Waco Adapt opens to make fitness accessible for people with disabilities

WACO, Texas (KWTX) – A new gym is designed with one goal in mind: making fitness accessible for people with disabilities.

At Waco Adapt, Antonia Silva and Edwin Munoz are creating a space that will answer a question therapists like Silva hear all the time.

“So when I met Edwin and lots of other patients in the therapy clinic, they finished with their therapy and they’re like, where am I supposed to go now? How do I work out now? And there really wasn’t an answer,” Silva said.

Out of that conversation seven years ago, the idea to open the gym was born.

“What we do here is we’re going to be an all-adaptive gym for people with disabilities. Basically, what we hope to offer is community exercise, rehab,” Munoz said.

Munoz said as the word started to spread about Waco Adapt, the need to create an adaptive fitness community became even more clear.

“We didn’t realize there was that many people with need to find a friend to work out with or somebody who still needs rehab that’s in the area. And I think word started spreading pretty quick when they found out that this was coming here. And then out of nowhere, you have a bigger community than we thought,” Munoz said.

Behind every workout session is a larger goal. Munoz said they want to remove cost as a barrier for physical fitness, relying on donors so athletes can focus on their health.

“The goal is to not charge anything to be a member here… we want our athletes to not have to worry about the burden of the pricing… We depend on donor dollars to hopefully keep our doors open,” Munoz said.

For now, it’s just a soft opening, but their vision is big, with aspirations that Waco Adapt grows into a one-stop shop for rehab, recreation and community.

Waco Adapt is located at 2015 Franklin Avenue.