Chunky Dunkers aim to help people get fit this summer

Fletcher excited to host Composites and Manufacturing Summit
May 29, 2019
Errol Cuneo
May 29, 2019
Fletcher excited to host Composites and Manufacturing Summit
May 29, 2019
Errol Cuneo
May 29, 2019

Summer is here and locals will be spending the next couple months finding ways to have fun in the sun.

For a small group of older folks down the bayou in Lafourche Parish, that consists of putting on a bathing suit, hopping in the public pool at the Cut Off Youth Center and passing a good time with friends.

Oh yeah, and while doing that, working out muscles and joints and staying fit in the process.


They’re called the Chunky Dunkers — an exercise group that’s gathered together at the pool since 1992.

Coached by instructor Connie Callais, the group meets Monday-Friday (weather permitting) for both morning and evening sessions. Morning sessions are at 7 a.m., and evening sessions begin at 6 p.m.

There is a small fee to participate — $3/day or $30/month, but those go to help with the pool.


Callais said the goal of the program is to promote health and wellness among locals — a positive environment where people can set and reach some health and wellness goals.

“It’s family. We are a family here,” Callais said. “We push each other and we get each other through. Some of these people have trouble walking or have different aches or stresses. But on the water, they feel so much better. We give them a chance to be part of a family and we all work hard, but have fun at the same time. It’s an amazing community thing.”

Callais said the group started in 1992 as a way to promote wellness and healthy living in a south Lafourche community where there are many dietary temptations — fried seafood, gumbos, the works.


The name for the group is unique, but it’s a bit obvious when one looks around the pool. Callais laughs and says she knows the people who attend classes aren’t super models, fitness gurus or swimming champions. They’re just average Joe’s looking to drop a few pounds and/or get rid of some of the aches and pains they feel when doing their day-to-day routine.

Hence the name — Chunky Dunkers.

“Just look at our bodies,” Callais said with a laugh when asked where the name came from. “I don’t think anyone would be paying any kind of big money to see us in a swimsuit competition. We have shirts and the members like to wear them and everything because they’re proud to be part of this. We just have fun. We have a good time.”


There are success stories up and down the pool.

Callais said since the club started, there have been dozens of examples of people who have used the club to help regain their quality of life.

Some use the pool to fight arthritis and/or old nagging injuries that have plagued them for most of life. Others don’t have any previous ailments, but use the club to just stay active and fit.


For some, the club has been a literal lifesaver — a chance to get back the range of motion to do the things that they love to do.

“I had a couple when we first started that came — it was a husband and wife,” Callais said. “They both had a hard time getting around, but in the pool, they were so nimble and gracious. One day, we turned around and they were dancing — slow dancing in the water. The woman told me that it was the first time she and her husband had danced in decades.

“We laugh. Sometimes, we cry. We’re a family. There’s no other way to say it. We’re a big family.”


It’s a family that wants to grow.

Callais said the Chunky Dunkers train until temperatures drop too low for comfortable swimming.

To participate, show up for one of the sessions in swimming clothes — a bathing suit or a t-shirt and basketball shorts.


That’s all it takes — participation — to grow into the family.

“We’re here to help,” Callais said. “We want to help as many people as we can.” •

Chunky DunkerJOSE DELGADO | THE TIMES


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