In the past 4 years my fitness journey has been a rollercoaster. With the help of supportive instructors, I stayed the course and continue to keep striving. Prior to the onset of COVID-19 I participated in a community exercise class led by Cheryl Mitchell and received personal training sessions from Myriam Howell at a local gym. Bother women in their practice exemplify compassion, motivation and a safe space for an intergenerational community to get fit.
In March of 2020 , businesses and community spaces that were not deemed “essential” were forced to shut down causing our fitness regimens to halt if not outside activity. The pandemic forced us to think in creative ways how we can still connect and stay healthy in an affordable way.Â
For five years Cheryl Mitchell has provided a nonjudgemental safe space for women to engage in community exercise classes at the affordable price of $5 dollars a class. Mitchell has a passion for incorporating in her exercise classes the importance of connecting with femininity, flexibility and balance and a connection to spirituality Over the years, Cheryl has established an email list and would communicate with her participants via text. Mitchell made the leap to online classes in the summer of 2020. Mitchell shared, “ By the summertime of 2020, it was becoming apparent in the news on COVID-19 that we would not be able to return to our normal lives until a vaccine was developed. And at that time , they were not even close to having a vaccine.”
Participants shared with Mitchell their struggles during the lockdown that included: gaining weight due to lack of opportunity to normal activities, some had fluid retention in the legs from sitting too and many were depressed because of the two pandemics of racism and health we continue to face in communities of color. Mitchell organized and launched her first zoom class at the end of August 2020.
If endurance and kindness had a spokesperson it would be Miriam Howell. Howell has only been a personal trainer for about three years and has impacted many through her compassionate approach and her unique way of pushing clients to the next level. Miriam shares about her fitness journey,” I was an athlete throughout high school and college and continued a fitness regimen. I became an involved mother of three and my life was defined in three parts;family, career and fitness.” As early as 2017 Howell was posting her workout regimens on her Instagram and Facebook so that people would have #noexecuses to get a workout in.
When COVID-19 forced the local gym Howell worked to furlough to staff she was able to pivot to online zoom classes a month after the lockdown. As a client of Howell’s I appreciated the times she checked in with me during the lockdown. Through divine intervention and receiving her text messages she prevented many trips to the refrigerator for me.Â
Both Mitchell and Howell offer zoom classes at $5 a class. Here are their schedules:
Monday- Kickboxing/Balancing/Flexibility with Cheryl Mitchell @6:30 PM
Tuesday- Strength, Toning and Cardio with Myriam Howell @ 7:00PM
Thursday- Strength, Toning and Cardio with Myriam Howell @ 7:00 PM
Thursday- Zumba, Strength Training with Weights with Cheryl Mitchell @ 7:00 PM
Saturday- Strength, Toning and Cardio with Myriam Howell @ 8:00 AM
Payment for classes can be made via PayPal & Venmo. Check with instructors.
You can follow both instructors on Instagram at:
Cheryl Mitchell: @getfitwithcheryllisa
Myriam Howell: @emms_fitness_
While both instructors miss one on one contact with their participants, they recognize the importance of providing affordable fitness opportunities to communities of color. Both strive to make a connection between fitness and the reasons to stay healthy close to their hearts. The work of a personal trainer should be deemed essential because they help their clients on both a physical and mental journey to their better selves.Â
