TAKING DISABILITY TRAINING INTO THE FITNESS INDUSTRY
More than 60 fitness professionals attended the opening Disability Awareness seminars at the Matt Hampson Foundation’s Get Busy Living Centre.
The Foundation supports young people following life-changing injury in sport, providing specialist physiotherapy and personal training among its services at the Get Busy Living Centre, located near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire.
For 2025, the Foundation launched an Accessible Gyms programme which aims to improve knowledge, understanding and confidence within the health and fitness industry and increase opportunities for anyone with a disability.
The ultimate aim is to create a world where anyone with a disability can attend any commercial gym and find a space which works for them and professionals who understand how to work with them effectively.
Many gym owners and personal trainers say they do not feel confident to include someone with a disability in an exercise class and the Foundation team has a unique combination of professional knowledge, experience and communication skills to significantly improve this area.
The first Disability Awareness seminars for industry professionals, gym owners, managers and staff featured talks and demonstrations from Foundation team members led by head of operations Sophie Wilson, clinical lead Tilly Cumming and sports therapist George Thompson, providing guidance on working with people with disabilities.
George said: “This was a surface-level introduction to disability and exercise because it is such a wide-ranging subject, and we’ve had very good feedback. The groups were very engaged and enthusiastic, and everyone seemed to leave more confident and comfortable with the subject than when they arrived.
“There is also definitely an appetite for more depth than we could deliver in an introductory session and that is part of the programme going forward.”
If you would like to attend a training and awareness event, email george@hambo.co.uk
“It was inspiring to see and hear from passionate and knowledgeable people who want to help others. Thank you.”
“What a fantastic day. It was great to have a range of speakers and all of them were fantastic and incredibly informative.”
