nothin Two Trainers Strengthen Community Bonds | New Haven Independent

Two Trainers Strengthen Community Bonds

Nora Grace-Flood

Vanesha Warden with her daughter, Boom.

Adrion Russell, founder of Action Fitness, and Carla O’Brien, co-owner of District Athletic Club (DAC) on James Street, have a weighty message to share with their community: Fitness is for everyone.”

Adrion Russell and Carla O’Brien.

The two businesses teamed up on Saturday to offer a free, donation-based and socially distanced outdoor workout designed for all fitness levels.

The event was scheduled about two weeks after Connecticut gyms were given the go-ahead to open their doors on June 17. The collaboration was designed to bring back clientele and to engage collective calf muscle. Attendees were also encouraged to get politically involved.

This is the year we make change … and get the vote!” O’Brien declared to the crowd. Today is about community, unity, meeting new people, and joining forces!”

Attendees before the work-out.

On Saturday morning, those who registered for the workout showed up early to check in and get their temperature taken. Around 100 people meandered through District’s parking lot in athletic wear and masks, the latter of which were taken off once participants reached their workout stations.

Two volunteers from the NAACP at booth to register voters and help attendees fill out the 2020 Census.

Before the official workout began, some prepared with solitary stretches. Others practiced their conversation skills after months of social isolation. And many completed the 2020 Census and registered to vote at an onsite tent sponsored by the Greater New Haven NAACP.

Twenty percent of the morning’s proceeds were donated to The Trevor Project, a national 24-hour, toll free confidential suicide hotline for LGBTQ youth.

O’Brien estimated that they would raise around $500 based on figures from previous years; it is tradition for DAC to host a unique, fitness-focused fundraiser in support and celebration of LGBTQ communities every June. That number comes from donations and T‑shirt sales.

Adrion Russell addresses crowd before the work-out begis.

Russell described the day as a chance to heal amidst ongoing national trauma. Throughout the pandemic, Russell has been continuing his work as a personal trainer out of his house, offering live Zoom classes seven days a week.

He noted that even as Connecticut moves forward with reopenings, online classes remain important for those who are still wary of public spaces. Russell highlighted nurses and essential workers, who often feel intense anxiety about their own probability of spreading the virus.

Adrion and Action Fitness are all about accessibility,” said Vanesha Warden, who was attending the event with her sister Christal Johnson, who has been friends with Russell since high school.

He’s done amazing things in New Haven, and he gets through to people who would never venture to a gym.”

The two brought their daughters, Trinity and Boom, to the event. They pointed out that Russell’s at-home workouts are especially meaningful to busy mothers like themselves. When parents brought their children to group classes before the pandemic, Russell would have movies and entertainment already prepared.

Trinity and Christal Johnson, Boom and Vanesha Warden.

Like Russell, O’Brien said that even though the gym is reopening, DAC is continuing to livestream classes for members with autoimmune diseases and other vulnerabilities.

O’Brien reported that DAC’s business shrank to about 20 percent when the pandemic struck. The club has an expansive outdoor area and turfed zone that allowed them to start holding outdoor classes, in addition to video sessions, in mid-May. Now that the full gym is open they are operating with around 50 percent of their usual business.

This is directly related to the amount of space available due to new social-distancing regulations. Maximum capacity decreased from around 140 to 70 after O’Brien and the team took tape to designate workout zones 12 feet apart from one another.

The windows of the gym are now always kept open. Tables with sanitizers and information about the virus are stationed throughout the building. New technology, like electrostatic sprayers and air handlers, is being implemented in order to make sure that equipment is thoroughly cleaned between uses and air is circulated more effectively into and out of the building.

View of a socially distanced zoned room at DAC.

These are just a few of the myriad precautions taken by leadership at DAC. One effect of this, besides hopefully avoiding heavy spread of Covid-19, is that classes are operating at lower capacity and less frequently than usual due to distancing and disinfectant schedules.

Adrion Russell leads full group stretch to begin the workout.

Saturday’s workout was thoughtfully planned to channel movement through a large-scale circuit. After a group stretch to warm-up, everyone split into three smaller stations located throughout the parking lot and rotated according to evenly timed intervals.

For Mary Taylor (pictured), a DAC member, Saturday marked the first time she had worked out at her gym since March. I’ve been missing them!” she said.

Taylor took a tour of the gym, with all of its new safety measures, a few weeks ago. Her personal comfort levels” kept her at home. I’m glad they’re still kickin’ though,” she added.

Taylor, who works as a school diversity educator, noted that the shutdown has led to less programming and fewer work opportunities. 

With mass civil unrest and an ongoing pandemic, there’s this heightened state of anxiety and of feeling out of control,” Taylor said. Exercise is, to a certain extent, one thing that we can control … You have to keep moving in order to keep your head clear.”

Taylor noted that the workout’s focus on Pride and inclusion is what catalyzed her thinking and inspired her to finally return to the gym. I think today is my entry back in,” Taylor said slowly.

While Russell, O’Brien, and the other trainers led attendees through the group workouts, Dr. Gregory Hom from New Haven Chiropractic and Sports Rehabilitation stood by to offer advice on smart stretching and balanced fitness routines. Elm City Market donated fruit and energy bars. Edibolic Kitchen offered information about meal prep during the pandemic.

Noemi Rivera, Russell’s girlfriend, supported the cause by selling Action Fitness and DAC T‑shirts, which people could tie-dye at the end of the event.

Rivera, who is a therapist, stated that exercise is a definite strategy for managing depression.”

There are a lot of people under a lot of stress right now,” Rivera said. I always tell people to start by just taking a walk.”

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