5 Fitness Goals to Reach in Paraquad’s Gym for People with Disabilities
As the clock struck midnight on New Year’s, you may have selected physical fitness as your resolution. Now that 2025 is here, where do you start? Physical fitness comes in many forms — realistically, it’s best to begin with a goal in mind. Read on for our top five fitness goals to reach at the Stephen A. Orthwein Center, Paraquad’s gym for people with disabilities.
1. Strength
A strong body ensures you can move effectively, bringing with it further benefits. For example, increasing muscle mass can protect your bones and joints from injury. Ultimately, strength training is key to enhancing ourselves as we age.
People with disabilities may benefit greatly from strength training as well, especially if you use assistive devices. For example, if you use a wheelchair, strength training may be used to build muscle groups in your arms — building endurance so you can push on your own for longer.
The Orthwein Center offers adaptive fitness equipment dedicated to strengthening your arms, legs or core, such as:
Smith Machines
Krankcycles
Paralympic powerlifting benches
Equalizer strength equipment
2. Mobility & Balance
Many people join our gym for people with disabilities looking to regain independent movement. Greater mobility enables individuals to perform daily tasks, navigate environments and use assistive devices. Meanwhile, proper balance increases your personal safety by limiting the risk of falls and injuries.
As you become stronger, you may gain greater self-reliance in tasks such as standing, transferring from a wheelchair, reaching for an item and beyond. Paraquad offers multiple machines to add to your mobility and flexibility program, such as:
GaitKeeper treadmill
Standing frames
EksoNR
Lokomat®
Beyond adaptive fitness equipment, Paraquad offers a dedicated Mobility Skills Course with ramps, curbs and stairs for training with assistive devices.
3. Functional Movements
Daily tasks often involve the same movements such as reaching, lunging, bending, sitting and more. Functional movement training focuses on building the strength, coordination and flexibility needed to support these real-life movements.
Notably, people who recently experienced a stroke or brain injury often enroll in our gym for people with disabilities. Functional movement workouts are a great addition to their recovery, as they contribute to the process of neuroplasticity — the brain's ability to reorganize and form new neural connections. Simply put, functional movement training may help you regain important motor skills.
Paraquad offers adaptive fitness equipment that targets functional movement patterns, such as:
Armeo®Power
Galileo
SaeboMAS
4. Endurance
Endurance is key to keeping your heart, lungs and circulatory system functioning properly. Beyond that, it’s necessary for maintaining your energy levels, reducing fatigue and managing weight long-term.
One way to build endurance is by adding cardio or aerobic exercises into your routine. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans advise that adults with disabilities, who are able, should strive for a minimum of 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity.
Our gym for people with disabilities offers multiple cardio machines, including:
NuStep® recumbent cross trainers
ParaMill (wheelchair treadmill)
Wheely X (wheelchair treadmill)
Alter G Treadmill
5. Regularity
As the year progresses, it’s only natural to get distracted from your routine. The obligations of your job, family and friends may make it easy to push fitness to the side. But results only come with consistency — if you haven’t been to the gym in a while, it may be time to consider options that will hold you accountable.
Paraquad offers 1:1 training sessions, where our adaptive exercise specialists develop an exercise plan tailored to your needs. Meeting with a trainer on a regular basis may help you find the best adaptive fitness equipment for you and establish a better routine week-to-week.
Alternatively, you may prefer to find accountability in a group setting. Paraquad hosts group exercise classes in our gym for people with disabilities. These classes fulfill a variety of goals while adding an element of fun to your routine.
Currently, the following classes occur throughout the week:
Abs on Fire
Adapted Yoga
Cardio Drumming
Cardio Boxing
Fit and Fun
Interval Training
Krankcycle®
Move & Stretch
Tai Chi/Qi Gong
Join Our Gym for People with Disabilities
The Stephen A. Orthwein Center team believes your fitness goals are attainable. Whether you’re looking for a strength or mobility and flexibility program, our gym has the adaptive fitness equipment and expertise to take you to the next level.
Ready to start your fitness journey? The Orthwein Center’s friendly and knowledgeable staff is eager to help set up your membership. Contact our gym for people with disabilities today at (314) 289-4202.
