LAFAYETTE, La. — Train Unique is dedicated to empowering individuals with special needs in the Hub City through fitness and community.
Coach Jessie Badeaux, along with his wife Emily, helps run the gym and train a Special Olympics powerlifting team. Last month, they had the opportunity to travel to Illinois to compete in the World Powerlifting Congress (WPC) World Championships.
“We serve as a gym for people with special needs,” Badeaux said. “Anyone with a diagnosis can come to our gym and get a great workout. We serve as a community for them to get better—whether it's physically, emotionally, socially, or mentally—and that’s the gist of it.”
“We had four athletes who competed in the WPC; all of them did great. Everyone secured gold, and everybody set personal records, with many world records broken by them as well.”
Brad Bourque, a powerlifter, shared his thoughts about the competition.
“Kind of cold,” he said when asked by KATC how he felt about being in Illinois.
When asked if he won any medals or broke records, Brad replied, “A gold medal and one record.”
Ali Wood, the only female on the team, expressed her enthusiasm for the sport of powerlifting and her gym.
“You get to meet lots of new friends,” Wood said. “You get to meet lots of people at the gym. You get to exercise your mind and your brain, and there’s positivity.”
Daniel Courville, another member of the team, emphasized that, despite their successes, it is the community at Train Unique that keeps their muscles and hearts strong.
"What I care about is doing the competition with my amazing friends and teammates," Courville said. "To me, that’s the important part of being in a great competition—it’s just being there with your family and friends.”
Coaches at Train Unique tell KATC that anyone with intellectual, developmental, or physical disabilities is welcome to join private or group classes at the gym. If you're interested, click here for more information.
