Machine Design Offers Fitness for All

Sept. 17, 2007 — While watching a wheelchair user in a gym struggling with fitness equipment, industrial design student Ryan Eder thought there must be a better way. There was. Three years later, Eder sketched out the solution as part of his thesis work at the University of Cincinnati.

Called The Access, the universal exercise equipment (still in the conceptual stage) is designed to accommodate both disabled and able-bodied people, and also make it easier for the elderly to work a variety of muscles from the same station.

"People in wheelchairs need more exercise than able-bodied users due to their sedentary lifestyle. There is a trend slowly on the rise with fitness clubs trying to focus more on the elderly because the baby boomer population is entering retirement. This machine addresses those populations," said Eder, who recently won recognition in BusinessWeek's International Design Excellence Awards.

As part of his research, Eder conducted his own informal survey of 45 fitness clubs around the United States. A whopping 94 percent said they did not offer any wheelchair-accessible equipment.

Later, when Eder used a wheelchair himself to test facilities that complied with regulations outlined by the American Disability Association, he discovered they weren't necessarily accommodating.

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"It is an injustice that equipment is not offered for them in public fitness centers," said Eder.

For example, most machines require that the user have a certain amount of dexterity to transition between exercises, weight level, or to grip handles. Paraplegics and quadriplegics are not as nimble.

The Access makes dexterity unnecessary. It has cuffs with Velcro wrist straps that have a metal hook sewn into them. The exerciser can use the hook, instead of the physical strength of his hand, which may be lacking, to grip a handle.

The Access has an electronic system that allows the exerciser to change weight resistance with the push of a button, instead of removing a pin from a weight stack. The electronics also adjust lap, chest and back pads to the appropriate angle to accommodate a variety of users.

Wheelchair stability is a frustrating issue among paraplegics and quadriplegics. Eder designed the equipment to include tethered hooks that stem from the base of the machine that attach to any part of the chair. Once locked by the simple push of a button, the wheelchair will not move during the exercise.

Eder also adapted a locking method found in minivan seats to allow for a removable bench. This allows able-bodied users to roll the bench into position and perform exercises in the seated position. The lock releases with a simple pull on a strap and then the bench can be rolled out of the way.

"This isn't a piece of equipment that's going to sit there all day waiting for someone in wheelchair to use it," said Derrick Thayer, a vocational rehabilitation counselor and a program director at the Cincinnati Recreation Commission.

Thayer, who is 29 years old, was born with spina bifida and has used a sports wheelchair since the fourth grade. He said he has had some experience with local gyms, asking them to buy a piece of exercise equipment suitable for a person in a wheelchair, but has been met with negative attitudes.

In the case of one newly built 53,000-square-foot fitness center, Thayer thought for sure the place would adhere to ADA codes.

"Half of the exercise equipment was on the second floor and it had no elevator," he said. "What an unwelcoming message. It was interesting that they didn't find any value of having people with disabilities there."

Thayer hopes that a machine like the Access, which can be used by all people regardless of their ability, could help change attitudes and make fitness easier for those in a wheelchair.

Eder, who is now employed as an industrial designer at Priority Designs in Columbus, Ohio, is currently looking for funding to develop the concept further. Whether he gets it or not, he is on a mission to affect change.

"If you dive into the world of wheelchair users, those people have suffered traumatic accidents. Now their lives are changed. The courage it takes for them to live a normal life is tremendous. To know that I might have an opportunity to help them is all the motivation I need," said Eder.

Related Links:

American Disability Association

Priority Designs