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Autistic gym/Exercise Space

Paul

Hi

I'm a personal trainer, a strength coach, and a mental health and exercise coach. I'm also autistic and ADHD. I've been working in a commercial gym for almost 9 years and after realising that I'm in burnout I need to change my working environment, but it seems really difficult to find a space that caters specifically for people like myself. Commercial gyms can be very loud, very busy and very overwhelming for autistic people and those with sensory sensitivities. A lot of the people I work with have sensory sensitivities and/or are elderly and the busy nature of the gym can be a bit too much at times. A lot of people don't understand how this feels and it's really hard to get my managers to understand, plus their hands are tied by upper management who only seem to care about getting people into the gym paying memberships, and equal opportunities is very much a box ticking exercise.

I would love to group together with some other neurodivergent PTs who want to help our community to feel stronger, fitter and healthier while doing it in a safe environment that doesn't require noise cancelling headphones and a long term recovery from overwhelm and exhaustion due to masking. Is there such a place? I don't know of any at present.

I'm based in Sheffield and have no financial resources to create a place like this, but I was wondering if anyone had any ideas as I'm a little lost at the moment.

I hope someone can point me in the right direction. Thank you for reading

Paul

  • in reply to Paul

    I don't do team sports or any sports for that matter, I'm bad at them and I'm not competitive, but I keep myself fit and always have, mostly through walking martial arts and yoga, although its only walking now as my joints are all knackered.

    I think school puts to much emphasis on sport and team sports in particular, when my daughter was a teenager, her school started an after school aerobics club, she really got into it and so did a lot of her friends. A PE teacher complained so much that it was stopped, he didn't like it because it wasn't a team sport or competitive. That sort of thing drives me mad, I was just happy she was enjoying keeping fit and thought it would help set some good habits up for life.

  • Hi Paul,

    I'm an autistic PT too. I tried to do gym-based training when I first qualified but also hated the environment.

    I went on to specialise in boxing/padwork training. I've got a background in martial arts and boxing so this felt like a good option for my clients.

    It's also brilliant for mental health and stress relief. 

    I do most of my training outside. I also did it in Malta for 3 years where the weather's a bit better!

    Outdoor training's not always easy in the UK, but you could maybe look at renting a small unit or a hall for the crap days.

    I'm not sure if you're a freelance trainer - but if you've built up a client base - this could be an option to escape the gym. 

    Cheers,

    Drew 

  • in reply to TheCatWoman

    Oh yes, I've spoken to a couple of autistic people who refuse to exercise in public spaces or just with other people due to trauma experienced in school PE classes. Some PE teachers were awful (and so were the kids) when i was at school in the 80s/90s.Changing minds can be a long slow process and it can be really difficult to help people see the value in any kind of training. Patience and kindness helps a lot though.

  • in reply to Paul

    I'd never heard of that before, I guess it woiuld help some people, especially if they equate exercise with horrible experiences at school, which I think many people do, me included, I suspect I turn back into the stroppy teenager I once was, now I've grown up, I'm just intransigent, lol.

  • in reply to TheCatWoman

    Hiya. As a Mental Health & Exercise Coach (MHEC) I am a personal trainer with emphasis on listening and creating a safe environment for people to talk about their problems while exercising and getting stronger, healthier, fitter etc.

    A lot of people struggle to feel relaxed enough to share thoughts and feelings, but exercise has been proven to help people relax and talk more openly. I've been a trainer for 9 years and even though I've only been MHEC for 2 years I've had experience of this from many clients and have helped a lot of people feel better in that time. It has also helped me to learn how to be an active listener and what to say in certain situations.

    I'm not a counsellor or a psychologist but I do advise people to seek counselling or further help if I feel they would benefit from it. I also see a therapist twice a month.

  • Whats a mental health coach, what sort of things do you do and say? Is it a seperate thing to your gym work?

  • in reply to overwhelmed & underwhelmed

    Thank you for the information. I'll get that changed and look into the link you posted. I hope you're having a good day.

  • Hello Paul

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    The NAS has a directory that collects together Autism Services in one place.  You might have a look to see if there's anything here matching your inquiry.  

    www.autism.org.uk/autism-services-directory