Disability and Fitness: How does it work?

Disability and fitness are generally two words that the majority of the disabled community can't see as being together. I am not sure if it is because they think it takes away from the plight of benefits cuts, or forces them to take account for their own lifestyle.

Now don't get me wrong, there are certain disabilities that fitness cannot be intrinsically connected with. These are the Motor Nuerone Disease, the ones that fully incapacitate you. But that being said, sufferers of MND who are given exercises, it increases flexibility in muscles affected by the disease and increases the strength of those that are not affected. Yet, after a period of a year, you don't go to someone with MND and then say "Oh you have been working out, therefore you no longer suffer it." Ok, maybe David Cameron, PM of the UK might try that, with his cuts to disability, but, generally no, you are still suffering. What you are doing is saving the economy an extra amount of money by doing something that decreases your dependancy on medication and therefore improves your quality of living for whatever time you can.

This was always my conundrum up until a few months ago. I am athletic, and technically I am disabled. I have only ever been on welfare for about 2 years. So out my entire working life, I have done my best to not be on benefits and provide some form of normality in my life.

I have just recently had the opportunity where I can apply to get my level 2 NVQ in personal training. If all goes well, I can start at the end of February. What my aim is here, other than to bring the gospel of fitness to the general community, and specifically the disabled community, is to eventually work my way into research of exercises for the disabled community. With this, I hope to get some sort of education around disability and its dependancy on pain medication and other chemicals to promote well being.

My only concern around this, is that of the feeling of butting heads with established disability groups who want to have the attention placed on their helplessness. In times of a hard economy, and dwindling of benefits, and a government hell bent on creating cuts for the poor so the rich can thrive, maybe the disabled community needs to start looking at how it needs to cut down dependancy on the system in times of crisis. I know a lot of cases it is hard to do, but, if the system is not protecting the most vulnerable in the community, then the vulnerable need to find a way to rework the system. I am all for grants to those disabled who want to get back to work, I am all for those who can't work to get their livelihoods looked after and have their living standards be on par with working society, but at the same time, we need to show that our disabilities are something that we can work with. For example, I know I can't sit down all day, also know I can't stand up all day. I also know that if I am doing something active, then my muscles don't bunch up. We need to start relying on the strengths of our disabilities not on what it won't allow us to do. I had a good mate back in Australia, who has MS. The guy was totally gimped when it came to anything physical, but his mind was wired like a super computer. He gets a job with the government as an IT consultant. I also have seen people who have mental disabilities doing physical tasks, just because their minds are not as capable as a scientist, they have more strength in their bodies than I do.

If we want the government to help us, what we need to do is show the government that we are wanting to do something in return. For those of us who are disabled, and can still do something, to sit and whither like grapes on a vine, receiving benefits to be locked up in an internal prison, is more of a crime still. All human beings have a role in this world, even the most disabled, crippled, mentally incapable person on earth, teaches us about compassion to others. They may not have a quality of life as we know it, but what do we know of the being that resides in the non-functioning shell. It reminds me of the first time I met someone, who all they could do was move their eyes. I had never felt so much compassion towards another person in my life. I knew I couldn't make that person's day, or make them better, but they made me a better person, because they showed a will to live, something in their eyes said that their was a whole universe of thought there that we have been deprived of, and that they relish in.