As soon as you walk into the Body Slimmer women's only fitness club on Dundurn Street in Hamilton, Ontario, you immediately know this is a gym quite unlike any other. Most of the women taking classes vary in age, from 18 - 70 years old! And the woman at the head of the class is Loren Valvasori, a 46 year-old, 5-foot 4-inch 120 pound dynamo of lean muscle mass who pushes her clients like a benevolent drill sargeant, urging them to go for one more push up, one more sit up, one more deep knee bend.
What's remarkable about this picture is that ten years ago Valvasori weighed 100 pounds more than she does today. She had two children in quick succession in her mid-30's, and that lead to cravings for pasta, cinnamon buns and anything slathered in butter. It was a time when she was so depressed about her physical condition that she once left a family beach outing in tears because she hated the way she looked and felt. At 36, she reached her peak weight of 225 pounds. What she did was invest in a double stroller and a good pair of running shoes. She packed up her then one-year-old son and three-month-old daughter and started walking. In fact, she walked four hours each and every day, covering 10 to 15 kilometers with her kids in tow. She would chant to herself, 'You can do this. You can do this.' Sometimes she had tears in her eyes. Today, when you see the intense energy and joy she brings to her 20 workout sessions every week - and the sleek physique that's an inspiration to her clients - that oversized version of her former self seems a million miles away.
Soon, the pounds began to peel off. Valvasori bought a treadmill to use at home to supplement the walks. And she dramatically changed the way she ate. She also joined a gym and worked out for half an hour to start, slowly building to 45 minutes and then an hour each day. A decorator by trade, Valvasori began to dream of opening her own gym, confident that she could help other women reach their fitness goals. After all, she had done it herself.
That dream became reality in January 2004 when the doors to Body Slimmer opened. More than 2,000 women have joined since then, taking classes ranging from yoga to Latin and Pole dancing, using weights, exercise balls, spinners and stretch bands to banish flab, build abs and boost their metabolism.
One of the biggest bonuses is watching connections develop between her clients:
