SWANNANOA — Pushing a truck up a hill and flipping over tires helped Buffy Kirkman shed 15 pounds and two sizes in the months leading up to her June nuptials, forcing the kindergarten teacher to have her wedding dress altered twice in three months.
“Even in the final wedding pictures, my dress was as tight as it could go and it could have even gone down a little more,” Kirkman said. “It was really nice to look at the pictures and not see a double chin or any pudginess.”
The 26-year-old newlywed is one of more than a dozen teachers and staff at Asheville Christian Academy who started working out after school this spring with the school's strength coach Carlos Perez.
The group spent two days a week getting whipped into shape by Perez, whose boot camp-style workouts included drills that split participants into competing teams to see who was fastest at flipping over tractor tires or pushing a jeep up a hill while Perez stepped on the brake.
Perez continues to train the group two mornings a week this summer, with a goal of having them run in the Sourwood 5K race in Black Mountain on Aug. 8, and plans to revive the after school workouts when school starts up again.
“It's always different; it's never boring. You never know what to expect,” said Angela Rhew, a receptionist at the school's office. “Granted it's hard and it's work and you are sore and exhausted afterwards, but also it's a good feeling.”
"Superfit Camp"
Rhew was the first to approach Perez with the idea of starting an exercise class for faculty, similar to the program that he used to get the school's athletes in shape.
Perez agreed and came up with the regimen, which he has dubbed “superfit camp,” and includes the innovative workouts along with a personalized nutrition program.
“A lot of people think you have to spend hours in the gym, but this is about getting outside that normal gym mentality,” he said. “People are working and sweating but it's fun.”
Liz Johnson, a substitute teacher and wife of the school's athletic director, said she enjoys the relays and the group aspect of the workouts, and likes that she could be lifting weights one day and running across the parking lot the next.
But Johnson said the workouts, which have enabled her to do “boy” pushups for the first time in her life, are not all fun and games. She said it is the hardest thing she has ever done in her life.
But Johnson said the workouts, which have enabled her to do “boy” pushups for the first time in her life, are not all fun and games. She said it is the hardest thing she has ever done in her life.
“Carlos pushes us beyond what we think we can do,” Johnson said. “It is the first time I have really experienced that.”
Johnson said she also likes Perez's approach to nutrition, which doesn't focus on what a person isn't eating but rather about putting good food into one's body.
“Our bodies are a gift from God and we want to take the best care of them that we can,” she said.
Group benefits
Participants said that while the group aspect of the program may not be for everyone, the accountability and camaraderie of the superfit camp has helped them to achieve their goals, whether it be losing 15 pounds or just getting healthier.
Participants said that while the group aspect of the program may not be for everyone, the accountability and camaraderie of the superfit camp has helped them to achieve their goals, whether it be losing 15 pounds or just getting healthier.
The teachers and staff made sure their colleagues were attending the after school workouts, doing their exercise homework and eating right, while also cheering them on as they crossed the finish line during relay races.
“It is something that I have never done to that extreme on my own,” said Kirkman, who joined the group to get in shape for her wedding. “It is such a motivating factor – seeing the other ladies of all different ages, weights and sizes. It makes you keep going.”
Perez charges the faculty a minimal fee to participate in the camp, and said he did it more to help the teachers, who serve as role models for the students. He said the superfit program allows the teachers to not only work on their bodies, but their minds, and that he would like to expand the program to other schools.
“I just love the work ethic the teachers put into it,” Perez said. “They are people that actually want to work out and have that drive to succeed. As a trainer that's where I get the satisfaction.”
Rhew said that the group workouts have helped to bring the faculty at the school closer together and to relate to the students, who see their teachers running through the parking lot or doing squats in the gym.
“In helping the teacher's mind and body and spirit and feeling better, in essence we are helping the kids as well,” Rhew said. “It does trickle down – how you feel about yourself and your attitude about everything. It benefits more than just the teacher.”
For more information on Perez's superfit camp, e-mail him at superfitwithcarlos@gmail.com or call 279-1269.
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