How Accessibility Is Impacting Fitness Trends — Episode 040

We have a lot of celebrations coming up this summer. Family
Health and Fitness Day is this Saturday, June 8, Olympic Day is
June 23, and the entire month of July is Park and Recreation
Month! With all of these celebrations in mind, we wanted to
highlight the ways in which parks and recreation are part of
creating a culture of fitness, as well as making sure that
everyone has access to fitness opportunities, regardless of their
abilities.


Prepare to be inspired by today’s episode. We’re thrilled to be
joined by Jennifer French, who has an amazing story of resilience
after overcoming a snowboarding accident in 1998 in which she
became a quadriplegic, to becoming a silver medalist representing
Team USA at the 2012 Paralympic Games in sailing. We’re also
excited to have Sam Mendelsohn, CEO of Greenfields Outdoor
Fitness, which has been a leader in accessible outdoor fitness
equipment since 2007. Greenfields Outdoor Fitness is also the
sponsor of Family Health & Fitness Day, Park and Recreation
Month and NRPA’s Parks Build Community.


Jennifer shares her story with us and explains the challenges she
faced after her injury, as well as how she had to adapt to
continue living an active lifestyle. She also talks about the
things she does to stay fit now and gives some tips for others
who may be in a similar situation.


Sam and Jennifer also talk about how they connected, and how
Jennifer’s story inspired Sam’s work in creating accessible
outdoor fitness equipment. Sam shares some of the trends he’s
seeing related to accessibility and physical fitness in parks and
recreation. They both agree there’s no one way to ensure that
everyone in a community has the opportunity to get fit,
regardless of physical or cognitive ability, and that getting the
community involved is absolutely critical. No one knows the needs
of a community more than the people living in that community.


Listen to the full episode to learn more about Jennifer and Sam’s
inspiring work — it may even inspire you to go out there and get
fit!


Related Links:


Family Health & Fitness Day


Park and Recreation Month


Parks Build Community


Olympic Day


Greenfields Outdoor Fitness