As part of our advocacy, #OneAccesibility, we will share information about differently able and profile one location with accessible trails. Look out every week for this enlightening post.
We all know that regular physical activity can improve the muscle strength and boost the endurance. A regular exercise, no doubt, can benefit your health, mind and body. One of the ways to achieve fitness goals for everyone is to go to a gym ! So, the question is : Are there any facilities where even the differently abled people can exercise and enjoy being fit ? The answer is :Yes, there are inclusive gyms ! The simple way to identify such inclusive gyms in UK is to check with the facility if they have the IFI mark certificate accredited to their gym.
What is IFI?
The IFI is an abbreviation for Inclusive Fitness Initiative.The Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI) is a programme supporting the fitness industry to become more inclusive.It has been established for over 10 years in UK, with a national coverage of 400 IFI Mark accredited gym facilities, and is now managed within the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS). The EFDS was established in Sept 1998 and is now known as ‘Activity Alliance’.The Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI) supports leisure centres to become more welcoming and accessible for people with disabilities. Since 1 July 2017, Activity Alliance and Quest, the sport and leisure industry’s leading quality scheme, are working together so that more differently-abled people can enjoy active recreation.The IFI publishes a list of accredited gyms in UK which you can check on their website here.
The IFI mark certified indoor gyms have :
- Accessible facilities like accessible entrance, infrastructure facilies, accessible toilets,etc
- Inclusive fitness equipment
- Trained and certified Staff to include people across all age groups irrespective of disabilities
- Inclusive friendly people engagement strategies.
Here is an inspiring article I came across when I was looking for inclusive gyms in UK. Its about an IFI Mark accredited gym supporting a person called Lee, who was almost completely paralysed down the right hand side of his body, with exercise rehabilitation.
The IFI mark is also required for an outdoor gym to make sure it is fully accessible. For instance, the Marina Court Care Home in UK has an outdoor gym for its residents and they do have an IFI certificate for the same. It is interesting to know that this small outdoor gym has a Hip Twister, Seated Leg Press, Double Air Walker, T’ai Chi Spinners and a Seated Chest Press and Pull Down Challenger Combo , all nestled in the small strip of grass that surrounds the car park, making the gym is fully accessible and has made use of an otherwise unused piece of land !
While doing more research on this topic, I came across an online inclusive gym using which the differently-abled people can enjoy the benefits of being fit from their home and do follow their gym sessions from any part of the world , which is the need of the current situation around us.
Apart from what I shared in this article, I am sure there must be more indoor/outdoor inclusive gyms around the world.
I found one inclusive indoor gym in Australia which is also an example of inclusive gym : Access Fitness, Australia**.
Are there any inclusive gyms in your area? Do mention them in the comments section below !
If you have a question, suggestion or contribution, feel free to comment below. You can read last week’s roundup article here and check the list of our other articles under “Accessibility Uncovered”.
