9.1.1 Enhancing well-being.
In chapter two, I discussed the various ways a disabled individual’s health and well- being is supported through exercise. In this thesis, I add to the literature by providing
evidence regarding what aspects of well-being participants experienced in the gym and, more importantly, why. Literature has discussed how the gym marginalizes people whose bodies are deemed unfit in comparison to the valued norm (muscular and aesthetic) (e.g. Crossley, 2004). Thus, to conclude that disabled individuals benefited from exercise in the gym provides important insights into how exercise can support this populations’ health and well-
175 being - even in a space perceived to be unwelcoming. Participants discussed how their
physical, social and psychological well-being was improved through exercising in the gym. For example, Julie, Tara and Carl gave examples of how exercising in this space enhanced their independence and quality of life as physical strength and function improved, was their main source of socializing with others and gave them psychological respite from the various difficulties and stresses associated with impairment and disability. Thus, exercising in the gym can improve SWB through feeling more satisfied with life and enhanced quality of life (Keyes et al., 2002); PWB through positive relationships with others, living with more autonomy, managing their environment and progressing to their potential (Ryff & Keyes, 1995). Moreover, Andrews et al., (2014) feelings conception of well-being is also actualized as through gym work participants discussed how they felt happier and perceived their
everyday lives were improved. Consequently, an important empirical contribution of this finding is that even in a space perceived to ostracize disabled people, there are still
opportunities for these individuals to enhance their health and well-being through exercise.
9.1.2 Meanings of gym barriers.
This thesis also provides important empirical insights about meanings of gym barriers. Literature in disability and exercise highlight various personal and social barriers disabled individuals encounter when trying to exercise (see chapter two for review). Problematically, few of these studies explored subjective experiences of barriers and, consequently, what being subject to these barriers meant to disabled individuals. Also, most of these studies used multiple exercise settings (e.g. gyms and leisure centres and sports). This broad approach does not allow for a comprehensive investigation of how the culture of an exercise space may influence understandings and experiences of exercise. Accordingly, I adopted an interpretivist research design focusing on participants’ experiences in the gym to address these issues and highlight a new perspective in understanding barriers to exercise. From this research, I
176 concluded that all participants had experienced various barriers when exercising in the gym. A novel contribution from this finding is an in-depth understanding of what these barriers
meant to participants and how they made them feel. Though current research concludes
barriers are detrimental to exercise adherence in disabled individuals (e.g. Dickson et al., 2011; Kehn & Kroll, 2009; Rimmer & Marques, 2012), they do not give due attention to the psycho-emotional impact being subject to such barriers can have on a disabled person’s self- worth. For example, Kathleen and Terry discussed how the indirect and direct disablism they experienced made them feel angry, hurt, unwanted, isolated, and that they did not belong in the gym. In other words, for them the inaccessible environment and negative interactions they encountered were more than a mere inability to enter an establishment or feel accepted; these barriers were messengers of oppression which told individuals that they did not belong and were not welcome or wanted in this space. Psychologically, this can be detrimental to a person’s self-worth and self-esteem as the meanings of these barriers cement the perception that disabled individuals are other (Reeve, 2012; Thomas, 2007) and, as such, may deter individuals from undertaking health enhancing behaviours.
9.1.3 Tempering otherness.
Although participants did experience various forms of oppression in the gym, there were two ways participants felt they gym was made more inclusive of them; supportive gym
instructors and the presence of other disabled clients. First, though some participants
perceived instructors were the cause of the direct disablism they experienced, others stated a supportive gym instructor was a key reason why they continued to exercise. Supportive instructors created a more inclusive environment to exercise – even when the physical space was not fully accessible. As gym instructors are representative of the gym and its values (Sassatelli, 2006), they are an integral part of an individual’s gym experiences. Thus, they have the power to either exclude or include disabled people from the gym. For example, if
177 gym instructors treat disabled individuals in a way that marginalizes or oppresses them, this communicates to clients that the gym as an institution does not consider them valid members. Alternatively, if gym instructors are able to support disabled individuals in their exercise endeavours and craft an exercise environment where clients feel comfortable and included, this communicates that disabled people are welcome and valued members of the gym.
A second way which tempered the perceived otherness of participants in the gym was seeing another disabled individual exercising in this space. Seeing another disabled individual challenged perceptions that the gym was only for a particular kind of person who fit the cultural values portrayed in the gym. The presence of a disabled individual can act as an aspirational figure or role model who people can relate to and see as a future self. Thus, having an aspirational figure present in the gym may direct disabled individuals to adopt health enhancing behaviours and perceive the gym as a space where this is possible. This finding can be further supported by social cognitive theory (SCT). This theory specifies that individuals learn behaviours by imitating others in a process referred to as modelling
(Bandura, 1986). How much a model (in this case the disabled gym client) can influence the behaviour of the observer (in this case another disabled person in the gym) is determined by the perceived similarity of the model and the observer (Bandura, 1997). In other words, if an observer can see themselves and relate to the model, they are more likely to pay attention to their actions, retain what they are doing and be motivated to copy this action (Martin Ginis, Nigg & Smith, 2013). Moreover, as SCT stipulates, vicarious experiences (e.g. observing others coping with disablism in the gym and still exercising in spite of these barriers), feedback and reinforcement are primary sources of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997). Thus, seeing another disabled individual in the gym may have increased the self-efficacy of
178 Findings from this research have contributed numerous empirical implications to current knowledge, specifically how gym work enhances well-being, what barriers mean to these individuals, and how the gym can be more inclusive of disability. This particular research also resulted in numerous practical implications and recommendations which I will discuss later in the chapter.