Gym and Fitness

Getting active doesn’t have to mean getting sporty

Not all exercise has to be on the sports field or in the gymnasium. Although it may seem that an increased interest in parasport means every disabled person is expected to be a ‘superhuman’, staying fit and healthy through exercise doesn’t have to involve vigorous training and garden sheds full of expensive specialised equipment.

There are plenty of ways to get out and get moving that doesn’t involve rules or referees. We’ve put together a selection of low impact options, both indoor and outdoor, and coupled them with some of the organisations who can help you to get more active.

Low stress:
Walking/Strolling – disabledramblers.co.uk

Non-impact:
Swimming – swimming.org/sport/disability-swimming-hub-clubs/
Cycling – Britishcycling.org.uk/disabilityhubs

Something different:
Ballroom dancing – paradance.org.uk

Female wheelchair user stretching with resistance bands in gym

Inclusive Fitness Initiative

The Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI) has been established for over 10 years, supporting leisure centres to become more welcoming and accessible environments to disabled people. Achieving the ‘IFI Mark’ gym accreditation is key in addressing inequality in physical activity as it enables leisure facilities to reach inactive populations and raise awareness of the benefits of exercise to get more disabled people physically active.

If you are a disabled person looking for an inclusive gym nearby, visit the IFI facility to find out more about it.

Visit The Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI) website