Get Your Heart Racing

When I started junior college I was fortunate enough to attend a school that had a great program for disabled students.   One of the programs they offered was adapted physical education.   I had taken adapted PE in high school, but it was not very fun and rather limited.   Adapted PE at college was a lot more exciting because, not only was it a course designed for students with physical disabilities, it was also designed as a practicum course for students majoring in physical education.   A physical education student was assigned to be my helper, or rather my trainer, during the course of the semester.   Our coach, the course instructor, evaluated our needs and abilities and, together with our trainers, designed a course of exercise with goals we would complete during the semester.

Our exercise room was very nice and had all the equipment you find in the average fitness club.   Most of the equipment was the regular kind but there was also adapted exercise equipment, like a hand cycle.   I would do range of motion stretches and repetitive movements with very small weights as well as the hand cycle during my 50 minute course.   I would look around the room and see other students doing weight lifting with free weights, walking on treadmills, performing a kettlebell exercise, or riding an exercise bike.

Most of the time I enjoyed the class and found the exercise beneficial.   The only time I didn’t like it was when my trainer didn’t show up and I would be assigned someone else to assist me.   On rare occasions it was some creepy guy I didn’t care to be around, but since we weren’t alone I just put up with it.   On those days it was good to say I was a little tired and finish my routine early.

One thing I’ve never forgotten was my first day in class.   Coach was assessing my exercise needs with another coach and a couple of trainers.   Since I’m totally dependent on the wheelchair, he was trying to come up with an exercise I could do to increase my heart rate.   He thought my seeing him in short shorts would get my heart racing, but that I ought to do some other exercises as well.   Yes, he really said that!   What an ego!