Ask for Fitness advice and tips

RPearce

Hi Everyone, I work at Active Nation, which is a national charity committed to 'persuading the nation to be active'. I have been a sports coach for the past 7 years, specialising in disabled sports and also previously worked as a personal trainer. If you are looking for advice about getting active, or have any questions about health and fitness please do get in touch. I will be pop on here once a day to answer any questions you may have, so I look forward to hearing from you.

EllaB

I have a question - all the advice about keeping fit seems to be you need to increase your heart beat - preferably break a sweat - to have any effect. At my brother's day care centre they do 'exercises' but they are very low key and generally seem to involve people raising their arms above their head, twisting a bit, and that's all! Can these low-impact exercises have any sort of benefit do you think?

RPearce

Hi Ella, thank you for your question. Physical exercise can have various improvements on an individuals life including social, psychological and physical. Any group exercise will improve the participants social and psychological health. In regards to physical fitness ideally the individual would increase their heart rate and develop a sweat, in which case these low impact exercises can help with physical fitness if they are increasing the heart rate of the individual.

EllaB

Thanks, I hadn't thought about the social aspects, but that's a really good point!

JenniferU

Hello, just wondering, in your experience if you find that many gyms cater for disabled people in general?

Or if you have any resources which list accessible gyms, or gyms with instructors who can give appropriate advice to disabled people about fitness programmes that could be tailored to them?

RPearce

Hi Jennifer,

Thank you for posting your question. If you look for gyms that are accredited with the Inclusive Facilities Initiative (IFI) they should be equipped to advise and also be more inclusive.

This website show all the gyms that are IFI accredited http://www.efds.co.uk/inclusive_fitness/ifi_gyms

I hope this helps, if there is anything else just let me know.

Thanks, Rob

 

JenniferU

Thanks Rob, that's really helpful! 

VCH

Hi Rob, 

My question is, what kind of adapted weekly fitness regime would you recommend to someone who uses a wheelchair but is otherwise healthy and mobile, in order to ensure they were getting enough exercise?

RPearce

Hi there,

Thank you for your question. It is a difficult question to answer but your local leisure should be able to provide you with a fitness plan adapted to you. There could also be local sports clubs that provide wheelchair specific sports for example wheelchair basketball, rugby or dancing.

If you are looking for a personalised programme for you to do at home or in your local park, then it would be worth talking to your local fitness advisor how would be able to give you a programme adapted to you.

I hope this helps,

Rob