014 Disability Is Not a Barrier with Sam James

In this week's episode I am talking to Sam James about disability and exercise. Sam shares with us her own journey of fitness as a disabled person and how that led her to train as a fitness instructor. 

We talk about:

• what do disabled people want to see when accessing exercise
• some of the issues disabled people come across when accessing gyms and leisure centres
• the lack of understanding about disability
• the ways in which exercise benefits so many conditions
• the power of the purple pound
• some tips for people leading any form of exercise that want to cater for people with a disability
• some tips for disabled people who would like to access exercise

This discussion will help you to explore why it is important to make the work you do accessible for all and how you can begin to do that. 

About Sam:
Sam has over a decade of experience working in the fitness industry and specialises in working within the disability and rehabilitation fields.  Sam is unique as she has a physical disability herself so, following her own negative experiences which had more of an impact than the rare positive ones, she wanted to qualify to make the industry more accessible and inclusive for disabled clients.

Sam is still finding that many of her clients have also had similarly negative experiences, so she set up fitness classes and personal training services both face to face and online to support disabled clients in becoming and staying active.  She now has a worldwide client base and is always striving to improve awareness, inclusion, and accessibility in leisure facilities.  

Links:

Website:  Www.inclusfit.co.uk 

Email:  Sam@inclusfit.co.uk 

Social media: @inclusfit

About Sarah:
Sarah Bolitho helps fitness and health professionals develop their careers and grow their businesses by providing specialist training in teaching, assessing, and internal quality assurance, together with qualifications in exercise referral and disability.   

With over 30 years in the health-related fitness and physical activity fields, Sarah has a wealth of experience and knowledge.  She has worked in most roles in the industry from group exercise to personal training but specialised in working with specialist populations.  For over 25 years Sarah has trained fitness and health professionals to work with clients with long-term conditions, mental health issues, disabilities, older adults and pre/post-natal women.  She has a post-graduate diploma in exercise and health behaviour and extensive training in supporting behaviour change.  She has worked with awarding organisations to develop qualifications and training and with accreditation bodies to endorse high-quality non-regulated training. 

In her spare time, you will usually find Sarah walking in the mountains, by the sea or anywhere in nature.

For more about the training and support Sarah offers, visit www.sarahbolitho.com or contact her at admin@sarahbolitho.com.

Follow her on social media
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fabnewlous_active_lives
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fitnesscareer mentor
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahbolitho