Adaptive Fitness at Cavanaugh Fitness 

At Cavanaugh Fitness, our commitment and respect for adaptive athletes is unparalleled.  This passion for adaptive fitness training is what drove owner, Brian Cavanaugh, to obtain a training certificate specifically for adaptive athletic training. We recognize and know the motivational challenges of able bodied athletes and its for this reason that we are continually impressed and awe struck by the resilient nature of an adaptive athlete. Mental toughness or resilience plays a big role in the commitment and progress of any of our trainees and we love our adaptive athletes because they act as an example for maintaining motivation and goal focus despite very real and physical challenges. Additionally, they respect and emulate the mental and emotional benefits that come from engaging in a consistent fitness training regiment.
 
Adaptive fitness is the practice of physical fitness by those individuals with physical disabilities, either as consequence of the natural aging process or due to trauma, injury or defect. At Cavanaugh Fitness, we are skilled in working, specifically, with disabilities that compromise the body structure or extremities. While we yield utmost respect for all types of adaptive athletes, we are not yet equipped for adaptation to blind or deaf athletes.  Adaptive fitness training centers may have modified equipment or trainers with skills in modifying existing equipment. At Cavanaugh Fitness, we fall into the latter category. We focus mostly on inclusion, rather than development of new or unique programming. We find that our workout environment to be supportive and encouraging, which lends itself nicely to inclusion of all athletes, adaptive or not.
 
Low energy and time constraints are the frequently pointed to as reasons for not engaging in personal training or workouts, in general. Through our years of working intensively with our training clients, we’ve discovered that the the real reasons why people don’t workout have more to do with pain (from previous injury) or fear (of now knowing ‘what to do’).  Adaptive fitness training athletes, therefore, share the same reservations as the general public. This is a little known trend. At Cavanaugh Fitness we strive first to shatter these reservations in all our athletes and reveal, in our group training sessions, that we all have the same hang-ups and limitations but we don’t have to let these hang-ups act as barriers to physical fitness.  
 
We break through workout barriers with our adaptive athletes, and all of our trainees, by making injury prevention a priority in our “talk” and in our “walk.” As stated, we start any personal training relationship by taking a thorough and honest history of your fitness experiences and injuries. We also assess your current level of physicality through conversation and observation. We make a special effort to play to the strengths of our adaptive athletes to keep them committed to training. An ongoing commitment to training requires the setting of progressive but reasonable goals. Progressive, in that, we start small with a non-negotiable vision for something bigger. As a personal trainer, it is our job to recall your current state from session to session but to also hold vision for your preferred future.
 
Fitness and Ability
 
In assessing and evaluating our adaptive athletes, we make a bold effort to honor what their current fitness interests or hobbies are. Blending fitness into a lifestyle that is already modified for comfort, tends to work best. Do you already have an adaptive cycling device or reconfigured exercise at home? If so, excellent, we would love to incorporate that into your workout. WE consistently remind our trainees that one does not need to me running a marathon to have their efforts qualify as “exercise.” At Cavanaugh Fitness, we believe progress is measured by a personal yard stick; if you are better than you were yesterday then you’re moving in the right direction.
 
In our work with adaptive athletic training, we help our trainees expand their fitness horizons. Improving your health is fundamentally a challenge in change. When it comes to fitness, more change equals more results. If we can stimulate variability in already existing workouts, we can do a world of good for our adaptive athletes. This helps redefine their idea of strength both physically and mentally.
 
As an adaptive athlete ally, we support the inclusion of those with permanent need in all athletic arenas. Once obtaining the adaptive athletic training education, we expanded our definition of “adaptive athlete” to those with long-term or chronic injury. We seek and hope to continue to work with older or aging individuals to ensure healthy aging and fitness into advanced years. Expanding the adaptive definition, helps us see all trainees through a strength and abilities based lens. We use this lens to leverage the abilities our trainees present to us with; whether that be a penchant for speed, balance, flexibility, strength or mentality.
 
We currently use our adaptive athletic training skills to understand modifications in movement that can be made without compromising the integrity of a workout for safety, flexibility or strength training. We seek to make our training center and our fitness training groups inclusive of adaptive athletes and set standards for adaptive fitness training in all of our client experiences. 

CALL TO ACTION

If you are an adaptive athlete looking for a personal training experience, you found the right crew.  Complete our form above or Call us today for a free consultation.