Belfast Leisure Centre has become one of the first to adapt Workout Equipment within their gym for wheelchair users so that they can exercise alongside the more able bodied. The new equipment, which includes several types of resistance machine, has been adapted so that the normal seat can move out of the way leaving enough space to manoeuvre a wheelchair into place whether electric or manual.
The installation of this progressive equipment has been greeted with delight by disability group representatives, especially as there are fitness advisers available in the gym who are trained to devise a personalised fitness exercise programme for any individual, tailored to their specific needs. It also means that wheelchair users need no longer feel nervous or vulnerable about joining the gym as the resistance machines are suitable for use by the disabled themselves unassisted, although the centre emphasises that carers are welcome and will not be charged entry into the gym as long as they are assisting a disabled person and not using the equipment themselves.
Workout equipment of this type represents a breakthrough for wheelchair users as they often find it difficult to exercise their muscles enough to stop them wasting further. Resistance workouts machines are each designed to tone a specific group of muscles, whether quadriceps, hamstrings, chest or arms, and performing a resistance workout two to three times a week is enough to build and strengthen existing muscle that might otherwise atrophy.
