MEET OUR FIT FRIENDS
Katina Clark and Tammy Ellis
How did You find out about Get Fit Clovis?
Katina Clark
“I found GFC on facebook. On Saturdays I like to find something to do and I looked for events on Saturdays and you guys came up.”
Tammy Ellis
“She invited me!”
What do you guys think about the program?
Katina Clark
“It’s amazing. I love it. I feel like everyone here is my friend instantly. And it’s nice that we can tone it down for our physical levels. As long as we are doing it, we are good. And we can do it as slow as we want or the exercise can be modified which is really nice because I like that I can change up what I am doing and if I’m not feeling that good that day I can reign it back in.
I have also heard so many people mention depression and this is such a good way to get out of it. You are accountable so you have to come, and getting here is the battle but once you get here it’s amazing. The hugs and the smiles – it’s so worth it.”
Tammy Ellis
“I liked it. There were a couple of things that I learned that I had no idea about, and I have been to a lot of fitness things because I’m in Weight Watchers, but the electrolyte talk was extremely enlightening. I was just really impressed with [Germain]. I’ve realized that I have to learn my limits because the first day I felt like I died. So I learned that I can’t do it that hard but I can still do it, so I have to learn my limits. Oh, and the comradery of the people and the way that everybody cheers for everybody else and nobody feels like they are being left out. It’s like we have our own cheerleaders. I just enjoy it, and you know what if you can’t enjoy what you do stay home. Life is too short to not have fun.”
What has been your biggest battle you are working to overcome?
Katina Clark
“Getting here. But once I’m here it’s great. Even this morning I was thinking, ‘I’m not going,’ but once she called me I knew I had to go.
Tammy Ellis
“My schedule is so busy and I have a huge family so I have stuff going on all the time, weddings and parties or whatever, and so this I have learned there is something I have to do for me and if I can fit this in for me then, I am a happier person. I do everything for everybody else, so I have to do something for myself.”
Merrily Bonnette
Why did you join Get Fit Clovis?
I love to walk. I love to exercise and keep in shape. And I love to be outdoors.
How did you hear about GFC?
I volunteer at the senior center Tuesday mornings and they always have the Clovis Roundup there and I was looking through it and that’s how I found out about Get Fit Clovis.
You’ve gone through the 90-day challenge. How do you feel?
It’s been enjoyable, it’s like we have become a family and it’s been fun to come out here and see everybody. I have loved every meet up because I love the walks, but the day we went to the gym and did the dance that was fun. It was my favorite.
Weslie McRoberts
What has been your experience with Get Fit Clovis?
I had met Donna and Caitie where I work, at Sprouts and i just fell in love with them immediately. But it was by a fluke that one of my bosses came to me and asked me to represent Sprouts at Get Fit Clovis, and I told her great.
At first it was kind of a job, honestly I was wondering what it was going to be about. Then when I got here I thought, ‘Oh god, why am I here? I am the heaviest person here?’ That’s how I felt. And immediately everyone made me feel welcome and they let me know right up front that there were no expectations. They told me, ‘We don’t challenge you, you challenge yourself’ – which was nice.
As I went along, I started to feel more comfortable and my experience has been great because from start to finish I have lost 12 pounds and a size and a half in pants. And it was because I felt encouraged here. Now I feel like I belong and I feel like I represent Get Fit Clovis. The campaign really helped me change my eating habits. My goal was to feel better at the end than I felt at the beginning and I do.
John Rodgers
John wrote for an art column for a weekly paper in Charlotte, North Carolina. He then began writing feature pieces for the paper and had the opportunity to impart stories of first case accounts of people who lived in Tiananmen Square, China in 1989.
When did you start leading an active lifestyle?
I have to go way back to when I was a hippy back in the ‘60’s. I learned about eating vegetarian and really, I was never a hard core vegetarian but it got me to really thinking about what I wasn’t eating. Over the years I have discovered a lot of good things to eat and actually for about 10 years now I have been making this thing called “Green Drank” in the morning. It has parsley, cilantro, basil, some apple juice, soy milk and anything else that looks interesting to throw in there and it taste good. That’s important because I don’t eat anything that is not flavorful. I really try to watch what I eat although I do eat meat but I try to moderate how much I eat. I always try to eat green vegetables along with the meal just because it gives you good roughage and it’s easier on your system.
My wife says I’m hyperactive so I think for my whole life I have always exercised but I haven’t exercised per say, I have just done a lot of physical things. Probably for the last 30 years I swim daily and in the evenings I try to take a walk in my neighborhood for about a mile or two. I also like to have a garden because I like digging in the garden and stuff like that. It’s not like I have told myself I have to exercise, it has always been more like, ‘OK, what is it that I want to do now that feels good.’ Swimming is my number one thing but hiking and camping are also things I like to do.
Why did you join Get Fit Clovis?
I joined the team because I had just moved here about three months ago and wanted to meet some like-minded people. When I saw the fit part and discovered that you guys took a walk once a week and got together I thought it was a great way to meet new people and it is always a great way to just see where people do walk around. I had no idea how extensive the walkways were here, which I think it’s pretty fantastic what they put together here. I don’t know of another city like this.
Scott Forrester
How did you start getting active and leading a healthy lifestyle?
I went out for track in high school but I didn’t do it until my senior year so that means it was not competitive. But I developed a love for running. In my construction days I had an accident falling off a roof and breaking my ankle. I didn’t realize it was broken, I thought it healed wrong. So I went a whole year before it was fixed and in the meantime I had worked up to running and walking 20 miles on that ankle.
Then my knee wasn’t working too well because the ankle wasn’t supporting it and that was after the surgery I had. That got me to search for healing and I found a physical therapist who was an ultra-runner. He knew physical therapy and he really knew running and he also knew about The Feldenkrais Method. Quite a number of years later I finished up training for that method which taught me how to change the way I move and the way I think about it. Now I don’t have those knee problems. Now I am continuing with my Feldenkrais training and my Feldenkrais business, The Aware Athlete, to help others.
Why did you join Get Fit Clovis?
I am new to Fresno and Clovis and so I didn’t know anybody and the gatherings are really good because people are really developing some good friendships and everyone is working to help one another. I am really getting hooked on the community here.
Mona Flores Borjas
What is your ‘why’? Why did you begin a health focused lifestyle?
“When I was growing up I lived in Parlier which is a small community so we did a lot of walking. Then I got married, had my family and went to work and I started driving when I was 36 and everyone had been driving since they were 18, but I just didn’t care I loved walking. Walking was just part of my life.
I worked in the IRS so I did a lot of sitting and eating. So when I left there I was close to 150 pounds. After I left I just knew I had to keep moving. Once I retired, 10 years ago, I just told myself, ‘I just have to keep going and walking.’ I joined several walking groups. So fitness has always been a part of me but more so now that my daughters are doing full marathons.
Why did you join Get Fit Clovis?
“I love motivating other people and I love other people motivating me. To be healthy it’s a life change and you have to commit to it. It’s hard but I have to keep going. I am 66 so I just have to keep moving.”
What would you tell people to motivate them to be more active?
“Just put one foot in front of the other. It all starts with one step. Find a time, get up early or right after work you can get out and just move a little. One day you can start with 10 minutes and the next you can add another five minutes.”
Richard Daw
What is your motivation to workout?
“I am over weight. I am 50 years old and I need to lose my gut. I have a son that is overweight and I don’t want him looking at me sitting there every day just eating and not doing anything about it. I want him to see I am doing something about it and maybe he will follow my example.”
Why did you join Get Fit Clovis?
“I am taking one step at a time. This is my first step to get myself more active. I have started with walking and I will boost it from there. When I talked to Donna [the owner of the Clovis Roundup] I casually told her I would do it so I made a commitment and I want to stick to it. It gives me accountability.”
So far what has been your biggest fitness challenge?
“Getting up at 6 a.m.,” he said through a smile. “Just the fact that I haven’t been a healthy person in such a long time. I have other physical issues. Old age hits people at a different stage in their life. I have friends who are younger than me who are not in such a good shape as I am and I have acquaintances that are older than me that make me look old. So I want to find a balance in there.
What is your goal? What are you hoping to achieve?
“I want to be healthy and happy. I want to not get up every morning feeling like, ‘Oh God, I can barely move,’ or just without the energy to get up and go to work. I want that extra energy so that I can get through the day and enjoy the day.”
What would you say to people who are looking into starting a fitness driven life?
“I would say to start small, not to jump right in and do something they can’t reasonably do. Having someone there with you helps to keep you accountable but make sure you are capable of doing it, don’t just jump into a triathlon or something like that. One step at a time.”
