O'Lone No Longer

O'Lone No Longer

By Jennifer H. Mcinerney

Accessible Fitness gives the disabled a place where they belong and get strong

The name, Accessible Fitness, says it all. The club is small and unassuming in a nondescript office park in Santa Clara, California, but it is unique and entertains great dreams, works hard at manufacturing miracles. Accessible Fitness is owned by Paul O'Lone, 36, who has multiple sclerosis [MS). The club is utilized, and appreciated, by 75 men and women, ages 40 to 80, most of whom have MS, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries, or other serious medical conditions.

Despite their limitations, they are able to access exercise via the specialized equipment and trainers at O'Lone's facility, and, as a result, enjoy healthier, richer lives. "We concentrate on a person's ability, rather than their disability, and help them to regain control of their bodies... OπLone explains matter-of-factly, It is not an easy thing-for O'Lone or for his members-but it is a noble and rewarding activity, And it is a service that-given increased longevity, the rising swell of aging baby boomers, and the resulting proliferation of

infirmities-more and more Americans may one day require, There are already 55 million disabled people in the U.S" and that number will, unfortunately, grow The modest niche that O'Lone is successfully mining may, eventually, prove to be a major vein, O'Lone has learned everything he needs to know about his business the hard way: by doing it, going through all of it, himself As a young man, he was a successful competitive bodybuilder, winning the titles, in 1993, of Mr. USA and Mr. North America; he also operated his own entertainment agency, arranging party services in the Philadelphia area, But, in 1997, when he was just 29, O'Lone's entire life changed-suddenly, dramatically, inexplicably, l had finished a set of squats and said, to my friend, 'I don't know what's happening there's something going on with my body, I think I might have MS: My friend laughed and said, 'Paul, you Just squatted 500 pounds-you don't have MS.'" But, six months later, that was the doctor's diagnosis: multiple sclerosis, a debilitating disease of the central nervous system that robs muscles of their strength, and causes numbness, fatigue, and, in some cases, paralysis and blindness. The cause of MS is unknown, and there is no known cure..

"I lost control of my life," recalls O'Lone, who endured not only the disease's physical effects. but also the frustration, anger, and depression that often accompany it. To conserve his energy and reduce the risk of falls and injury, his doctors suggested that O'Lone use a wheelchair. "At one point, I thought, 'I'm going to be stuck in this wheelchair for the rest of my life.' I didn't even want to fight the disease anymore." But giving up went against the grain of O'Lone's character and still-healthy competitive nature. Appreciating how much exercise had done for him in the past, O'Lone, ignoring his physicians' orders, resumed working out. Slowly, some of his strength and sense of balance returned. "I got the strength back in my legs, and began to recover." What O'Lone had discovered was the fact that now facilitates his, and his members', determined progress. "With diseases like MS, the less you do, the less you're able to do, and vice versa," he attests. Eventually, O'Lone was able to put his wheelchair away. Today, O'Lone is employing exercise to do for others what it's done for him-to regain a measure of fitness. Recognizing that his situation, and aspirations, weren't unique, O'Lone and his wife, Judy, spent months researching the Santa Clara club market, networked with organizations that serve disabled populations, and, finally, concluded that there was a real need for a wheelchair-accessible fitness facility. The two studied special-population programming with Dr. Karl Knopf at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, California, earned their adaptive fitness certifications, and, in July 2002, opened the doors of their new club: Accessible Fitness. That first location was just 1,500 square feet in size, equipped with 15 Equalizer 1000 multi-station machines, arid had as many clients. The Equalizer units accommodated wheelchairs and up to eight users each, allowing them to perform the seated military press, lat pull-down, vertical bench press, vertical butterfly, and high/low pulleys. "Having this type of equipment is really important because people with disabilities can get tired just transferring from their chair to a machine," notes O'Lone. Last year, encouraged by its success, Accessible Fitness and its clients moved into a larger 2, 150-square-foot space that boasts 22 strength stations, as well as a cardiovascular area. O'Lone begins each day at 5 a.m. with his own workout. Then, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., six days a week, he, his wife, and/or a third personal trainer certified in adaptive fitness-Angelo Cortopassi, 68, a former high school biology teacher who has had MS for 34 years, works one-on-one with members, focusing on strength, cardiovascular condition, balance, and flexibility. Clients pay $45 for each one-how- session, with a small portion of the bills covered by insurance. "Everyone who has come here has responded well to the exercises," notes O'Lone. "It's a little bit different for everyone, but it's been amazing. Their whole mental outlook changes." Typical of the club's' clients is Marty Corcoran, who had suffered a number of MS-related injuries before joining, but who, after training twice a week for two months, had significantly improved her balance and regained 800;0 of her upper-body strength. Soon, she was able to complete a six-mile MS Walk. OπLoneπs special, valuable, contributions were acknowledged, in 2002, when the Silicon Valley chapter of the National MS Society honored him with its MS Achievement Award; the award was presented by pro football hall-of-famer Joe Montana.

O'Lone's goals, like his physical prowess, continue to grow. He is now near his peak form, and intends to compete in the Mr. Santa Cruz bodybuilding competition in July and Mr. America in the fall. He is also planning to hire a physical therapist, which will increase insurance reimbursements, and, beyond that, to open a second Accessible Fitness facility, in San Francisco, later this year. Press him just a bit, and he begins to indulge, to share, his grand scheme, his ultimate dream-an Accessible Fitness-like center in every major market in the U.S. "I'd like to have an accessible gym in every large city," he says. "In the same way that there's a Gold's or a Bally's wherever you go, there should also be something for the disabled community." It may sound impractical, overly ambitious, but so, too, was O'Lone's plan to discard his wheelchair. "What it all means," O'Lone reflects, "is that no matter how difficult MS may make things, you have to remain positive and never give up. That's what achievement is all about, and that's what exercise does-it gives you control of yow- life again, and gives you a sense of achievement.".

JENNIFER H. McINERNEY is the editor of CBI and can be reached at j. mcinemey@fit-etc.com.