up your shoulders and brings a different take to Cardio than jumping on a Handcycle.

Yoga: The mind-body connection is an important one and one that can provide a much-needed balance to your fitness journey.

Meditation: In the same mold as Yoga, you can regulate breathing and “focus on you” instead of outside forces.

All of these classes are crafted to bring individuals together to work out. The bar was not lowered, the instructors do not take it easy, and they are engaging.

Over the next several articles we will interview a disability advocate, talk about identifying adapted fitness, and discuss the next steps in the accessible fitness and adapted fitness world. Follow along to learn about how fitness can and should be accessible.

The information contained on this website is presented for the purpose of educating people about paralysis. Nothing contained on this website should be construed nor is intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment. It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider. Learn more here.