The Power of Fun: 5 Ways we Make Exercise Enjoyable for People with Disabilities
Over the years of working as a disability personal trainer, I have worked with a number of clients that have a difficult relationship with exercise. It makes sense really, doing things that are physically hard isn’t necessarily enjoyable. Without the ability to fully comprehend the benefits, is there any surprise that there are complaints when the PT comes knocking for the weekly session?!
In order to overcome these negative associations, we place a strong emphasis on creating a sense of fun during our sessions, as we believe this is the key to creating a positive relationship with exercise.
Fun is one of Bright Wellness’ core values. When new trainers onboard with our team, we always communicate the importance of making our sessions fun our clients.
Making fitness fun has a host of benefits such as:
· Boosting motivation to participate
· Reduces anxiety around fitness
· Encourages social interactions and expressive communication
· Improves long-term adherence to a fitness routine
For the clients that struggle to take to conventional methods of exercise, we try to ‘gamify’ movements and skills, so the client engages in the activity and subconsciously works on improving their fitness.
Creating such workouts requires creativity and thoughtfulness. Through my experience, I have discovered some overarching elements that have helped me program workouts that are fun for my clients.
1. Being Playful
Playfulness brings a sense of enjoyment and light-heartedness to exercise. This can include using props, music or even turning exercise into role playing. For example, a popular drill I incorporate is sword fighting with pool noodles in a ‘battle arena’ (boundaries set by cone markers). This game with have our clients moving in multiple directions, twisting, ducking and working on their speed. I have played this game with clients until they are blue in the face…imagine trying to get them to exert themselves to this level by running or doing burpees?!
2. Friendly Competition
For the right person, introducing friendly competition can enhance motivation and drive. Whether it’s competing against themselves, a trainer, or other clients, it encourages participants to push a bit harder and stay focused on the activity. Our favourite way to incorporate this element is to have the client focus on their personal performance. For example, holding a wall sit is a boring exercise for most, but when you challenge someone to add time to their previous records, some clients will suddenly be a lot more interested in the task!
3. Testing Cognitive Skills
Incorporating cognitive challenges into workouts adds an extra layer of stimulation to exercise. We often create games that require clients to follow instructions, remember sequences or solve movement puzzles to help sharpen the connection between their brain and body. One example of a game I like to use for beginners is getting a client to work there way up from a lying position to a standing position without having their hands make contact with the floor. This can be done by copying/mirroring their trainer (following instructions) or done independently, which requires a higher level of motor planning (movement problem solving).
4. Including a training buddy (getting involved with your client!)
Having a training buddy can make a huge difference to a client’s engagement in a workout. Whether it’s a peer or the trainer themselves, working out with someone provides a sense of encouragement, while increasing the likelihood of social interactions. A trainer’s enthusiasm is contagious, so when we get involved, we often find that a client is a lot more willing to get involved too!
5. Sensory Input
Incorporating music, textured objects or even colourful visual aids can help enhance the workout experience. We are considerate with the equipment we use in our sessions. We recognise that the different textures and colours of balls, bands, mats and rollers can help contribute to creating more interest in an activity. Furthermore, we use music to motivate some clients, while for other, we incorporate auditory stimuli such as clapping and verbalising instructions to challenge their listening skills. Combining a number of the previous examples into games and activities is fantastic way to make fitness more immersive and enjoyable for people with disabilities.
I hope you have found some value in my observations. I believe that incorporating these elements into a fitness routine (irrespective of any disability) will help create fun, making people more likely to show up to their workouts in the long run.
