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Mary's avatar

This is a really well-written piece and, as a disabled person, it makes me want to buy a Peloton, haha. I have cerebral palsy, and while I've seen gyms, classes, and other spaces (slowly) start to accept the idea of health at any size, the concept of health at any ability feels like it lags behind. Nobody really seems to know what to do with you when you just...can't do something or need a modification. It would feel awesome to have confidence in myself when working out and not get the stares and "you're using that machine wrong" comments (thanks, Bradley Gym Bro, I'm aware). This might be a solution to the weird competitive gym culture and the feeling that I can't keep up.

I agree with a previous comment that stories like Sherry's make me feel like I'm not alone. I hope I can use experiences like hers to become more confident and celebrate my progress, too -- even if it looks different.

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Mari, the Happy Wanderer's avatar

Thank you for sharing this beautiful and important essay. My 18-year-old daughter is disabled (she has a rare form of muscular dystrophy that causes hypermobile joints, muscle weakness, pain, and fatigue), and I am happy to hear that Peloton is making an effort to work with disabled people.

A big problem in the fitness industry for disabled people is that the industry is set up for the able-bodied. It encourages us to push ourselves to the limit. The thinking is that muscles grow when they are stressed, and people improve their cardiovascular fitness and endurance when they force themselves to keep going through the pain.

But for disabled people the exact opposite is often the case: muscles, once damaged, may never recover. Disabled people can injure vulnerable joints if they push themselves to exhaustion. And well-meaning coaches, gym teachers, and trainers who ask a disabled person for “just one more rep/lap/try” risk humiliating the people they want to help. Plus it’s frustrating for the disabled person not to have his or her very real effort acknowledged. It might be all s/he can manage just to show up to class that day and stay standing.

I am hoping that we can let go of our gung-ho, workism culture in fitness and recognize that some of us are doing our very best, even if it might not look like it.

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