| IHRSA Report | Club Advisor
Making Your Club All-Inclusive
By Mia Coen
Have you reached out to people in your community with physical disabilities? If not, you may be missing out on an attractive, underserved market. What does it take—beyond having elevators for wheelchairs, or designated parking spaces near your front door—to do so? Making your club truly accessible to, and comfortable for, disabled individuals starts with a change in your thinking. The following questions may help.
What sort of message do your promotions convey? If all of the individuals pictured in your marketing pieces look fit, healthy, and able to work out on their own, or if all of the activities that you advertise are for able- bodied people only, you may give the impression that you don’t want this demographic. If you do, be sure that this message is getting across to the public.
How’s your club layout? Stop for a moment. Look care- fully at your fitness floor as it is right now. How easy would it be for you to move around and complete a workout if you were disabled? “Clubs need to ensure that there’s ample room around equipment for those with wheelchairs or crutches to be able to maneuver comfortably,” says Debbie Miller, founder of Project VisAbility, a program designed to create fitness job opportunities for people with physical challenges. “In order to reach out to this market, they need to provide a welcoming environment in which those with physical challenges aren’t frustrated while using the facility.”
Do you have qualified staff? To satisfy the needs of this market, you need to have at least one staff member who’s certified to train people with a number of physical challenges, ranging from spinal cord injuries to hip and joint problems. Trainers need to be able to develop an exercise program based on individual abilities and preferences, especially when it comes to injuries. “My established practice is to customize each client’s program based on their physician’s recom- mendation, their personal short-, long-term, and ultimate goals, and a comprehensive evaluation,” says Taylor Isaacs, a Los Angeles-based exercise physiologist who specializes in restorative exercise.
Debbie Miller
Taylor Isaacs
Do you have the appropriate equipment? A physically challenged individual may have limited, or even no function, in different parts of their body. While it’s true that many machines do provide lower- or upper-body training separately, they still may not be easy to access for many people with limited mobility. “The Johnny G Krankcycle by Matrix, the Concept2 rower with adap- tive modifications, NuStep, and various upper-body ergometers (UBE) are some of the options that are now available,” notes Miller. “However, they’re not yet standard at most gyms.”
Are you isolating these people? Even if you have machines that disabled members can use, you may be discouraging them without realizing it, points out Miller. “From what I’ve seen, many UBEs are old and rehab-oriented, and are usually placed in the back corner of the gym, leaving members to use it alone. As a result, they may feel left out and segregated from the rest of your member population.”
Do you have appropriate group training? When all members of the club come together, either on the floor or in a group exercise class, Miller observes, people begin to see the similarities, rather than their differ- ences. “This helps each member move beyond his or her individual challenges. To be included—and no longer excluded—is a very important and powerful experience for this demographic. Clubs will be well- served to find ways to provide programming for those with disabilities. If they do, the loyalty of these members will run deep.” —|
– Mia Coen,
mia@fit-etc.com www.
ihrsa.org | SEPTEMBER 2010 | Club Business Internat ional 93
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110