The Paralympic Village is full of athletes with diverse abilities. Many Paralympic athletes arrive at the games a week before competition and need to maintain their peak physical condition while they await their event. 

Workout Equipment for Disabled Athletes
When visiting the gym at the Paralympic Village, I noticed many pieces of equipment that were designed just for the Paralympic athletes.  Each piece of equipment seemed to be very specialized for the athletes with disabilities. 

Krankcycle Spin Bike
The primary piece of cardio equipment designed for wheelchair athletes at the Village was a spin bike called the Krankcycle designed by Johnny G.  This is a great piece of equipment that can be used by athletes with or without disabilities. However, it is an especially important piece of equipment for athletes who have disabilities in the lower extremities.  Paralympic athletes need to be able to get consistent cardio workouts. 

Thorax Trainer Mimics Skiing
One of the most interesting pieces of cardio equipment at the Paralympic Village, the Thorax Trainer was designed for able-bodied cross country athletes.   The Thorax Trainer uses poles and skis with a motion similar to real cross country skiing, and disabled skiers in wheelchairs figured out a way to adapt the equipment to work by only utilizing the poles.  With the simple addition of a chair in the center of the track the Thorax Trainer is now a very valuable piece of training equipment for seated competitors in the cross country skiing event.

If you want to train like the athletes in the Paralympic Games you may want to check out Krankcycle or Thorax Trainer  so you can work out like the best athletes in the world.

Photo courtesy Jeff Burley.