Local offers exercise training at minimal costs

Houma native Lori Bolden used to look at the scale and cringe at the number it spit back at her.

She says her body language would immediately droop when she placed her first foot on the scale to start a weigh-in. Lori says her vibe was downright awful by the time her second foot touched the scale.

Away from weigh-ins, Lori says her body felt bloated. She describes it as being a prisoner inside her own flesh.

“I was miserable,” she recalls. “I had no answer. I had tried every pill, gimmick and contraption there is.”

Flash forward to the present and those days are done.

The scale is no longer Lori’s enemy. It’s her friend.

The number she sees when weighing in is no longer what she describes as “60 pounds too many.” It’s one that she wears with pride.

Lori is a local fitness coach who has conquered her battle with obesity and wants to train others in the Houma-Thibodaux area to do the same. The local offers Insanity training two times a week at Body Elite’s East Gym – on Mondays at 6 p.m. and Wednesday nights at 5:30.

The price is affordable to any budget. It’s free to the gym’s members and just $5 for the general population.

Lori says it’s her personal mission to help as many people as she can as long as God gives her the ability to do so.

“I just wanted to pay it forward,” she vows. “I wanted to help put some people in the position to win and not to give in to those struggles. We’re doing that through education, empowering and enthusiasm.”

Enthusiasm is key.

It’s what Lori’s sessions are about.

Step inside the Body Elite Gym on a Monday or Wednesday and the intensity will be high. Lori admits that she is routine-driven and she doesn’t like to be late. She encourages all participants to show up early so classes can move on without interruption or delay.

Lori can’t help it. The love for being prompt and having things in order comes from the military life that she’s lived.

She’s a veteran of the United States Army and a former recruiter for the Air Force.

“All I ask is that students arrive 15 minutes early and leave the ‘I can’t’ attitude outside the door,” Lori says. “Outside of that, wear a training shoe and not a running shoe, get a good stretch, bring a towel and buy a bottle of water from the desk.”

The exercises are tough. Nothing in life comes easy.

But Lori swears they are all structured so that any person of any age can do them without disrupting the flow of the class.

Beginner pupils aren’t demanded to do every, single rep during the workout like Lori does. They’re just required to do their absolute best and keep an open mind when asked to attempt something that they’ve never tried before.

The classes are usually small, which the trainer likes because of the personal interaction that allows. On a given session, there may be anywhere from 5-10 people, if not slightly more.

“My classes are based on smart modifications,” Lori explains. “I focus on form over speed. I keep people safe and getting results. I make it fun and doable by all ages and fitness levels.”

Once it’s done, Lori says participants get to enjoy together her favorite part – the sweaty selfie. The proud trainer posts group photos of the class participants online after every workout. A skim through the archives noticeably shows that some of the most loyal pupils are slimmer and trimmer today than they were in months’ past.

Those photos are like gold to Lori. She says she cries every so-often when she scrolls through them and looks back.

Her fight is conquered. She’s risen past obesity and is now in the best shape of her life.

“I just wish people didn’t have to struggle like I had to,” she says. “I see these students grow week after week after week, program after program and I cry a lot because I know the struggle. It’s more conquerable when you have a team of supporters who help motivate you through it all.

“Everyone matters. Everyone matters.”

The Body Elite courses are not the only opportunities locals have to trim pounds without slashing one’s wallet.

Over in Downtown Houma, fitness enthusiast Mike McNabb has started a few clubs – each designed to keep locals in peak shape.

On Monday nights, there’s a weekly 5K that starts and ends at Mahony’s, where participants can race and then celebrate with two-for-one draft beer.

“It’s free,” he says. “Everyone is invited.”

On Thursday nights, Mike says he is also part of a small group that runs the Twin Span Bridge that hangs over downtown.

The local says his inspiration is his own journey. When he started running five years ago, he was 230 pounds.

“The way I had let myself go was an embarrassment,” he reveals. “I felt awful. I had low energy. I ate fast food daily, and was doing basically no physical exercise.”

Today, Mike is 165, and his goals are no longer to lose weight, but are to attain new times or other fitness-related goals.

He said that the beginnings of his training were tough, but that now, it’s all downhill.

“I run because I love it,” he says. “I train to meet race goals.”

The group, Mike adds, is fun, because it’s hard for an individual to motivate oneself alone, but when a part of a team, it automatically becomes easier.

He says the togetherness of the group is what makes it so special.

“Each person has to have his or her own motivation to show up and put the work in,” Mike explains. “But there is a great sense of comradery in the running community and we all support each other, discuss our goals, our successes and even our failures…. I don’t feel like the group is necessarily me helping others, but I think it’s more that we all help each other.”

Down the road in Thibodaux, former Nicholls women’s basketball player Ashley Adams believes the same thing. A long-time health nut, Ashley organizes community-wide fitness camps periodically as her busy schedule allows.

Ashley says those interested are welcome to follow her on Facebook to see when the next camp may be.

The former Colonel says there is no set routine or schedule, but that all are welcome when they take place.

She works on strength training, cardio and other exercise training in an effort to keep locals both active and healthier over the long term.

“There’s nothing like seeing someone reach their goals,” Ashley says.

Local offers exercise training at minimal costs