Walking club members in East Garfield work it

Aug. 29, 2008 - It's a summer Thursday evening in the basement of the 11th District Police Station, and aerobics instructor Keith Spurlin is cranking up the R&B on a boom box to get the room full of about 20 adult participants moving and grooving.

WalkForce members generally 10 laps around the Garfield Park Conservatory, or about 2 1/2 miles.  Photo: Rishona Taylor

"Work that. Work that. Work this," he intones. "Arms out. Little circles. Here we go. Arms up and down."

Then he starts stepping up and down at the same time and pumps his fists like a boxer. "Here you go. Straight out."

Then it's toe-touches, stepping to the left and right, and stepping up and down while bent over.

"Hey!" yells out one woman, in mock indignation. A call of "jump!" provokes exhausted laughter.

After touching elbows to knees and kicking legs out in front, Spurlin calls out: "Is everybody loose? Is everybody loose?"

The Thursday night class, which began this summer, is a recent addition to a 5-month-old walking club, called WalkForce, that's been motoring past the ferns and flowers at the Garfield Park Conservatory from Monday through Wednesday nights.

Club members, who number nearly 70 but usually total about 40 on any given night, generally do 10 laps around the conservatory, or about 2 1/2 miles, says Mike Tomas, New Communities Program director for the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance.

The aerobics class on Thursday nights leaves some participants in pain -- but with gain -- on Friday.  Photo: Rishona Taylor

With funding from Advocate Bethany Hospital , WalkForce is free to members, Tomas says. In addition to the evening walks and Thursday aerobics, the club offers Saturday morning community walks and monthly health screenings for glucose, blood pressure, weight and body fat.

Spurlin, a personal trainer who holds a day job at the 11th District, said the local CAPS coordinator recruited him to teach the aerobics class on Thursdays. "Everybody gets up, and they give me their all," he says. "I love it. We're in this life to live as long as we can live. We all know friends who left too young."

Health concerns prompted Diana Cancer, a member of the New Communities Housing Committee in East Garfield, to join the WalkForce after "a young lady called me. I said, 'How did you know I was fat over the telephone?' We had a laugh," she recalls.

Sherry Lawyer has high-blood pressure, suffered a stroke on New Year's Day and learned she had an aneurysm a month later. "The doctor told me I had to do a lot of walking," she said. "My cousin recommended [WalkForce] to me."

Health concerns have prompted many of the 67 members to join WalkForce.  Photo: Rishona Taylor

Her sister, Shellia Lawyer, said the high-blood pressure runs in their family, on their father's side.

"It's been educational because of learning how to eat better," she says. "Keith kills us on Thursdays. We can barely walk on Friday."

Marvin Adams, a diabetic who's had back surgery four times, walks about two miles every day and has dropped from 223 to 201 pounds in less than two months. "They told me to leave the remote alone and do some exercise," he says.

Darlene Hooper lives within walking distance of the conservatory and likes to get involved in activities there. "It was free," she says. "There were a lot of incentives [listed] on the flyer. The health piece is very important."

Vanessa Jackson says she's been active in sports her whole life. "It was refreshing to know that we had something like this in our community," she says. "The whole experience is wonderful. It's been very motivational to see the older members of the community."

To learn more about WalkForce, contact Rishona Taylor at the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance, (773) 638-1766 x17 or rmtaylor@garfieldpark.org.