Program breaking down barriers through inclusive fitness

Mikala Jones leads Seth Sugarman through weight training during an Adaptive Physical Exercise session

in the Toldo Lancer Centre.

Asked what his favourite part of coming to the gym is, Seth Sugarman replied: “everything.”

Sugarman is a participant in the Adaptive Physical Exercise (APEX) program, a partnership between the University of Windsor and Community Living Essex County that connects student volunteers with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“The key piece to our program is that it’s an inclusive exercise program. So, it’s critical that they work out in our gym, alongside our community members and university students, and they’re in those spaces — shoulder to shoulder,” said APEX Research Group founding co-director Chad Sutherland.

Sutherland, who also serves as director of operations at the Centre for Human Performance and Health within the Department of Kinesiology, works alongside professor Sean Horton in crafting the exercise programming.

The 12-week program brings adults supported by Community Living Essex County to the Toldo Lancer Centre twice a week for an hour-and-a-half of exercise with a volunteer personal trainer. Participants engage in exercise routines, including weightlifting, cardio, and playing basketball, ping pong, and other sports.

Sugarman, along with participants Mary Ellen Smith and Kelly Thibert, were all smiles during their sessions, dancing in between sets and cheering each other on as they took turns shooting hoops in the gym.

“I love it,” Thibert said with a smile.

“I’m getting stronger every time I come,” Sugarman noted.

All three, like others who participated in the program, have since made fitness a regular part of their routine by joining local gyms.

“It’s a highlight in their life for sure,” said Shelbey Pillon, planning and technology supports manager at Community Living Essex County. “APEX really inspired them to continue their exercise.”

She said that motivation is crossing into their everyday lives as a result.

“They’re going back to their peers and saying, you know, ‘this would be a healthier choice’ or ‘you should walk 30 minutes a day and exercise three times a week because that’s what I learned,’” Pillon noted.

“They’re also learning a lot more about themselves, figuring out, ‘what am I capable of?’”

She shared the story of a young man who was working a labour-intensive job, and tasks such as bending down and pulling weeds posed initial challenges.

“And I can say with APEX, by the end, his physical fitness had improved. So, of course, this was noticed on the job site as well, which was a huge benefit for him,” Pillon said.

The program was initiated in 2010, when Community Living Essex County, noticing a need among the people they support, reached out to the University of Windsor looking for help implementing an exercise program.

“They noticed just poor overall health, like resting heart rates, blood pressures, weight control, nutritional habits — all these things were lower than their neurotypical peers,” Sutherland explained.

With the help of a grant through the Ontario Healthy Communities Initiative, a partnership was established that would continue for the next 14 years.

“We wanted to remove as many barriers as possible,” Sutherland said. “We ran the first program, and honestly, I thought it would be a one-and-done. It’s going to be a cool little side project. After five or six weeks in and just seeing the response, the participants got so connected to our fitness trainers that they didn’t want to leave. And we knew we had to keep doing it.”

He said since then, about 300 alumni and students have been involved in APEX.

Courtesy: https://www.uwindsor.ca/dailynews/2024-10-29/program-breaking-down-barriers-through-inclusive-fitness