Teachers take to the gym for fitness
Published 12:05 pm Thursday, September 23, 2010
At Bowmar Elementary Wednesday, the staff and faculty went to P.E. class in the school gym.
With the direction of Linda Fondren, a Vicksburg fitness center owner who has gained national recognition for her health promotions, about 35 faculty and staff members, including principal Tammy Burris, kicked up their heels. They stretched and tugged — and they even signed a contract to do the same at least nine more times.
“The goal here is to create healthy role models for students,” Fondren said. “It’s also to try out a wellness program that is for the staff of the school. What we are creating is a fitness routine, a wellness program where they get to exercise and get a registered dietician. They also will have someone come in and talk with them about stress management.”
“I’m so excited,” Burris said. “There’s a need for this.”
“Research shows that people who participate in regular exercise have increased energy, they have a more positive outlook and they have the ability to cope with stress effectively,” Fondren said. “In this program, everybody will win.”
To begin the Healthy Role Models for Students program, sponsored by Fondren and Shape Up Vicksburg, participants were weighed and screened for body mass index, a percentage of body fat, fat mass and muscle. For 10 weeks, health professionals will give presentations on stress management and registered dietician Ali Hopson will help participants with nutrition information.
“It’s not a diet,” Hopson said. “We’re going to be teaching them about lifestyle changes, healthy food choices and how this is possible to do. This is obtainable.”
Participants are offered free memberships to Shape Up Sisters during the program.
Bowmar’s librarian, Jennifer Nelson, said she joined the program to help her lose the weight she gained while she was pregnant.
“I have a 4-month-old and I just want to lose the baby weight,” she said. “I also want more energy after teaching all day and then going home to a baby.”
Fondren, who has been able to gather nearly 400 members for her Shape Up Vicksburg walking club, hopes to expand the program into other schools.
Vicksburg Warren School District Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Duran Swinford agrees on the effectiveness of the program and also hopes to expand it.
“I support this whole-heartedly,” she said at the kick-off, where she introduced herself. “Anything that helps people turn around and think about what they’re eating, what they’re doing and are they physically fit, is important. It will impact their life in some way.”
Fondren was featured on “CBS News with Katie Couric” Wednesday night for a monthly fitness walk she has begun in Vicksburg.