Growing up in Mexico, Maria Flores, 49, got the same message that many Latinas hear: Education is unimportant for a woman whose job it is to raise and care for a family.
“My father always told me, ‘You don’t need education or anything; you just need to know how to cook and clean,’ ” Flores said.
For years, she believed him. She took scrupulous care of her family, shepherding two of her eight children through cancer treatments, but ignoring her own health.
“So I grew up with low self-esteem about my body,” she said.
“I didn’t know I could be strong. My parents told me I was only a wife and a cook, because that’s all they knew, too.”
But in 2013, a physician diagnosed her with . Flores was shocked. She was determined to avoid the disease that killed her mother at age 60.
She learned about the clinic’s 10-week bilingual training program for its walk/run and decided it could help her lose weight and stop the diabetes from taking over her body. She never expected to galvanize an exercise program that drew in most of her extended family.
“Mucho, mucho, it has changed my life,” Flores said at a training session for Sunday’s Adelante 5K.
“I think about what I eat, and doing my exercise, and not stopping. Five years ago, I didn’t think I could exercise. I just didn’t think that was for me, because of my age, and I had a lot of children, and I was overweight.”
Through her thrice-weekly exercise program with associate , Flores went from 260 pounds to a healthier, more muscular 160. Her daughters, who used to wait in the car during their mother’s exercise classes, saw Flores become leaner and more energetic.
“I just sat there in the car with my cellphone and my sister, eating ,” said Izela Flores, 19.
But she watched as sister-in-law Silvia Silva, who joined Maria Flores in the Adelante training program, began losing weight, too, going from 150 to a svelte 107 pounds. Izela and her sister, Elsa, decided to leave the car (and the chips) to join Flores and Silva in their workout.
“We saw them losing weight, and I couldn’t be lazy anymore,” Izela said.
“I wanted to lose weight, too, so I started the program two years ago.”
She went from a size 16 to a size 9/10.
“My attitude changed,” she said. “I used to not care. I didn’t believe anyone who told me I could lose weight. Now I eat healthier. I eat small portions. And my mother used to run faster than all of us. Now I can outrun her, a little bit.”
She’s trying to talk her husband into exercising with the group. Her brother, Cristobal, is a regular member of the Thursday and Saturday workouts, but she’s had less success with other relatives.
“When we went to Mexico after I started working out with Yoli’s group, and I was jogging there, people were like, ‘What are you doing? Are you crazy?’ ” she said.
“I believe it’s a cultural thing,” said Silva.
“As Latinas, when we have families, we aren’t supposed to think about ourselves and our needs. We worry about our family being healthy. In our culture, we don’t normally care what we eat.”
According to the , only 14.4 percent of Hispanic adults meet the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities, compared to non-Hispanic black adults (17.3 percent) and non-Hispanic white adults (22.8 percent).
Hispanic Americans are 1.2 times more likely to be obese than non-Hispanic whites. , compared to 61.6 percent of the general female population.
Casas acknowledges that for many of her students, the training sessions are an introduction to exercise.
“This is the first time most of the immigrants get a chance to exercise or participate in physical activity,” she said.
“I start from the beginning, and there is never a stupid question. I talk to them about things, even if they’re embarrassing, like getting a strong bra to wear exercising, what post-menopause is about and how it affects us. In turn, they gain trust in us — coaches, Clinica Tepeyac — and in our culture, trust is huge. If we can get them to trust in us and see we care, they will make that commitment to the end.”
True, says Silva. Also, exercise makes her feel better.
“I used to be grouchy and my husband says I’m happier,” she said.
“It’s true. When I run, I see the colors of the world. I hear the birds. I can keep up with my children!”
Claire Martin: 303-954-1477, cmartin@denverpost.com or twitter.com/byclairemartin
Adelante workout on your own
Try the Adelante (Forward) workout that has converted Maria Flores’ extended family. You’ll need comfortable, supportive shoes, plus a large towel or yoga mat for the floor exercises. The workout takes 60 to 90 minutes.
Warm up
10 minutes
Walk, slow jog (alternating jogging and walking) on a track, or the perimeter of a large room, like a basketball court, or around the block.
Walking drills
25 counts each
Butt kick (slow jog, heels kicking high enough to graze buttocks); then walk for 10 paces; knee-ups (lift each knee high, slowly, like a parody of marching); walk for 10 paces.
Range-of-motion work
5 minutes, standing
Arm circles forward and backward; wrist rotation forward and backward, ankle rotation forward and backward.
Foundation
3 times
From a standing position, drop to your knees, then put your palms on the floor, and push yourself back up again. Advanced: Do a plank or a push-up before rising again. (This is especially helpful to people who have trouble rising from a chair or bed.)
Cardio
10 minutes
Fast walk, jog or run. If you’re just starting to run, alternate running 30 steps (counting one leg), walk 30 steps, run 30 steps.
Moving drills
25 count each, with 10 steps between each drill
Butt kicks; knee-ups (adding lifting your arms over your head with each lift); cross-overs, leading with your left foot in a sideways motion, then leading with right foot.
Floor drills
25 times each
Push-ups; crunches or toe touches (seated).
Plank: count of 60
Forearms and toes on floor, back straight, torso suspended over the floor.
Cool down
5 minutes
Child’s pose (kneeling on floor, rump nestled between feet, forehead touching floor, arms extended), interspersed with stretching, including lying flat on the floor, arms overhead with fingers reaching out, and toes extended, breathing deeply. Lie with eyes closed for 30 to 60 seconds.
—Claire Martin
Join the class
Interested in joining Yoli Casas’ training sessions? The summer season begins after Mother’s Day and includes a Capuzon swimming class, which is geared to novice swimmers, and a boot camp, El Reto El Retito, a fitness challenge that involves an obstacle course. The year-round program is open to the public, with a request for a $10 donation four times a year. The sessions, taught at the , 5090 Broadway, and at Manual High School, 1700 E. 28th Ave., begin in January with pre-season training (four to five weeks) of indoor exercise core and strength work. That’s followed by a 12-week running program geared for a first 5K run.
For more information, contact yolicasas@yahoo.com, or visit yolistrainingteam.com.
