ARLINGTON, Va. — A two-time Paralympian swimmer is sharing her talents and knowledge with other people with disabilities in order to help maintain and enhance their fitness.
WUSA9 met up with Alyssa Gialamas, 26, at the Golds Gym in Arlington's Ballston section where she routinely records exercise videos for people who do most, if not all of their workouts at home.
Gialamas founded a nonprofit organization, AMG Fitness, to bring adaptive workouts online for people with a range of disabilities.
Gialamas has arthrogryposis, a condition that affects joint mobility in her hands and legs. She walks with assistance from braces that help support her legs. In a pool though, with the braces set aside, she glides through the water with speed and elegance.
"I went to London and Rio (Paralympic Games)," Gialamas said. "I swam Division One at Loyola University (Maryland). I'm from Chicago and I started swimming at the age of three. I retired from swimming at the age of 24. After London and Rio I found myself in a position where COVID hit and everything was going online. But no adaptive resources were really hitting online and I wanted to create a solution."
Gialamas' exercise videos incorporate a lot of bodyweight exercises. For example, stationary jumping jacks, forward punches and others that involve lightweight dumbbells.
"It's all adaptive workouts, all free and it's all at home," Gialamas said. "I don't want people to have to pay for any of the workouts so I rely on donations and strategic partnerships to keep AMG free."
One distinction between Gialamas' videos and others you could find online is that she's not coaching a class; she is leading a tutorial in various exercises one can incorporate into their at-home routine.
"It's really just showcasing the exercises," she said. "it's not a workout class and you can adjust it to whatever you feel like doing that day," she said. "What AMG really is is an online workout resource and the foundation part is making sure it's all free."
Gialamas' in her post-swimming career was struck by the realization that there wasn't a common place for people with disabilities to go and seek out the exercise information she provides.
"That weird time in quarantine when everything went online and everyone was posting workouts in their living rooms," she said. "As someone with a disability I was like, there has to be something out there that has to be people doing this and I didn't find a lot of what AMG is for varying disabilities."
For example, there are workout videos online for people in wheelchairs, but not necessarily for people like Gialamas with limited mobility issues.
"I really wanted to create a place for people to not only be athletes and feel really good in their bodies," she said. "But also not be athletes and just feel really great in their fitness spaces."