And I want to drive a car, ride a bike and go downhill skiing.
Actually I have done all three, but with sighted assistance. Well, I lost my 
sight a bit later in live so I knew how to drive and my Dad would let me drive 
on non-public roads after I lost my sight just for the fun of it, now after 
more than 30 years without sight I actually don't see the point in it any more.
As for riding a bike that of course is easy with a tandem bike and I downhill 
ski with a guide and communicating either with a radio headset like the ones 
they make for people who ride motorbikes and want to be able to chat, now of 
course it's even easier as long as the ski hill has cell coverage because we 
can wear a headset and I can just call my guide on the phone.
The point is that I can't do either of these fitness activities independently 
and while I don't disagree that maybe there is room for improvement with 
virtual fitness classes/workouts, it maybe be very possible to participate 
quite effectively if for the first few times you have sighted help who first 
describes to you what exactly you have to do. I have sometimes gone to one of 
these high energy workout classes at a local marshall arts Dojo and while of 
course I had to do some of the stuff with another person, anything that was 
done stationary like lunges, push-ups, sit-ups, squats etc. is easy as long as 
the instructor calls it out and you know how to do the move. However, there 
really is no way to fully describe the move in a fast-paced workout because it 
would take way too long so you have to know this before. Here is just one 
example from a website which describes how to do proper squats and even if you 
disregard the first part where a bit of background is given, just the actual 
seps would take quite long to explain and for a blind person who can't watch 
somebody else perform the move perfectly whether in person or on a video it may 
be even more difficult:

If you ever watch toddlers move, you’ll notice that they execute 
picture-perfect squats time and again. But when you’re well into adulthood, how 
to do squats becomes a little more of a loaded question: Are your feet in the 
right position? Are you getting down far enough? Should you add weight?
While there’s a lot to unpack with how to do a proper squat, the benefits of 
learning how to squat correctly are immense—squat variations not only help you 
get stronger during your workouts, but they also represent a movement pattern 
that you use during everyday life.
“In life, we squat all the time, from playing with our children to going to the 
bathroom to sitting on a chair, ” Noam Tamir, C.S.C.S., founder and CEO of TS 
Fitness in New York City, tells SELF. “It’s very much a functional movement.”
When you learn how to do squats correctly, you can really make the most out of 
the move—and your workout. Here’s what you need to know.

What muscles do squats work, and what are the benefits of squats?
Throughout the move, your core muscles fire in order to keep you steady. “Your 
abdominals are stabilizers,” he says. “So they assist in weight-bearing 
movements.” Strong core muscles are important because not only do they help you 
with your lifts, but they also reduce the risk of lower back pain. If you do a 
weighted squat—whether using a dumbbell in a goblet squat, two dumbbells in a 
front squat, or a barbell in either a back or front squat—you’re also working 
your upper body. That’s because the move requires an isometric holding of 
weight, a static muscle contraction without any movement, Tamir says.
Weighted squats, like other forms of load-bearing physical activity, also 
benefit your bones: They help you build stronger bones, he says, which can help 
prevent osteopenia or osteoporosis as you get older. Plus, since a proper squat 
requires mobility in your hips and ankles, you can also consider squatting a 
mobility exercise that can help you move better, Tamir says.

Everything you need to know about how to do squats
Before you start adding weight, you want to get the squat motion down with 
bodyweight squats first. Form is key, since performing squats properly can cut 
down the risk of injury during the move. Here’s what you need to know about 
doing squats correctly, and how you can avoid some common squatting mistakes.

1. Assume the squat stance.
Before you squat, you should get in proper squat position: Keep your feet about 
shoulder-width apart, Tamir says. There’s no set rule for exact positioning of 
your feet—it’ll vary depending upon anatomical differences—but a good guideline 
is for them to turn out anywhere between 5 and 30 degrees. So rather than 
pointing straight ahead, your feet will turn out slightly, but how much they do 
will depend on your particular comfort level and mobility.

2. Screw your feet into the floor.
Dialing your feet into the ground helps engage your muscles, improve alignment, 
and create stability with the ground, says Tamir. It’ll also help keep your 
arches from collapsing, which can make your knees more likely to cave inward 
when you squat. (This is what’s known as knee valgus.)

3. Keep your chest up.
Your upper body also matters for squats. “Keep your chest up, your chest 
proud,” says Tamir. This will prevent your shoulders and upper back from 
rounding—a common mistake—which could overstress your spine, especially if you 
are squatting with weight on your back.

4. Initiate the movement.
When you’re ready to squat, think about starting the movement by bending your 
knees and pushing your hips back, says Tamir. Engage your core for the descent, 
and keep it braced throughout the move. “Make sure you’re controlling the 
eccentric part of the movement,” he says. Rather than rushing through the 
downward motion, take a couple of seconds to lower yourself. This will increase 
time under tension for your muscles, which will make them work harder. (Slowing 
down the eccentric is also a great strategy to make the move feel harder if 
you’re working out at home and don’t have access to the weights you’re used to.)
Inhale while you lower, and as you squat down, your knees should track 
laterally above your first or second toe, Tamir says. Tracking too far in can 
also make your knees collapse inward, and tracking too far out can put extra 
stress on them. (Don’t worry so much about the old rule that your knees should 
never extend forward farther than your toes, Tamir says. Knees extending 
farther than your toes can happen due to anatomical differences in your bone 
length. Trying to restrict that movement can actually make you lean forward 
more, which can stress your lower back, according to a study in the Journal of 
Strength and Conditioning Research.)

5. Pause when you reach parallel.
As for when you should stop the move? There’s lots of discussion about how low 
you should squat, but the average exerciser should shoot to hit parallel depth 
with their squats, says Tamir.
“That means the back of your thighs will be parallel to the floor,” he says.
Some people have difficulty getting to parallel because of lack of mobility or 
injury—and if that’s the case, it’s better to end the squat at whatever depth 
is pain-free for you—but sometimes people default to quarter-squats because 
they’re using too much weight, says Tamir. If that’s the case, easing off the 
weight and performing the full range of motion for the move is optimal. Once 
you reach the bottom of the squat, pause for a second so you are not using 
momentum to push yourself back up. (You can also increase the length of your 
pause to add difficulty to the move.)

6. When you stand, drive through your heels.
Make sure your feet stay planted throughout the duration of the squat, paying 
particular attention to driving through your heels on the way back up, says 
Tamir. This will fire up your posterior chain—the muscles in the back of your 
body, like your hamstrings and glutes.
Some people have a tendency to pick up their toes when they’re focusing on 
driving through their heels, but you really want to make sure your entire foot 
stays firmly on the ground: “Your big toe is actually really important in glute 
activation,” he says.
You should also exhale on your way back up, says Tamir. Making sure you breathe 
throughout the move—inhale on the way down, exhale on the way up—is vital. You 
definitely do not want to be holding your breath.

7. Finish strong.
At the top of the squat, try to tuck your pelvis into a neutral position. 
“Think of it like bringing your belt buckle to your chin,” says Tamir. Just be 
careful that you are not hyperextending: A common mistake Tamir sees often is 
people pushing their hips too far forward, which can actually make you lean 
backward and stress your lower back.

What’s the best way to progress with squats?
Before you start loading your squat, you should definitely get the bodyweight 
move down, says Tamir. (If you’re having difficulty with the movement, you can 
hold on to a wall or, if you have access to it, a suspension trainer like a 
TRX, to get more comfortable with what it should feel like.)
-----Original Message-----
From: viphone@googlegroups.com <viphone@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of CHELA 
Robles
Sent: September 19, 2021 7:15 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: A Question About Apple Fitness Plus for VoiceOver Users

Well I think someone should start a petition on change.org regarding this 
because Apple has to take into consideration that the disability community 
wants to take part in being fit and staying fit not just walking in my opinion 
and having the added audio descriptions like they’ve had with their last Apple 
event and all their original shows and movies, it’s a very much needed added 
benefit and right for us. I wonder why they decided to add audio descriptions 
for everything else but the fitness app. That just doesn’t sound right to me. 
I’m going to do all I can to make it known to Apple that this needs to be done.

Sent from my iPhone

> On Sep 19, 2021, at 6:47 AM, Jenifer Barr <claudas...@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Thank you for this thread.
> I just activated my three-month free trial. Now I know I won't be renewing. 
> lol. Granted... I haven't tried the app yet but... 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Sep 18, 2021, at 6:43 PM, M. Taylor <mk...@ucla.edu> wrote:
>> 
>> Hello Chela and thank you for the feedback.  
>> 
>> I don't know why but I just assumed that Apple had come up with some kind of 
>> magical way of making this service accessible for blind and low vision 
>> subscribers.
>> 
>> It just goes to show you that no matter how far we have come, there is still 
>> so far to go.
>> 
>> Again, thank you for sharing your experience.
>> 
>> Mark
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On 
>> Behalf Of CHELA Robles
>> Sent: Thursday, September 16, 2021 9:02 PM
>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>> Subject: Re: A Question About Apple Fitness Plus for VoiceOver Users
>> 
>> Hey Mark Taylor, it’s very interesting you bring up this topic because I 
>> just tried it out not too long ago in fact I think I tried it out on Monday 
>> and I quickly gave up because there weren’t any audio descriptions during 
>> the video as to how to do certain things that’s why I chose to do the 
>> walking workouts since all I had to do was walk even though I really wanted 
>> to do the body core workouts those were not really described unfortunately 
>> there’s some really good cardio ones but again you run the risk of them not 
>> being described as far as the movements go. The walking ones are easier for 
>> me since all I have to do is walk or run for a certain amount of minutes. 
>> Sorry I can’t be very helpful. I only just recently started using Apple 
>> fitness plus whatever it’s called since I already have an Apple one 
>> subscription that has four services in one.
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>>>> On Sep 16, 2021, at 5:00 PM, M. Taylor <mk...@ucla.edu> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hello Everyone,
>>> 
>>> Question:  does anyone use or has anyone used Apple Fitness Plus?  
>>> If so, how was / is your experience?
>>> 
>>> So much of the content is video-based, at least, that is how it 
>>> appears in all of the Apple Keynote Presentations.
>>> 
>>> I know that they mentioned something about adding more audio-based 
>>> content to the service but just wanted to get some feedback here in the 
>>> forum.
>>> 
>>> I look forward to your replies,
>>> 
>>> Mark
>>> 
>>> 
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