CINCINNATI — The parking lot at the North Fairmount Community Center is empty these days, but business is picking up for trainers William and Shadaka Simpson at home.
“We're inviting people to come out to our home to work out with us like we did in the past,” Shadaka Simpson said.
The fitness couple behind Building Better Futures, or BBF Health, is now offering virtual training sessions multiple times a week on Facebook and Zoom for Cincinnatians during quarantine.
“We can't leave the house, we can't do very much," she said. "We still don't want people to fall off of their goals and their health.”
The Simpsons still want to keep it fun.
“You’ll probably see my kids going by; we'll still have like the jokes,” William Simpson said.
The fitness duo developed the Home Sweet Home program for families in quarantine and gives people like Sandra Woods an outlet during a tough time.
“It makes the time go way faster and you have a lot of energy,” Woods said.
As William Simpson operates the "Body Shop" from the basement of his house, he says his main focus is on the mind.
“I don’t care about the physical, I don't care about the six pack," William Simpson said. "Right now, like the mental side of it, that’s one of the biggest things that’s going south."
In these times of increased social distance, the Simpsons want to make sure mental health gets exercised, too, through meditation.
"People can go inside the basement or go inside their living room, or the restroom and just mentally go outside,” William Simpson said.
Therapist Eric Hollie of Speak Life Counseling Services says activities like meditation are important for decreasing anxiety and stress during a time when there's a lack of physical social interaction.
“For a lot of people the anxiety comes when there is a stressor that they are not able to control," Hollie said. "Once we start thinking about the things that we can actually do, it can certainly reduce the anxiety and help us to get in a better mood.”
Woods says the meditation is paying off.
“It just relieves stress from like not thinking about what's really going on and it takes you to another mindset,” Woods said.
Hollie believes the work now will translate to better habits later.
“Being able to handle this crisis, being able to manage your thoughts and your feelings in a healthy way, you will be able to carry that with you when we go back to quote unquote normal.”
So the Simpsons will keep doing their part to help building healthy lifestyles, one body and mind at at time. They're offering one free session to every new client.
To get started, send a message to their BBF Health Facebook page.
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