B’Fit building bonds through fitness

A new fitness group has formed on campus. B’FiT Black Girls’ Fitness Club is a group partnered with the Associated Students of the University of Arizona and the Coalition of Black Organizations. According to its Instagram page, it’s a “new club on the University of Arizona campus dedicated to building bonds, getting fit and having fun while doing it.”

One of the group’s founders, Brena Andrews, is a graduate student at UA studying educational technology. She describes B’FiT as “a social club where black girls can make connections and have fun working out and trying new things they may have never tried on their own.”

The group seems to be succeeding in its mission. “We as black women now have spaces where we can improve our mental and physical health, which is crucial to our success and sanity at this PWI [predominantly white institution],” said Jhoedi Sellers, a UA junior majoring in psychology and minoring in religious studies.

Sellers noted how B’FiT is helping her be more active which “will in turn help her live a longer, healthier life.”

The group was started when Andrews started using the recreation center and noticed there weren’t many girls there who looked like her. She wanted to create a group where other girls such as herself could explore fitness with each other, because “working out with other people who you identify with can be so empowering,” Andrews said.

The Daily Wildcat talked with Angelica Hill, a co-founder of the fitness group, to get more insight on what the new club stands for and why it is important to have on campus.

Daily Wildcat: What is B’FiT, and what is its purpose?

Angelica Hill: B’FiT is a black girls’ fitness club on the campus of University of Arizona geared toward black/African American women but is open to all women. Its purpose is to help young women learn how to work out, have a great time while doing so and socialize with other young women on campus.

DW: What made you join or create B’FiT?

AH: Personally, what made me desire to help Brena create B’FiT was just talking to her. We noticed that there was a multitude of young black/African American women who were not working out or going to the gym because they didn’t know what to do in the gym, didn’t want to go by themselves or felt uncomfortable. We wanted to stop that, knowing that the desire to be fit was there, just the means, dedication and club was not.

DW: What are some of the meetups you’ve been to so far?

AH: So far, we have been to a boxing gym, gone to yoga and this upcoming weekend we are attending a weight lifting class.

DW: What has been your favorite meetup?

AH: I suppose my favorite meetup would be the boxing, because it was our first time working out together. Just seeing and hearing all of us support each other and encouraging each other was special to me, because I haven’t had that sort of workout connection since high school, when I ran track.

DW: How has B’FiT impacted your life?

AH: B’FiT has positively impacted my life by helping me work out on a regular schedule and helping me feel like I am improving my community.

DW: Anything else you’d like to mention that hasn’t been asked?

AH: I really appreciate this club, because it is more than just working out together on Saturday then leaving. When we see each other on campus, we stop and say hi or have a nice conversation. It has allowed me to reach people and try new methods of exercising that I possibly could have never done in my own.

For more details on B’FiT, follow it on Instagram at @bfitua.

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