Locals work on fitness at the Copperas Cove Library
By BRITTANY FHOLER
Cove Leader-Press
The energy is infectious as a group of women move around the room during the Refit class held Thursday evening at the Copperas Cove Public Library.
Instructors Lydia Cody and Ronette Alfaro teach the Refit classes at the library twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, at 6:30 p.m., incorporating dance into exercise as they move and get their blood pumping to radio hits and contemporary Christian music.
REFIT was founded in 2009 by three women out of Waco - Angela Beeler, Catherine Ballas and Emily Field - who wanted to bring community back into fitness and see fitness evolve into a life-changing experience, according to the REFIT website.
REFIT is for people of all ages, all experience levels and all sizes.
“Each class is designed with the novice and expert in mind, and the “movement + music method” allows participants to feel successful the first time they walk through the doors,” according to the REFIT website.
The classes feature both high and low impact moves that are easily adaptable for people who need to sit in a chair instead of standing.
Classes are offered across the nation and in other countries as well.
Every Monday and Thursday, at 6:30 p.m. in the Public Library’s meeting room, Cody and Alfaro lead their group in an hour-long class of dance-fitness. The classes are available at no cost to the public.
Cody has been a REFIT instructor for almost 10 years and used to teach classes at the ASYMCA in Copperas Cove. She began teaching classes at the library back in August 2021.
“I love teaching, and I love helping people so that’s why I do it for free,” Cody said.
Cody said she loves REFIT because of the music selection and the sense of community that is built with the classes.
“It’s never negativity,” Cody said. “It’s just a really happy place…and nobody cares, and nobody makes fun of anybody. The other thing I love about it also is like when a new instructor could come to the class and the students would just appreciate you, and in other formats, it’s not like that sometimes. It’s really a happy place, and we do care about people and try to connect and they end up bonding and they end up making new friends. That’s awesome. Who doesn’t need new friends?”
Alfaro has been an instructor for approximately a year and a half. She was a student for several years prior to becoming an instructor and followed Cody and her REFIT classes from the Harker Heights ASYMCA over to the Copperas Cove ASYMCA before the Copperas Cove ASYMCA stopped offering classes. Alfaro said she felt the community aspect of REFIT the first time she attended a class at the ASYMCA and wanted to come to more classes on more days.
Cody said that she wanted to continue offering the classes to the public and offer this free resource for fitness, which is why she moved to the library when the opportunity arose.
“I love to teach, and plus I get my own workout, and it’s easier for me,” Cody said. “I don’t like to do tapes at home and even Zoom classes or anything. I just, I’m a people person so I have to be out there with the people. It makes it more fun. I mean, in your living room, it’s not fun, and then you don’t give it your all.”
During Thursday’s class, the class participants pumped up their energy during certain parts of the songs, shouting “Woo!” as they clapped and moved their bodies.
“The songs, really, they move you,” Cody said. “You might come in not feeling all that great, but you leave feeling good, every time.”
For the schedule of classes offered at the library, including the REFIT classes, visit https://www.copperascovetx.gov/library/ and check the Calendar of Events.