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Mar 13

Meet the Women Leading the Charge Behind the Adaptive Fitness Movement – Shape Magazine

Fitness Comments Off on Meet the Women Leading the Charge Behind the Adaptive Fitness Movement – Shape Magazine

You don't have to have full-body mobility in order to reap the physical and mental health benefits of exercise. One growing exercise training model that taps into this notion is adaptive fitness. Adaptive fitness describes how people with disabilities, or those who struggle with mobility, exercise and train, explains Nikki Walsh, a Pennsylvania-based owner and personal trainer at Nikki Walsh Adapt Fit and co-owner of Wheel With Me Adapt Fit. The movement is all about adjusting exercises and fitness routines to fit the needs of the individual, and we're here for it.

Ahead, four leaders of adaptive fitness share their diagnoses, personal health journeys, and how they're using this movement to channel strength of body and spirit. Plus, read on to learn how they're enabling people of all abilities to pursue fitness and get moving.

Move your body in any way that youre able. If youre uncertain of where to start, tap into your adaptive fitness community.

Jesi Stracham, Adaptive Athlete, Certified Nutrition & Mindset Coach

Victor Salazar

With a degree in kinesiology and career as a certified personal trainer, Nikki Walsh dedicated her life to the pursuit of fitness.Her entire world changed in 2018 when she was in a car accident that left her with a spinal cord injury that paralyzed her from the waist down."Before I started exercising again, transferring in and out of my wheelchair, showering, pushing my wheelchair, and just simply getting dressed were so hard for me. Adaptive fitness has helped me find myself again and also helps other wheelchair users change their lives too. It has increased my independence significantly.

Those once nearly impossible tasks "have become so much easier and are now second nature," she says. Once I came home from the hospital and was out of rehab [in 2019], I started to go to the gym to get stronger so that I could be as independent as possible, says Walsh.

And as the saying goes, she values progress, not perfection. I can use some of my core and hip muscles now, but I cant move any muscles in my legs yet, says Walsh. Her journey also inspired her latest endeavor training others using adaptive fitness. With a certification from the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), she started training individuals with disabilities.

I am so happy that I started training again. Not only can I get stronger and be more independent myself, but I can also help many other wheelchair users gain their strength and independence back, says Walsh. Since she can only connect with a handful of folks IRL, Walsh teamed up with friend Jesi Stracham to recently launch the first wheelchair fitness app made by wheelchair users, Wheel With Me Adapt Fit.

As for her own training routine, Walsh says that she adapts exercises to be able to perform them safely and effectively. During heavy strength training workouts, she uses a chest strap to hold herself into her chair. And since she cant move her legs, she focuses on her upper body, back, and core because these muscle groups are crucial for a strong transfer, says Walsh. I work out now to be as independent as I possibly can for as long as I can be.

Courtesy of Alyssa Gialamas

Founder and executive director of AMG Fitness Foundation in Arlington, Virginia, Alyssa Gialamas was among the one in every 10,000 people who were born with arthrogryposis, a condition that often results in joint stiffness and muscle weakness. Her case impacts her legs and hands, so Gialamas walks with long leg braces. The diagnosis never held her back, though: I was very involved in sports from a young age, and I fell in love with swimming, Gialamas says. She more than fell in love with swimming; Gialamas excelled at it. She eventually became a two-time Paralympian in the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

I have been adapting almost everything in my life, so I wouldnt say that adaptive fitness changed my life. It certainly did enhance my quality of life and confidence, though. Taking care of my body so that daily activities are easier, makes my life easier, Gialamas tells us. So after I retired from swimming, I wanted to stay active.

Staying active is a critical part of her mindset and one she wants to pass along to others. Everyone adapts in some way to ensure they are safely and effectively doing a workout. So adaptive fitness is doing what you can and making workouts work for you, she explains. Early on during the pandemic, Gialamas noticed that there werent many adaptive fitness resources available. I wanted to change that. So I created AMG Fitness as a nonprofit, with free fitness programs designed for everyone. To be as inclusive as possible, it offers three tiered programs for all abilities, all of which can be completed at home, either seated or standing.

AMG stands for adapt, move, and gain, a philosophy that AMG Gialamas hopes can remove the barriers of every day. Today, Gialamas six weekly workouts and the routines she shares on AMG Fitness focus on increasing heart rate, building strength, and adapting workouts as necessary.

Getting started is hard for anyone, but it can be especially tough for people who feel overwhelmed by their current condition. The remarkable thing about society today is the role that social media plays in showing people what is possible, Gialamas says, pointing to AMG Fitness as a place where individuals can learn how to move their bodies in whatever way they canand do so in good company.

Victor Salazar

At age three, tutu-clad Chelsie Hill rocked her first dance class. That hobby bloomed and she competed competitively until her senior year when, at 17, Hill was involved in a drunk driving incident and suffered a spinal cord injury that left her paralyzed from the waist down.

In an attempt to adjust to her new abilities post-injury and meet peers, in 2012, Hill invited six women to her home in Monterey, California to rehearse, perfect and perform a dance routine in their wheelchairs. This was the beginning of the Rollettes, which has grown to become the world's largest network for women with disabilities.

I initially got into adaptive fitness because I wanted to feel stronger. I didn't want to feel out of breath pushing my wheelchair or getting in and out of my chair, Hill tells us. Then I got engaged, and was really feeling good physically. I wanted to train to walk in my leg braces so I could walk down the aisle.

What started as a personal journey grew into an adaptive fitness movement. Taking a cue from how adaptive fitness helped her feel independent physically, mentally, and emotionally, she launched an annual Rollettes Experience weekend that welcomes individuals from across the U.S. and more than 15 other countries. The goal: To learn fromand connect throughseminars designed to empower and connect through dance, yoga, fitness, a pool party, a talent show and more.

Once the attendees meet, they, like Hill, quickly discover that adaptive fitness is not about a one-size-fits-all approach, but more about tailoring workouts to the unique needs and goals of each individual, she says. It's about making fitness inclusive and accessible so everyone can reap the benefits of physical activity, regardless of their starting point.

Hill is now a proud mom to one-year-old , Jaelyn, and beams as she reports that she worked out for 37 weeks of her pregnancy.Now, being a mom with a disability, it's incredibly important for me to stay physically strong so I am not only able to still be independent, but so I can also be able to care for my daughter, Hill says.

BAW Media

On a sunny morning in January 2015, Jesi Stracham hopped on a motorcycle with a friend. A driver of a car in front of them took a rapid U-turn. Strachams pal broke his leg. She became paralyzed from the waist down. Of life following the accident, she recalls, Transferring my body without use of my legs was difficult, and I would fall on the floor a few times a week; stranded until someone came home. I gained 60 pounds and knew something had to change.

Stracham discovered adaptive CrossFit through the Adaptive Sports & Adventure Program and her life shifted. Coupled with nutrition and mindset changes, my health and wellness journey began. Fitness was my saving grace, she explains. Adaptive fitness has given me freedom. I take my wheelchair anywhere and everywhere. Having strength makes it where I can do the small tasks, like my activities of daily living, to[and] the big things, like driving across the country or tent camping by myself.

Stracham quickly fell in love with wheelchair curling and obstacle course racingas well as the mental, emotional, and physical benefits of those pursuits. She couldnt keep this fitness regimen to herself, so Stracham acquired her adaptive CrossFit certification in 2018 and later added an adaptive training certification so she could spread the good word to others who might have different levels of ability.

In the past five years, shes inspired many one-on-one clients and countless Instagram followers. So what would Stracham tell potential future fellow adaptive fitness participants? Freedom is on the other side of independence. The more youre capable of doing on your own, the less challenging it feels like with a disability. Move your body in any way that youre able. If youre uncertain of where to start, tap into your adaptive fitness community. They will show you how much more life you can live.

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Meet the Women Leading the Charge Behind the Adaptive Fitness Movement - Shape Magazine

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