After putting in a full, impactful day at work at Penn, some faculty and staff fill their spare hours with endeavors that make a difference. Welcoming all shapes and sizes
When Debra Williams started getting winded after climbing just a few stairs, she knew it was time to make a change. “I had high cholesterol. My blood pressure was off the charts. I didn’t have diabetes—I guess that’s a blessing—but I had all the major ailments that affect many African-American women.” It was then that Williams, director of special events at Penn’s Annenberg School for Communication, “jumped both feet into fitness.” She got a trainer. She started Spinning class, something she’d never tried. Eventually, she lost more than 50 pounds, and though she was proud of the accomplishment, she says she’d look around the facility during her workouts and, as a black woman in her 50s, she would feel isolated.
Annenberg director of special events Debra Williams started a gym called SMART Fitness to provide a welcoming environment for anyone to feel comfortable working out.
From that realization came SMART Fitness, a gym Williams opened in 2017 to offer a welcoming environment for people of all shapes, sizes, and colors. “Anybody can come, and anybody does come, but I wanted to do something that focuses on African-American women, mainly someone who looks like me,” she says. The gym offers the standard class fare of Zumba and Spinning, but Williams also brings in speakers to discuss topics like mindful eating. The idea is to foster community, making the gym more than just a place to break a sweat. “Community is big,” Williams says. “Recreation and exercise are part of my mission, but we also have fun. You just come in and have fun. Nobody cares what you look like.” |
