New Active Living space provides neurosensitivity-friendly exercise options

Going to the gym can often be a loud, intimidating setting, especially for people with neurosensitivity — causing them discomfort or not allowing them to focus on their workouts. 

The University of Calgary’s Active Living Department hopes to change this by allocating a specific time for those who want a less-stimulating fitness environment, launching a sensory-friendly workout space on Mondays and Fridays this fall. 

This space, located in the new Research Exercise Centre in the Kinesiology Building (KNB 190), features dimmer lights, headphone-only music, a strict drop-free zone policy and a reduced maximum capacity of 10 people. 

The goal is to help more people foster a better relationship with fitness, says Jessica Erwin, assistant co-ordinator of personal and group fitness with Active Living.

“I hope that it allows more students to feel confident or encouraged to use this space, knowing that some people feel intimidated by the Fitness Centre and the busyness of it,” says Erwin.

Active Living piloted the workout time in the spring in hopes of gathering feedback. 

Fifth-year sociology student Isabella Dias says this new workout time has motivated her, as someone with autism, to give the gym another chance. 

“I never went to gyms prior,” says Dias. “I tried to find my own situation at home for exercise, but I always had a big fear of gyms because they are so loud and so overwhelming.

“But, in finding out about these special hours, I've started using the school gym.”

While this designated time is intended for those with sensory-processing sensitivities or who are a part of the neurodivergent population, Erwin says the space is open to any student wanting a calmer workout space.

“There's no prerequisite; you don't have to prove anything to anyone about whether you fit into this space of being sensory-sensitive,” she says. “It’s for anyone that feels that they would benefit from a lower-stimulating space — as long as everyone is following the guidelines of being respectful of the environment."

Aside from low lighting and policies around not dropping weights, the limited-capacity element is one that stood out to Dias.

“I think having a limited capacity is something that I haven't seen in other sensory-sensitive situations, and I think that's really valuable,” says Dias. “It hit all the marks, like lighting and sound is what's most important.

“I think it's pretty well designed.”

Erwin says her team might consider expanding the space’s availability and its hours in the future, understanding the need to accommodate different student schedules and taking into consideration comments received so far.

“We had a lot of people pop into the space while we ran it in the spring, just kind of curious about what it is and who it was for,” says Erwin. “We had some feedback about potentially offering it for staff members in addition to students and just being able to offer more times that can work for a larger group of people.”

The sensory-friendly open workout time will be offered every Monday from 3 to 5 p.m. and every Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. starting Sept. 16, except on university-recognized holidays.

The space will operate on a first-come, first-served basis, and all students who have paid their campus recreation fees will be able to use it after presenting their UNICARD. To learn more about the workout times, visit UCalgary Active Living’s Access and Inclusion web page.