The SPIRIT Club, located just outside Washington, D.C., aims to make exercise accessible to everyone, regardless of ability.
There are thousands of fitness facilities across the United States, but very few are accessible for people with disabilities.
Jared Ciner, founder of SPIRIT Club, decided to open his own gym to help every person, and body, achieve their fitness goals.
“SPIRIT Club was founded in 2012 to ensure any person of any ability could easily access meaningful exercise opportunities,” said Ciner.
“At the time, I was working as a support counselor for adults with disabilities, as well as a personal trainer at a conventional gym. While many of those I worked with… had health and fitness goals, the standard gym setting did not offer accommodating solutions to support them. Believing that those with disabilities deserve equal access to exercise programming, I founded SPIRIT Club,” Ciner explained.
“At SPIRIT Club, we believe exercise is not only essential to living a happy and healthy life, it is also a human right,” the organization’s website states. “Therefore, fitness should be made accessible to you, regardless of your circumstance.”
“SPIRIT Club’s mission is to create a universal design for fitness so that people of all abilities can enjoy the many benefits of exercise together,” Ciner said. “SPIRIT Club prides itself on making fitness accessible to everyone, whether or not you have a disability.”
“All of SPIRIT Club’s lead trainers are dual-certified, ensuring that they are qualified to work with those with and without disabilities, and about half of SPIRIT Club’s trainers are people with disabilities [themselves],” he added.
All SPIRIT Club fitness programs can be modified to accommodate a person’s specific needs. According to its website, “SPIRIT Club members with different needs and abilities exercise side-by-side with one another, with modifiable exercises and personalized programs.”
Currently, the SPIRIT Club serves over 4,000 people with various disabilities including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injuries, mental health and substance abuse disorders, traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and intellectual disabilities.
The SPIRIT Club welcomes everyone to its facility, disability or not. “Through welcoming community members with and without disabilities, we have created a culture that welcomes everyone and celebrates diversity,” Ciner said.
In late 2020, the SPIRIT Club began welcoming members back for outdoor sessions and classes after being forced to temporarily close due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The club now offers virtual training sessions for those who cannot physically attend in-person. The SPIRIT Club meets members anytime, anywhere, and as vaccine rates increase, it looks forward to doing business as it was pre-pandemic.
“SPIRIT Club plans to continue teaching classes on its new virtual platform, while also expanding its in-person services by hiring trainers and opening gyms in locations where our virtual following is thriving,” Ciner said.
“The network that SPIRIT Club has developed has generated the company great contacts and advocates. We’ve provided virtual services to organizations across 33 states since the start of the pandemic. SPIRIT Club intends to leverage those relationships to create new in-person service hubs across the country… [where we] can offer in-person group classes and personal training sessions.”
