[SportsandRec] Introduction

Mon Sep 16 03:27:17 UTC 2019

This is really a good suggestion!  Thanks so much and I will check out the site myself.

Sherri

-----Original Message-----
From: SportsandRec [mailto:sportsandrec-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ashley Bramlett via SportsandRec
Sent: Sunday, September 15, 2019 1:48 AM
To: Sports and Recreation for the Blind Discussion List <sportsandrec at nfbnet.org>
Cc: bookwormahb at earthlink.net
Subject: Re: [SportsandRec] Introduction

Caitlin, itlWelcome to the list. I’m a young adult and I try to workout regularly but I do not really have a sport although I do enjoy recreation. I just do not have any people to go out with regularly to engage in activities I want to. Like you, my doctor said to work on diet and exercise to prevent health problems such as high blood sugar and cholesterol. Its sometimes hard though when you are doing it on your own.
I’ve been low vision all my life unlike you. I have some ideas. I think this is a common barrier to find a good exercise or sport activity especially if your vision decreases. You cannot play ball games with everyone else. So it can be a challenge. I assume you like the outdoors and balls with aerobic exercise because the sports you were previously able to play involved that.
Think about your interests and what resources you have. If you have facilities around you with organized programs or outdoor activities, it will be easier to get involved. Knowing where you live may help us suggest resources. You might try contacting the US Association of Blind Athletes to see what information and contacts they have. That site is www.usaba.org. Not all states have chapters but if yours does, you are fortunate because USABA often organizes more local events. So, see what is in your area for gyms, recreational facilities and teams. 
First, some ideas for outside. You mentioned running. This activity is certainly doable. You can begin by using a treadmill or just running in place where you live. You can regularly run outside with a partner and find one by putting an add for that in the local paper or social media. Civic groups such as lions club may have a volunteer who also wants exercise and could be your running guide. I suggest starting slow though and running on flat surfaces; ideally run on a track if available at a school and many high schools have this. The benefit to running on a track is the surface coupled with the markers for laps that your guide can see. Another outdoor activity is tandem cycling. I’d love to do this but the bike trail is not too convenient and I do not know any people to ride with regularly. If you have the space outside to ride and can find a pilot to steer the bike, you can ride. If you are willing to do something indoors, cycling on a stationary bike is doable. You could also join a spin class if you have a gym you join or a public recreational facility.  Another outdoor activity, or one that can be indoors too, is swimming. There are teams for all ages of swimmers in some areas. In my area, there are masters swim teams. If you need to learn more swimming or brush up on it, private swim lessons are often less expensive than personal trainers. 

There are not enough organized sports for blind people or even ongoing recreational events or retreats. I wish every community had an organized team of some sort for blind people.
Have you heard of beep baseball? If your community has a team and this interests you give it a try. Beep baseball is kind of like softball where the ball beeps and you hit the ball as its pitched to you and then run to a base that has a beeping cone so you can hear where to run. So if there is a team, that might be an option.

Second, indoor activities are numerous. Are you interested in dancing at all? Dancing involves the legs a lot and the agility of some sports and you have to stretch to warm up and that you may already know from your sports days. All dancing is good movement but jazz and hip hop involves more exercise. There is even Zumba out there which is aerobic dances based on latin dance moves. Dancing is harder to accommodate, but if you can get a handful of private lessons to get the basics down, then that would work. If you joined a dance class, you would have to have the instructor show you the moves or describe them. No, I have not tried dancing, but that is more so because my mom does not think I can succeed in it. However, I do know some blind girls who did engage in dancing: jazz and tap dancing. 
For aerobic exercise, cardio machines are flat screens usually now a days. This is why I think exercise is quite not accessible. Cardio equipment can be marked though for you to use. In the past, knobs and dials and buttons were very common. I do hope I see the day for more tactile screens or better yet machines with talking output.
Anyways, if your facility accomodates you, you can place tactile markings such as dimo tape or clear bump dots on the machines you want to use. Just label the buttons you need. For instance, you do not need the programming buttons labeled on the treadmill; you just need the start, stop, incline, and speed labeled.
Someone should orient you to the equipment and show you how they work. I have low vision and just see the buttons but still had to memorize what button did what function since I cannot read the labels. Once I was oriented to the equipment, I was fine using them. You probably would find a treadmill and elliptical most helpful. An arc trainer is similar to an elliptical and can simulate more of a running motion. Gyms often have stationery bikes and rowing machines as well. You might just have to go to a gym and see what is there and try each machine to see your preferences assuming you have a facility near you that is transit accessible and affordable. 

As for diet, I have struggled with this as someone who loves sweets. I hope your doctor gave you specific advice on what to eat and modify in your habits. You might benefit from seeing a nutritionist or dietician. Watch portion sizes especially of starches because starches easily make you gain weight. A portion is the size of your hand. Include a variety of fruits and vegetables in your diet. Stay away from sugary cereals and if you eat cereal, just have the serving size; someone will need to read you the nutrition facts label to determine that; but a serving is often one cup. I say this because we often eat too much and do not even realize we are eating too much, more than a serving; I know I had that problem until my doctor said to cut back on portions and to just eat a serving of food particularly cereals.

I hope this helps.

I have a few of my own questions and hopefully we can get this list talking again.

HTH,
Ashley

-----Original Message-----
>From: Caitlin Best via SportsandRec <sportsandrec at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Sep 14, 2019 6:33 PM
>To: sportsandrec at nfbnet.org
>Cc: Caitlin Best <bestca21 at gmail.com>
>Subject: [SportsandRec] Introduction
>
>Hello everyone,
>I am new to the list, but not to the NFB. I hope you all are doing 
>well. I have recently gone to the doctor and was told I need to start 
>dieting and exercising more regularly. When I was younger, I used to 
>play softball and volleyball with partial vision, however now I only 
>have light perception. I'd like to get back into the sports I played 
>when I was younger or perhaps start running or any other type of 
>exercise really. I'm open to any and all ideas.
>Thanks for your help and I look forward to talking to you more.
>Cheers,
>Caitlin
>
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