In this episode, I interviewed fitness trainer Gary Martinez Jr who specializes in working with autistic individuals, inspired by his experiences with his autistic daughter. Gary shares insights into how specific activities can help organize and enhance the daily lives of autistic people. He delves into methods of modifying exercises to meet unique needs, utilizing equipment like sponge balls for low muscle tone, and the significance of patience and understanding. Listeners will also hear Gary’s touching stories and practical advice on creating positive moments and coping mechanisms for autistic children. Additionally, special announcements about the podcast’s new Premium supporters program and merchandise are shared.
What You’ll Learn:
- Adapting Exercise for Autism: Simple ways to make workouts fun and comfortable for kids with sensory needs
- Low Muscle Tone Explained: Why it matters for movement and how tools like sponge balls can help
- Building Hand Strength: Easy activities to improve grip, finger use, and daily skills
- Play & Imagination: How favorite themes and stories (like Disney) can keep children motivated to stay active
- Patience & Positivity: How a supportive, step-by-step approach can boost confidence and progress for children with autism
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Be sure to check the webpage of Gary Martinez Jr at the Active Action Podcast Website to learn more about Clifton’s work, his foundation, and ways to connect with him.
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- [00:00:00] - Episode Highlights
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My daughter is autistic and just seeing how specific activities help her body and
00:00:06
brain organize on a daily basis, how helpful that is, it just more or less
00:00:10
inspired me based on learning from a therapy that we had to go to get help in
00:00:15
that department and how to make it.
00:00:18
So from there, I wanted to continue to work with other autistic people who
00:00:24
had, who needed some support needs with activities, and then it just taught
00:00:28
me a whole different world of how you can make exercise for everyone included
00:00:34
by just modifying, by using different equipments.
00:00:38
And it just makes it to me more fun because you're doing something
00:00:42
totally different out of your box.
00:00:44
And just the results that the clients that I see from them, just to see that
00:00:50
now she can walk on water, she can walk in the water, I want to say she can step
00:00:55
on those rocks and be okay with that because of the work that she put in
00:01:02
with all the activities that now she's confident and she wants to walk in that
00:01:06
water because the sisters are in the waters with us.
00:01:10
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00:01:13
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00:01:17
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00:01:21
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00:01:25
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00:01:27
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00:01:31
Hello, welcome everyone to another episode of the active action podcast.
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It's me with your host, Dr.
00:01:40
Nazif back again with another episode where today we will discuss on
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the topic of autism and fitness.
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I just wanted to acknowledge all the support and dedication
00:01:52
that you fans are providing to us.
00:01:55
And also we have a couple of exciting news.
00:01:58
We just recently launched our premium supporters program, just starting
00:02:03
from $1 a month or $10 a year, you'll get access to premium and exclusive
00:02:08
contents and parts like premium articles, blogs about professional
00:02:13
and professional development, lifestyle building, business, financial growth,
00:02:19
entrepreneurship, and that kind of stuff.
00:02:21
We will be adding new premium contents every week.
00:02:25
Our fans and lovers and also the other premium supporters will get exclusive
00:02:29
features and parks, which will give you a more personalized feel and enhance
00:02:35
your podcast listening experience.
00:02:38
Apart from that, we have also launched our own merchandise.
00:02:42
Consists of our clothing brands and some other exciting goodies.
00:02:47
So do check those out at www.activeaction.shop.
00:02:53
But I really appreciate all your support and all your dedication
00:02:57
towards this podcast and keep listening to it.
00:02:59
So our motivation is to make you motivated to stay active and take action.
00:03:05
We try to do that with each of our episodes.
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So without further ado, I want to introduce our guest, Dr.
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Martin Ness.
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So good morning, Gary.
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How are you doing?
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Hey there.
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Oh, I'm doing pretty good.
00:03:17
How about yourself?
00:03:18
Yeah, I'm doing well as well.
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Thank you so much for asking.
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Gary is actually a fitness trainer and he works with individuals with autism
00:03:28
and has a depth of experience and knowledge in this area.
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Gary, can you tell a bit about your background to our audience?
00:03:37
Sure. So I became a fitness trainer back in 2012 and I started working at a gym.
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And then two years after that, I chose to go independent as a fitness trainer.
00:03:50
And I wanted to work with autistic people.
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My daughter is autistic and just seeing how specific activities help her body
00:03:59
and brain organize on a daily basis.
00:04:02
How helpful that is.
00:04:03
It just more or less inspired me based on learning from a therapy that we had to go
00:04:08
to get help in that department and how to make it more fun, customized for my daughter
00:04:14
where she really enjoys Disney movies.
00:04:18
So I figured, you know what, let's do something that she likes, which is being a part
00:04:23
of Disney and making a place scenario out of that and adding a little bit of a
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Disney and making a place scenario out of that and adding so many activities from our
00:04:34
therapy that were sensory related, which goes to occupational therapy.
00:04:39
And then I added some fitness into it and of course added that fun Disney
00:04:45
character piece to it.
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So for her, it was fun to watch my daughter progress by reenacting a movie scene and did
00:04:55
know, but in a fun way was getting exercise as I was having us do certain things.
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And by the time that was done, we'll say about 15 minutes, she went from not
00:05:08
completely there in a moment to engage to happy to having good energy.
00:05:15
And it was just inspiring to see that progress she made by doing activities
00:05:21
and exercises together that, that really helped her out.
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So from there, I wanted to continue to work with other autistic people who had, who
00:05:31
needed some support needs with activities.
00:05:35
And then it just taught me a whole different world of how you can make exercise for
00:05:40
everyone included by just modifying, by using different equipments.
00:05:46
And it just makes it to me more fun because you're doing something totally
00:05:49
different out of your box and just the results that the clients that I see from
00:05:55
them, their progressions is why I continue to do that.
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Wonderful, Gary.
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Thank you so much for telling that.
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And I just wanted to ask you from your own experience, you, I know you're an
00:06:07
awesome dad to an autistic child.
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How was that experience for you?
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I have been a physician for several years and I used to work with autistic
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children.
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To me, autistic children's were like a gift because they have all this
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special visions and this special strength.
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What was your experience like going through the process and helping your
00:06:32
daughter and everything that you're doing right now?
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It's very special, like you said, in the sense that each person is different.
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So you get to learn, you get to learn what is their favorite thing that they like.
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And for one client, it's talking about that subject for a little bit, giving
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them the stage and I'm learning from them what their interests are on a daily
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basis, things that they like to do in their life.
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And basically like our warmup, a traditional warmup for exercise is
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basically, okay, we got to do these stretches for X amount of times, and
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then we proceed to the workout.
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But in this case with our community, it's different where we may just walk around
00:07:10
the gym two or three times and we're just talking about life and what we're
00:07:14
talking about life, what is important to them, what they are so passionate about.
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And to see how happy they are talking about that makes for a nice smooth
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transition into the workout where we'll continue the conversation and we'll
00:07:28
also get the exercise at the same time.
00:07:30
So it's a lot of components.
00:07:32
It's a lot of things happening at the same time.
00:07:34
Another one of my clients with the low muscle tone, it was difficult to do a
00:07:40
pushup, so we had to modify how to do a pushup a different way.
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And instead of being on the ground doing a pushup, we use the staircase and we
00:07:50
counted one, two, three, four steps.
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And that made it easier to work on doing a pushup.
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So that client went from just bending their, just able to maybe barely bend
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their elbow to over time do a complete pushup.
00:08:07
So everyone has a different journey and just watching that is amazing.
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And of course, with my daughter, we forced a little more experience right
00:08:14
there is watching her go from at one point scared to walk on the earth
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because of the uneven surfaces, having sensory difficulties to a little hard
00:08:26
to walk where our balance wasn't all there.
00:08:31
And our hand straight, our just use hand straight.
00:08:33
That's one of the other things was not all there with the low muscle tone.
00:08:36
As far as being able to hold a utensil or just being able to brush your teeth.
00:08:41
And we're just doing all these doing activities that were at her level.
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That was doable progression to now she can, she can do all of that.
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She can open the door, she can open the jar, she can cut her own food.
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She can use her hands are stronger and her legs are stronger by doing certain
00:09:01
exercises, whether it's like at a playground for fun or doing some in the
00:09:06
gym or at home where it's modifying them.
00:09:09
And just amazing to see all of these people put in the work, happily putting
00:09:16
in the work and getting good results that gives them confidence in their day.
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It gives them more energy in their day.
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And the list goes on.
00:09:23
So just seeing them happy like that is a good, it's a good thing to see.
00:09:27
For sure, Gary, thank you for sharing that wonderful experience and story as well.
00:09:32
And I think the way you have been doing all this work that definitely requires
00:09:38
a lot of calmness and patience.
00:09:40
And I want to provide an advice to all our listeners who have autistic kids.
00:09:47
The key is to just being patient with your children and every children is special.
00:09:54
Every children is different from one another.
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They have special needs or their need is like different.
00:10:00
We cannot compare that with any other children to have that patience and to
00:10:05
cater those needs is very important.
00:10:08
And that is like what also is expected from parents, even of all kinds of kids.
00:10:14
And I really commend you, Gary, how you helped your daughter to move through
00:10:19
this rose realms for the walking and the, during the daily activities, teaching
00:10:25
how to do that, that's a wonderful thing that you did.
00:10:28
I know you have went through an adventure because the autism people don't go
00:10:35
through it until they have that experience by themselves.
00:10:39
I know it's a unique thing to do, but can you speak a bit about your autism adventures?
00:10:45
Anything you want to say about that?
00:10:46
Oh man, there's so many adventures, but there's one that comes to my mind.
00:10:52
So with my daughter, like I did spoken a moment ago, walking on the
00:10:56
surfaces of earth was a scary thing.
00:10:58
So we were for a short period of time, we were a toe walker.
00:11:03
So walking on our toes would, would give her more input received into the feet
00:11:09
and then go through it throughout the body to know that my feet are there.
00:11:13
Because like when you have low muscle tone, like your hands and your feet
00:11:17
are the furthest away from your upper body and your lower body and their respective
00:11:21
places, so when you can't feel that input, it gets a little scary.
00:11:25
So over time doing the activities, for example, walking on pillows, just
00:11:31
things like that, as we were progressing it, it made her more confident.
00:11:35
So on our adventures throughout time, just getting, getting that information
00:11:41
we needed for our body parts, it transitioned to one day we again, going
00:11:47
to the Disney movies, we like frozen too, with the sisters, Anna and Elsa.
00:11:51
And we re-react to the scene where there's a part in the movie where
00:11:56
they're in the water or talking about the water where their parents were.
00:12:00
So here in our town, there is a creek that runs through the water.
00:12:05
And it was one reason why we moved to this town, because we were
00:12:09
in the water, it reminds her of the movie.
00:12:11
So we went from those difficult moments early on in the years with the
00:12:16
walking and all that to now we are walking in that water that is, I
00:12:22
believe a couple of feet high and there's sand and sand moves and there's
00:12:28
different rocks in that creek that are different sizes, so you have to step on
00:12:32
different rocks, some of them are solid and in the water, they're solid and
00:12:37
they don't move, some of them are going to move and then you have the resistance
00:12:41
of the creek water running towards you because it's coming from the mountain
00:12:45
and it's coming to us as we're basically going the direction that we're going.
00:12:51
And just to see that now she can walk on water, she can walk in the water.
00:12:56
I want to say she can step on those rocks and be okay with that because of
00:13:02
the work that she put in with all the activities that now she's confident.
00:13:08
And she wants to walk in that water because the sisters are in the
00:13:11
waters with us in the movie.
00:13:14
So we're on a little mission there and there's a little distraction there.
00:13:18
And to see her smile and laugh because we're in the water, she's doing something
00:13:23
that at one time wasn't something we were able to do.
00:13:27
And now the fact that she can even run in the water, she can run in the water
00:13:32
is another, was another big step because now running is something a little
00:13:37
more advanced than walking.
00:13:40
And so it's just that adventure right there, the first time we went in that
00:13:43
water and reenacted that movie scene was it was a really special moment because
00:13:49
we were walking in the water and then as we were going, we were, she was
00:13:54
describing other scenes in the movie.
00:13:57
So that day was pretty fun and unpredictability can sometimes be
00:14:02
frightening for us.
00:14:04
And what happened at the end, we walked so far.
00:14:07
So it was a good workout.
00:14:08
And then when I always tell my daughter, whenever you want to stop, you tell
00:14:13
so we stopped and we had to get out of the water onto the, onto the trail.
00:14:19
And when we got out of the water, I didn't know it was a little slippery.
00:14:23
I slipped and I fell on my back in the mud and I made my daughter laugh.
00:14:29
And then she slipped a little bit and she started laughing.
00:14:33
Normally that would be a scary thing, but since she's made a star dress and she's
00:14:37
in the moment and she's happy with what we're doing in the moment.
00:14:42
She started laughing too.
00:14:43
And so when we got out of that creek onto the trail, oh my God, we're wet.
00:14:48
Oh, you got dirt all over you.
00:14:50
It was a fun thing because getting wet and getting some of that, that wet type
00:14:55
of information or touch is also a good thing if that's something that we like.
00:15:01
And on that day, she really liked that.
00:15:04
So it was a workout, a movie and then laughter.
00:15:07
There was a lot of things into one.
00:15:09
So that was a good, that was a good adventure that day.
00:15:13
Yes, indeed, K.
00:15:14
And of a pretty wonderful adventure and how you recreate cinematic moments into
00:15:20
real life and transform them into something really wonderful.
00:15:24
And even the dedication that you're showing for your daughter, loving the
00:15:28
water, the creek and moving to that place so that your daughter can have that
00:15:33
moments of enjoyment and then the journey and adventure in itself.
00:15:37
Thank you so much for sharing.
00:15:39
You're welcome.
00:15:41
Can I add one quick, one quick piece of information to that?
00:15:44
Yes, for sure.
00:15:45
What that does right there, when you have a good moment like that in our lives, that
00:15:51
can carry over to perhaps the rest of the day, because we had a good moment.
00:15:55
It can stay in her head space and throughout the day, make the rest of the
00:16:01
day, all the transitions that you do, a positive experience.
00:16:05
And because you have a special moment like that, a lot of times my daughter
00:16:08
will remember things like that and recite it at any moment, any day.
00:16:13
And it can go on for weeks or months.
00:16:15
So it's something that can help them in all areas of their life.
00:16:19
When you have a good moment like that.
00:16:21
So it's important to, for myself as a parent, to, to engage, to do things together.
00:16:26
Cause it shows that, that trust, that commitment and that they know that
00:16:31
you're there for them.
00:16:32
So as a result, it can be a story that comes up at any time of any day.
00:16:38
And it could be a helpful tool.
00:16:39
So it's good to have those moments because there, it's a good moment at that time,
00:16:45
but it's also bigger than that, where it can be like a coping tool that you can
00:16:51
carry on other days of life.
00:16:54
So it's, it's pretty unique and special.
00:16:57
For sure.
00:16:57
And request my audience is to take some very important valuable lessons from
00:17:02
Gary's words of wisdom that creating happy, healthy moments for your children
00:17:07
would actually go a long way.
00:17:09
And those moments would have been recreating moments in their mind, which
00:17:14
actually helped them with a lot of coping mechanisms and others.
00:17:17
So a very important and valuable tip.
00:17:20
I wanted to focus a bit at this moment on your fitness training and the fitness
00:17:25
journey with autistic children or the autistic clientele.
00:17:29
So how would you describe that journey has been going and what actually led
00:17:34
you to begin that journey?
00:17:36
Ooh, good questions.
00:17:37
When I was finishing up my school as a fitness trainer, towards the end of that,
00:17:42
you have to do, I want to say externship where you have to go out somewhere to a
00:17:47
gym, a place that you could be working at and to get your hours in as part of your
00:17:52
schooling, I went to the YMCA, a gym I grew up at to do my hours.
00:17:57
And it basically said, okay, here's our schedule of all the classes.
00:18:00
So you can get your hours very fast and be done.
00:18:03
So I looked at the classes and at that time I was like,
00:18:05
what are the classes and at that time I was into athletes and that kind of.
00:18:10
Workouts like that sport type related, but I took other classes.
00:18:15
And what happened was by surprise, I took a class called silver sneakers.
00:18:20
And silver sneakers is a class that it, that tailors more towards older people
00:18:25
and that perhaps cannot do exercises on the gym floor with machines or heavy weights.
00:18:32
And so what happened was I went into this class, never did it before.
00:18:37
And I saw all these people gathering and we sit in chairs in the beginning.
00:18:43
And I was, I was inspired at the moment because these people came in happy.
00:18:48
They were ready to do their exercise.
00:18:50
Cause it really helps them out in their daily routine of life.
00:18:55
And they just came in happy.
00:18:57
People were coming in with oxygen, hey, people were coming in with things to
00:19:02
help them walk or a wheelchair, but that didn't stop them because.
00:19:06
This class has exercises that they can all do.
00:19:11
And the instructor that would teach the class was just, her spirit was so
00:19:15
positive and high that it trickled down to how everyone else felt.
00:19:19
So I already felt, I was already happy in the class, hasn't even started.
00:19:22
So then I started to learn that we would use things like a sponge ball, like this
00:19:27
easy, soft equipment and other things that were lightweight and that we
00:19:32
could do everything we could work out the entire body, like sitting down in a chair.
00:19:37
And then she would make us stand up and use the chair as balance.
00:19:40
So we went through different routines and everybody was just together on that, on
00:19:46
that class together, supporting each other.
00:19:49
So what happened was I started to work with adults that were older and
00:19:53
needed support like that.
00:19:56
And then I jumped into the autism community and I just learned from the
00:20:00
silver sneakers that if you know how to do workouts with people, no matter
00:20:06
their condition, their level, they can use lighter equipment than anything
00:20:11
that's possible for someone to get what they need for exercise.
00:20:16
So that kind of spark put through a little spark in me until, Hey, I think
00:20:19
I'm having a good time with these people.
00:20:21
And I think now I want to go where my heart is and my passion and, and
00:20:24
help our community too.
00:20:25
Cause I saw that a lot of our kids in our families, like on social media,
00:20:29
they needed help, but they didn't know where to go.
00:20:31
Some places not to their fault.
00:20:33
They just didn't particularly know how to help our community get consistent
00:20:38
exercise and activities.
00:20:40
So I was like, I'm going to do that.
00:20:41
I'm going to do that.
00:20:42
So then I would jump in social media where families needed help.
00:20:47
And I just said that I can help your child out.
00:20:51
I took her from there and then it just made my mind really creative.
00:20:54
Hey, I'm a creative person anyway, thanks to my daughter learning how to
00:20:57
improvise and adapt at the moment.
00:20:59
And like you said earlier, patience and understanding to big things.
00:21:05
I have that cause that's our game of life and to observe and to accept the person
00:21:10
to learn from them.
00:21:11
Therefore I am the students, they are the teacher and then I have to become
00:21:15
the practitioner, so I have to know what to do.
00:21:17
I have to do my homework.
00:21:18
And then that's how I was able to know that I have the confidence and the
00:21:22
tools to help our community out.
00:21:24
And then I just did it from there and now I do it part time and not to overload
00:21:29
myself and, but I am more than willing to help anyone who needs it to have no
00:21:36
problem adding one, two or three more clients to help our community, community
00:21:41
out, kids, young adults, so they can get what they need and hopefully that,
00:21:47
that makes their day better.
00:21:49
Thank you for sharing that very wonderful story of yours on how you got
00:21:53
into the fitness area for the Autistic Lantel.
00:21:57
I just want to quickly follow up, Gary.
00:21:59
Can you let me know where are you located in which area and people reach
00:22:04
out to you for help?
00:22:06
Yes.
00:22:07
So I'm in Manitou Springs, Colorado and some of my clients that I have, we do go
00:22:14
to a gym.
00:22:15
So with one client, we do go to a gym.
00:22:18
That's what they like to do.
00:22:19
So that's what I do.
00:22:21
And another client likes to do it virtually.
00:22:24
So, see, you gotta, you just gotta know how to adapt and having all that
00:22:29
experience.
00:22:29
So we do it virtually too.
00:22:31
And it just goes hand in hand so I can help somebody on a video call like this
00:22:36
or disagreeing a gym if people are local.
00:22:39
Basically doesn't matter where you are.
00:22:42
If someone needs that help, I'm available.
00:22:45
That is wonderful to have that online access so that people from anywhere in
00:22:50
the world can reach out to you as we do have a very diverse base of audience.
00:22:56
I wanted to talk to you a bit about, and you mentioned that before, low muscle
00:23:01
tone.
00:23:02
So I wanted to ask you, what is actually low muscle tone?
00:23:07
Okay.
00:23:07
For me, what I've learned from you is that you can do it virtually.
00:23:11
What I've learned from us having low muscle tone is it's like a decreased
00:23:15
muscle and our muscles are perhaps not as strong.
00:23:21
And so therefore it can interfere in your life with doing things.
00:23:26
Like I said earlier, as far as like holding something that's, you know, light
00:23:30
for me, like a pencil, that can be very hard for someone with low muscle tone.
00:23:35
And it can also, what I've seen is cause like fatigue.
00:23:39
People can get tired trying to work with their hands or things like that.
00:23:45
So low muscle tone for me, for what I've seen, we're perhaps not as strong.
00:23:50
So we need support getting stronger, getting some strength in those areas of the body.
00:23:56
It could be like our fine motor skills.
00:23:58
Like it's hard to perhaps tie our shoe because there's more other steps involved
00:24:04
to do that.
00:24:05
And perhaps we get tired easy because our muscles are not as strong in the moment.
00:24:11
So that can cause fatigue and make a person tired a little quicker than normal.
00:24:17
So I think those are some common things, not just with us, but what I've also seen
00:24:23
in some other people.
00:24:24
And then of course the list goes on a little bit more, but those are three
00:24:28
good areas to point out and touch.
00:24:30
I guess our audience got to learn a bit about what is low muscle tone and what
00:24:36
actually happens when someone has that.
00:24:38
You did show us a punch, SpongeBob as well, Gary, which I see right beside you.
00:24:45
So can you explain to my clients, how can a SpongeBob exercise can help
00:24:51
with low muscle tone?
00:24:53
Sure.
00:24:53
So if this is going to be on video, if not, I'm going to talk to you.
00:24:57
I'm going to talk through it anyway.
00:24:58
It's so easy.
00:24:59
Either way you can understand the viewer.
00:25:01
So like I had a SpongeBob on my hands right now.
00:25:03
And this is of course, it's a lightweight soft ball and it bends when you
00:25:09
grab it and do exercises.
00:25:11
So let's say I got into my hands right now, like I do my hand throw on the
00:25:16
side of the ball and I want to work on getting my fingers and my hand
00:25:19
strength a little stronger.
00:25:22
Not only will it get stronger, but if you continue to do it, you'll be able
00:25:27
to continue to do it when the person wants to do it, that's key.
00:25:31
So it's fun for them.
00:25:33
Also, you will condition your fingers and hands to have more energy.
00:25:38
So in time, they'll be stronger, have more energy and may not get as tired as easy.
00:25:45
So the demonstration is, so I got into my hands right here, my hands are on the
00:25:48
side of the ball and all I want to do is just press my fingers like this into the ball.
00:25:54
So all I'm doing is squeezing the ball, basically.
00:25:56
Squeezing it with my fingers.
00:25:58
And what's going on is not only what you see, your fingers squeezing the ball, you
00:26:02
can see the outside of your fingers in hand, perhaps the veins or whatever you
00:26:07
can see, get any action.
00:26:09
But when you have a tool like a ball that moves when you touch it, squeeze it, hold
00:26:14
it, whatever, with your hands or legs, there is deeper muscles in the body that
00:26:18
we cannot see that's like inside the hands.
00:26:20
So basically smaller muscles are also becoming involved in that one simple
00:26:26
exercise of squeezing the ball.
00:26:29
So basically the more, the merrier, more action is happening when you're squeezing
00:26:35
that object that moves.
00:26:37
And not only when I'm squeezing it is the hands and fingers itself and some of
00:26:42
the rest of the arm getting that action so you can feel what parts of the body
00:26:47
are engaged, but also your brain.
00:26:51
You can feel in the moment, like you're getting, you're also getting some oxygen
00:26:54
and some blood flow to your brain when you're squeezing an object like that.
00:26:59
Not just the area that's doing it, but other parts of the body too are connecting.
00:27:04
So you got muscles right there and you got the brain right there working together.
00:27:09
And anytime the brain and the body work together, that's a good thing when they
00:27:13
can team up and be best friends also like that.
00:27:16
So a lot of things are going on with just a little ball squeeze.
00:27:21
Thank you so much, Gary, for explaining that and even why people should use a
00:27:27
sponge ball and how it can help with low muscle tone, the exercise that
00:27:32
went into it and the venous and other circulation of blood and activity, not
00:27:38
even in the fingers itself, but also in the hand and how that is connected to
00:27:42
the brain.
00:27:43
I hope our audience got to learn something new that they can apply in
00:27:48
their daily life or routine.
00:27:52
Okay.
00:27:52
I feel like sometimes our kids will do what's called stimming for people who
00:27:56
don't know what that is.
00:27:57
And stimming is a way to by themselves, the person help calm them down in a
00:28:03
situation where they could be overwhelmed, overstimulated in the environment.
00:28:08
So let's just say, for example, someone is flapping their hands a lot,
00:28:11
and they're trying to calm down.
00:28:13
They're asking whoever's around them for the next step.
00:28:16
So they need like an activity that's a little more heavier than hand flapping.
00:28:21
So this can come in, this ball squeeze could be the next step for someone who's
00:28:25
stimming and maybe you need a ball in their hands and perhaps they need help,
00:28:30
but they may not know to ask for help in the moment.
00:28:34
So if I see that and I know that we need to calm down and need the next step,
00:28:39
perhaps for us, maybe we need a hand exercise.
00:28:43
We can squeeze the ball and not only is that an exercise like we said a minute ago,
00:28:48
but it's also, it can also be a calm down tool.
00:28:50
It just depends on the person and it needs.
00:28:54
Oh, okay.
00:28:55
Very valuable suggestion.
00:28:57
Thank you, Gary, for that.
00:28:58
So I wanted to ask you one of the questions that I feel like when you
00:29:03
discuss about fingers and hands and the use of the sponge ball, can I ask you
00:29:09
like, how do you make hands stronger?
00:29:14
Okay.
00:29:14
Yes.
00:29:15
So the sponge ball squeeze could be the first step like we just showed to work
00:29:20
on getting the hands stronger like that.
00:29:24
And, and then after time, the person is, I want to do something else.
00:29:27
I'm strong.
00:29:28
What's something else I can do for my hands?
00:29:31
Then perhaps let's say we can get some other than call.
00:29:36
And I want to say they're the Chinese, like Chinese balls that fit in your hand.
00:29:41
And they're just, they're a little heavier than the sponge ball.
00:29:45
So now you have a little deeper pressure, which can give a person even more
00:29:50
information to their brain and body, which can be a little more helpful.
00:29:53
So perhaps the next step could be those balls you put in your hand and you
00:29:57
start to get a little more confident.
00:29:59
And you start rubbing them to get the sensation, but since they have, since
00:30:04
they're a little heavier, then it's going to test your conditioning where now you
00:30:10
can get even stronger with your hand strength, but also work on that energy
00:30:16
part by conditioning them from doing the activity.
00:30:20
So it just depends on the person.
00:30:22
Like I may ask and we'll give them a few options.
00:30:25
Would you like to use this?
00:30:26
A, B or C to do something in a new hand exercise that will make you even more
00:30:31
stronger in our B, like in a playful tone and other things like that, where it's
00:30:37
a very helpful for the person.
00:30:41
And then we'll make the selection and then we'll start doing that next activity.
00:30:47
Thank you so much, Gary, for explaining that.
00:30:49
And you have this wealth of knowledge and wisdom, how to train and how to
00:30:55
work with autistic land also.
00:30:57
I would really encourage my audience.
00:30:58
If you are looking to that kind of support, please reach out to Gary.
00:31:03
So on Instagram and TikTok and also Facebook and YouTube, so four right there.
00:31:14
That's why I said it's slow.
00:31:15
So everyone can, they need to write it down.
00:31:17
They can write it down.
00:31:18
The name I have for those platforms is simple fitness autism.
00:31:25
So simple fitness, autism and all four of those platforms.
00:31:30
And it's me right now, what I just did.
00:31:33
It's just me doing some simple Dean's second.
00:31:36
I want to say videos of exercises or activities or the community out there
00:31:43
to immediately start practicing and doing and seeing if it's helpful or not.
00:31:49
Or, okay, this one, not this one, maybe they got to find another video.
00:31:52
So I make sure I stay consistent at least once a month to put a video
00:31:57
out there for our community.
00:31:59
And sometimes it is exercises with a piece of equipment or sometimes I'm
00:32:04
thinking out of the box, like maybe I need to do one for someone to soothe.
00:32:08
So I might do one where it's like a massage and I'm dragging my fingers
00:32:12
around the cheekbones because sometimes again, our kids need to calm down.
00:32:18
And I know the mouth for a lot of people is a place we need input.
00:32:23
So I would do like a drive with my fingers right there to demonstrate.
00:32:27
So there's, so I like to give a little variety of video mix for the community.
00:32:33
Okay.
00:32:34
Thank you so much, Gary, for the information.
00:32:36
And I also want to know better audience audience.
00:32:39
No audience, if you go to our website, www.activeaction.fm.
00:32:45
If, and you, if you search like Gary's name, you can see his profile coming up
00:32:50
and you'll also get all the links to the connections or the social media
00:32:55
channels over there as well.
00:32:57
And also if you do want to ask any question, you can reach out to Gary via
00:33:01
email, which address will be there as well.
00:33:04
Again, thank you so much, Gary, for coming to this podcast and spending
00:33:09
some time with our audience and sharing your words of wisdom.
00:33:13
I really appreciate it.
00:33:16
I appreciate you too.
00:33:17
Thank you so much for having me on today.
00:33:19
Thank you so much, dear audience for listening to that episode.
00:33:22
So we got to learn a bit about autism and how, you know, what the adventure
00:33:27
is, what the process feels like going through and how even fitness and
00:33:33
other sorts of how can support you to help your autistic children.
00:33:39
And also we did get to learn about the sponge ball exercise.
00:33:43
So I encourage you to try that at home.
00:33:46
I'll just take this opportunity to thank again, all of you to keep supporting
00:33:51
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00:34:38
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00:34:44
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00:34:45
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00:34:51
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00:34:54
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00:34:57
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00:35:01
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