Chennai: Women with disabilities get exclusive space to train, exercise

M. Nathiya swiftly pulls one side of the cable crossover machine weighing over six kg and proceeds to pull the other, grunting with each effort. Seated in her wheelchair, in the gym for women with disabilities, she soon falls into the rhythm of her training.

The seasoned para powerlifter is required to spend six hours at the gym, three in the morning and three in the evening as training for powerlifting. As a para powerlifter, she is required to train every muscle in the upper body including the back muscles, shoulders and arms apart from targeted spinal stability. As each set also requires rest, time factored to move around in a wheelchair, it takes a total of three hours.

However, with no accessible gym in the city, Nathiya was forced to complete her entire routine in one and half hours.

“I would require someone to help me get my weights or dumbbells at a gym designed for normal people. I’d require more time because I have to shift from my wheelchair to the equipment and most others would request that they finish first. I couldn’t train at ease,” said the seven-time national winner in powerlifting.

But the scene has changed in the last two months with the setting up of the gym dedicated to women with disabilities in Nungambakkam thanks to the Better World Shelter and the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).

“Today, I can train for three hours, every piece of equipment is spaced with a wheelchair in mind, nobody is hurrying me to finish the set, I can access the dumbbells and weights myself. The independence to train by myself has been liberating,” said Nathiya.

Like Nathiya, other women with disabilities recall the hardship in trying to find an accessible gym in the city Most gyms in the city are situated either on the first or upper floors with no accessibility via lift. People had no space to maneuver their wheelchair in the area and the gym constrained their training to about one and a half hours.

“When we did finally find a gym that accepted and fit our requirement, it was on open ground. The sand and stones made it difficult to travel between equipment. It added to the difficulties,” said Matilda Fonceca, international para basketball winner.

Spread over 500 sq ft space at the Better World Shelter, the gym for women with disability is equipped with all the essential equipment. Inaugurated in March, the gym will soon begin non-resident enrollment. It does not have any fee, and is open all days.

“Tamil Nadu is very ready for innovating in sports especially in needs of para sports. Sports is not just about personal fitness, its also a good contender as a source of livelihood. For women with disabilities it has given them a lot of exposure to the world and independence,” said Aishwarya Rao, Founder of Better World Shelter for Women with Disabilities.

Stating that the gym was completely designed by the NGO, Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner J. Kumaragurubaran said, “We lent our support to the initiative. Since, the announcement of the gym, we have been receiving requests to set up more such gyms for persons with disabilities. We are also mulling the possibility of opening such gyms in the city.”