Unfamiliar Ground
PJ’s Adaptive Workout at ADK Fitness - Sept 13, 2026
PJ, the reason this morning came together in the first place. His adaptive workout invited everyone at ADK Fitness to approach familiar movements from a different perspective.
My connection to ADK Fitness started with PJ. I first reached out after hearing about the adaptive workout he was planning. That conversation led to an invitation to photograph the Iz Memorial Workout. I wrote more about that first visit here: Following the Story: A Memorial Workout at ADK Fitness
A Room With a Pulse
That first visit gave me a glimpse into a community I had almost no exposure to before. The room is built for effort. Steel, rubber, ropes, bars, racks, and machines, all there to demand something from you. Without the people, though, it would still just be a room. They give it a pulse.
Speakers filled the space with bass heavy pump up music as weights rattled, bars struck the floor, and voices rose above the noise.
When I returned for PJ’s workout, I brought that first experience with me. I was there to document the event that started our conversation, but I was also paying closer attention to the people around it.
Changing the Terms
The workout used one armed adaptive exercises that changed the terms for everyone. A small modification turned a familiar movement into something that had to be figured out again.
PJ was not the only amputee taking part. Andy Godard, a below knee amputee and coach with the Glens Falls Greenjackets, joined the workout as well.
For a while, everyone was working from unfamiliar ground.
The goal was not to recreate someone else’s experience, but to offer a brief glimpse into it. However temporary or incomplete, even a small shift can change the way you see things.
The room settled into the challenge quickly. People adjusted on the fly, laughed when coordination failed them, and encouraged each other when things clicked.
PJ seemed perfectly content to avoid the exercises for a while, watching and recording as everyone else took them on. He had organized the event and, for a moment, simply got to enjoy it. Eventually, he worked in a few reps of his own.
The next day, PJ was set to leave in his motorhome on a cross country trip to meet other amputees, work out with them, and share their stories. You can follow and support the journey through his Cross Country Journey for Amputee Awareness.
What Stayed With Me
I was working from unfamiliar ground, too. I came into these events with little exposure to this kind of fitness community, and each visit has changed what I notice when I walk into the room.
By the end of the workout, the unfamiliar had become shared ground.
Sometimes you have to leave what feels familiar before you can see things differently.
Learn more about ADK Fitness or support PJ’s Cross Country Journey for Amputee Awareness.
