IZZI BENDALL | CADILLAC NEWS
Kim Ford, owner of Fit Body Boot Camp, demonstrates tire flipping. Ford said that exercises like this offer a fun opportunity to get moving. "It helps people feel better about themselves," Ford said.
IZZI BENDALL | CADILLAC NEWS
Throughout the month of November, Kim Ford (pictured) offered a free boot camp class on Saturdays in exchange for food donations. While 100 cans were donated by Business Networking International (BNI), the rest of the 500 cans and packages were donated by those who attended the freebie class.
Getting in shape - for the Salvation Army
By Izzi Bendall
CADILLAC - Some people spend their Saturday mornings sleeping in. And then there are others who wake up early to flip tires and drag weights across a warehouse floor.
During the month of November, Kim Ford was among the latter of those two groups.
"I wanted to do something to help out (the Salvation Army)," said Ford, a physical trainer. "During November, I offered free fitness boot camps on Saturdays in exchange for food donations."
The owner of Fit Body Boot Camp, Ford collected more than 500 food items to donate to the Cadillac Salvation Army.
And by offering the freebie class as an incentive, Ford was able to expose more people to strength training and weight loss exercise.
According to Ford, the freebie class averaged about 16 women each weekend. In comparison, Ford’s regular boot camps average about 10 people during the week.
"It was a great way to introduce people to boot camp in a non-risk way," Ford said. "Plus, they felt good about helping other people."
This isn’t the first fund raiser that Ford has orchestrated through her boot camp program.
In August 2008, Ford held a fund raiser for the Cadillac YMCA. By offering boot camp classes on the weekend for $3 a person (then under the name of Michigan Adventure Boot Camp), Ford was able to raise more than $1,000 for the organization.
"My goal is to do a fund raiser of some kind every year, probably in the summer or fall," Ford said.
While the Salvation Army fund raiser was supposed continue through Saturday, Ford instead spent the day preparing to make the move from the Cadillac Warehouse Gym, located on Hanthorn Street, to the Wexford-Missaukee ISD, located on 9907 13th St.
According to Ford, the boot camp classes are open to people of all fitness levels.
Boot camp classes occur at 5:15 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. For more information, contact Ford at 231-779-1328 or visit www.michiganfitbodybootcamp.com.
ibendall@cadillacnews.com | 775-NEWS (6397)
