disability fi tness
Staff treat every client individually and do whatever it takes to help them use the gym
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE ATTITUDE Cyncoed Fitness Centre / Wales Sports Centre for the Disabled, Cardiff
T
hough it is used by the public and students at UWIC (University of Wales Institute, Cardiff) where it
is based, Cyncoed Fitness Centre – also known as The Wales Sports Centre for the Disabled – was designed specifi cally with disabled people in mind, and so offers many good lessons for gyms wanting to be more accessible. Fitness manager Allison Jones says
that although physical accessibility – equipment, entrances, changing rooms and so on – is of course a necessity, the real difference a gym can make is through the willingness of its staff. “It’s less about having fancy
equipment and more about being committed to helping individuals,” she says. “We’ll meet anyone wanting to use the gym and fi nd out what we can do to help them use it – they tell us what they need. Basically we talk to the people who come in the door, take them on to the gym fl oor and see what we can do to help. Even if someone wants an extra
50
piece of equipment, we’ll try to fundraise to get it.” As an example, Jones
helped a blind man by sticking Blu-Tack on the treadmill
keys, and when a day centre contacted her after its activities funding was cut, she set up a programme for them. Its clients now come in twice a week for a personalised programme. Another client who receives the
personal touch is a 26-stone man in a wheelchair who wanted to get mobile. “You don’t need special kit for this,” says Jones. “We just help him to walk around our indoor running track on his zimmer frame and then use some basic weights. Our attitude means he enjoys it.”
commitment costs nothing The gym offers a heavily discounted annual disabled membership – £55 rather than £140 – and allocates one afternoon a week for dedicated disabled use. Jones also says she consults one of
her most loyal disabled clients before she buys any new products: a caring, committed touch that costs nothing. How many health clubs and leisure centres can say they do the same?
Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital Jones believes many gyms just
don’t consider disabled people in their planning. “I know for a fact that my own local gym couldn’t cater for disabled people,” she says. “The equipment is too close together – there isn’t room for a zimmer frame, let alone a wheelchair.” The fl oor space at the Wales Sports
Centre for the Disabled, meanwhile, was specifi cally designed for wheelchair users, as were the changing rooms. The front entrance is fl at, with eight disabled parking bays outside and push- button doors, while the front desk is low so that staff are face-to-face with wheelchair clients. The gym also has a member of reception staff who is a wheelchair user, which Jones believes puts clients at ease and helps them feel their needs are being understood. Equipment is mostly supplied by
Powersport and includes a range of resistance equipment and two crank cycles, all with seats that fold away so a wheelchair can be used in its place. There are also two Octane cross- trainers, sitting and upright, and a Life Fitness Cable Column donated by The Bruce Wake Charitable Trust.
september 2011 © cybertrek 2011
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