November Community Captain of the Month, Jennifer Bledsoe – 10 years of Active SWV free programming!
I’m Jennifer Bledsoe. I live in Beckley, WV, but I’m originally from Indiana. I love the mountains and beauty this state offers.
I like to be active because it’s great for my physical, mental, and emotional health. This whole journey started in 2013 when I got a call from Indiana that my sister who was very young passed away. We learned later it was from a massive heart attack. This later lead me on a path of self- evaluation and had me really looking at my physical health. I knew I was severely overweight, not doing any physical activity, and not eating correctly. I made a decision to get moving.
First, I started walking but wanted to add more toning and cardio, so I did what most people do – I looked on YouTube for some inspiration. I found this fun video where there was dancing and I loved the music; it was called REFIT®. I started doing this every day at home and never looked back. I was hooked!
I looked for local REFIT classes in the area but there were none. I later found out they hosted trainings to get certified but really, it wasn’t something I ever thought about doing and it terrified me at first. The thing is I did it anyway!!! In 2015, I got certified, came back, found a location, and started teaching. A year later I recruited Amber (Fuller) to join me and she became an instructor. We were so happy. After two years of holding classes in Beckley, we were able to team up with Active Southern West Virginia. The vision of Active SWV and REFIT® lined up perfectly and we couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with them to get our community up and moving. We are so proud, that together Active SWV and REFIT have expanded the program in Fayette, Nicholas, Kanawha, and Webster counties so that everyone can experience what REFIT® is about. It’s fitness for EveryBODY. Regardless of fitness level or where you are on your fitness journey. There is a place for you right here. It’s accessible and free because of Active SWV and the Community Captain program.
Locally here in Beckley, there are six instructors leading REFIT® classes and have added an awesome format called Rev and Flow from REFIT. We have something for EveryBODY.
My team and I would love to welcome new members to the Active SWV/REFIT Beckley community. 2027 will make our tenth year of offering this free program to Beckley and the surrounding area.
Check the website calendar for more information, and pick your first REFIT class today!