Built Environment

One in four U.S. adults has a disability, and people with disability are three times more likely to experience secondary health conditions like diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. People with disability need access to health and wellness programs, but many of these programs are not inclusive.

This series will move through the five domains covered in the Guidelines, Recommendations, Adaptations, Including Disability (GRAIDs) to provide a comprehensive approach to ensure that your fitness center is accessible and welcoming to all individuals.

Domain: Built environment – structural features built into the facility or landscape.
Examples: ramps, signage, clear paths/sidewalks, curb cuts, hard floor surfaces, park play equipment, lighting, counter heights.

Lack of access in the built environment is a guaranteed dealbreaker for people with disability. To paraphrase the famous movie line from Field of Dreams with our own added element of inclusion, “If you don’t build it accessibly, they can’t come.”

If people with disability can’t get into your facility or access certain areas, they simply won’t come. The Americans with Disability Act (ADA) was passed over 30 years ago, prohibiting discrimination against people with disability. However, the reality is that access is still not universally guaranteed – fitness centers included. We must all do better to provide inclusive access to health and wellness facilities. The first way we can do that is through the built environment.

The built environment of your fitness center is the first model of inclusion your members will encounter. Built environment includes many things, including the parking lot, the path to the front door, the welcome desk, towel bin, locker rooms, aquatic space, free weight area, aerobics room and everything in between.

If there are no accessible parking spots, curb cuts to the entrance, or an inaccessible front door, access to a fitness center is denied before a person with a disability has a chance to go inside. Once inside the fitness center, other elements of the built environment can determine access. It is important to have a welcome desk at seated height, accessible bathroom stalls and exercise equipment that is accessible or placed at an appropriate distance.

As a fitness center, it is your responsibility to ensure that everyone is able to access your center. Partner with the disability community and continually assess your building to make needed changes.

Universal design, also known as “inclusive design,” is the gold standard for a built environment. Universal design goes beyond the ADA standards and ensures that a building is accessible for everyone, regardless of age, ability or any other demographic.

Inclusion Steps

1. Do some research to find out what an accessible fitness center looks like along with the elements of universal design.
2. Consider all types of disability.
3. Partner with a local disability organization or people with a disability.
4. Assess your space using an accessibility checker (see below for options).
5. Work with the disability community to make needed changes to your facility.

Resources

• Accessibility and Inclusion Toolkit for YMCAs and Fitness Facilities
• How to Choose a Fitness Center
• The United States Access Board Guide to Accessible Routes
• Removing Barriers in Fitness Spaces

Instruction

This is the second of a five-part series on GRAIDs: Guidelines, Recommendations, Adaptations, Including Disability. Join us as we move through the five domains to ensure your fitness center is welcoming and accessible to everyone.

Domain: Instruction – Techniques used to enhance learning for fitness center staff, an individual with a disability, their family members or caregivers.

Examples: Webinars, lunch and learns, seminars, in-service trainings or certificate programs.

Note: Please keep appropriate and accessible alternate formats for all worksheets and handouts.
One of the top barriers to participation in physical activity for individuals with a disability is negative attitudes of people – like fitness center staff – towards disability. It’s very important to ensure that individuals with a disability feel welcomed and included in your facility.

The instruction domain can be important for two main reasons:
1.    Instruction can apply to trainings delivered to your staff. There are lots of trainings available that can help equip your staff to better engage members with a disability. Here are some basics that we recommend:

• All staff in a facility should be required to take disability education training.
• Staff in specialized positions should take trainings or certifications specific to their area of expertise. 
• For example, a fitness instructor becoming a Inclusive Fitness Specialist through ACSM or taking other adapted fitness certificates.

2.    Instruction can also apply to the accessibility of the content you provide to your members and staff. If you host fitness classes, lunch and learns, nutrition demos or similar events, ensure that the information is delivered in an accessible manner. Here’s what we recommend:

• Offer large print or braille handouts, provide an interpreter if requested and make sure voices are amplified with a microphone.
• In a fitness class, make sure your instructors provide seated and standing exercise options and use inclusive terminology so that everyone feels welcome.

Inclusion Solutions:

1. Seek out training around disability for all staff.
2. Ensure fitness staff are trained on inclusive fitness.
3. Enlist the help of individuals with a disability to evaluate your inclusive instructions.
4. Provide opportunities for members to request accommodations.