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When it comes to adaptive fitness, you may have heard of Ben Clark aka The Wheelchair Fitness Guy. He has one of the most active channels on Youtube helping wheelchair-users who want to get fit. But his story isn’t just about fitness. Also a boyfriend, a survivor and living life as a quadriplegic, this man from Poole, England is committed to living his life on his own terms in spite of his injury. Read on to see what we mean.
Why He’s Fearless?
A swimming accident in 2010 changed Ben’s life forever after he dove into a wave, breaking his neck. He is now an incomplete C5-6 quadriplegic with triceps function. What makes Ben impressive is that he didn’t need much downtime after his injury. “I’ve always had a positive outlook on life and don’t let things get the better of me. I just saw my injury as a new experience.”
He has lived true to this belief system in the years since his injury, which you can see on his social media channels. On his Instagram he shares incredible morsels of wisdom. Here is something he posted while traveling to Australia: “Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.” “I choose the hard path and yes it means that life is even harder still but it’s worth it to take me to beautiful places like the one in the photo.” “Adjust your mindset and create the life you want to live.”
One of the biggest influences in Ben’s life is fitness. Before his injury, he was on his way to becoming an Olympic swimmer. After his injury he attempted to be a Paralympic swimmer, but since it wasn’t the same, he decided to move on to something outside of the pool and found a new home – in the gym. It’s been the gym and working out in different ways that has motivated him over the years.
He began his video channel Adapt To Perform in 2019, and the videos he’s made help people of all abilities get in shape. With hundreds of videos on his channel and site, Ben shares every aspect of getting in shape as a wheelchair-user both physically and mentally. One of his most popular videos is his 20 minute HIIT workout showing wheelchair-users how to get a cardio workout while staying in their chair.
Ben has also made videos showing how he uses exercise equipment with Active Hands, which are gloves that help people with hand paralysis hold heavy items. He loves to do CrossFit-style ropes, various weight machines and has made videos on adaptive yoga showing him transferring to a mat.
What’s Next?
Over the years, Ben has crafted adaptive fitness e-books you can find on his IG, as well as online fitness training But Ben’s life isn’t just about working out. An avid traveler, he’s visited Australia and has been all over Europe. He also loves music festivals, does SCI peer support and he loves to make SCI awareness videos.
One of these videos is an interview with an injured friend who’s a physical therapist who was hurt while she was skiing. He shares her story of survival. Ben has also made several videos called “Life with Spinal Cord Injury/Two Quadriplegics Talk” where he and a friend talk candidly about life with paralysis. He shares why his hands are the way they are, as well as helpful information like the benefits of CBD Oil.
Ben is one fierce human being.
— Follow Adapt to Perform on IG
ideas@spinalpedia.com
