It was August 2022. Jennifer Kane woke up, took a long look at herself in the mirror, and said No. This isn’t me. I know I can be better.

Jennifer has spent the last 28 years in a first-grade classroom, all in Hopkinton. The Marathon Elementary teacher has the perfect disposition for someone that handles 6 year-olds all day: she’s positive and full of praise. But she needed to recharge her batteries.

One of her colleagues mentioned that she works out at Resilience Fitness on South street. It sounded intimidating to Jennifer, who never thought of herself as the “CrossFit” type. “No, no,” said her friend. “They have something for everyone there, don’t worry about it”. 

So she summoned her courage, made an appointment with owner Jamie Weeden, and took the first step in her fitness journey. Jennifer was matched with a personal trainer (HHS and Assumption grad Jaclyn Chirco) and they worked together on a realistic fitness plan for her. “I hadn’t done fitness in a long time, but Jackie reminded me that I do have a skillset that helps me achieve the goals I set for myself,” she said. 

By November Jennifer had recruited her husband, Evan. A few weeks later they signed up their son, Braden, who is graduating from HHS this June. 

“I just wanted to get in better shape,” said Braden. “It has helped me a lot with my mental health and attention span too.”

The real surprise was when Jennifer’s 80 year old father, Marty, got in on the act. Marty had been walking a few miles each day in Hopkinton State Park and overheard the family talking about their workouts and how fun they were. Thinking he was in pretty good shape he decided to come in for a little “toning”. “I wasn’t in as good of shape as I thought I was,” he said with a laugh. 

After two months he was sold. “I feel so much better now,” said Marty. “It’s a total body workout, and not just strength training. We do all sorts of stretches and different exercises.”

For Marty, who is in a 55 and older class, Resilience has become like a second family. There are 8 of them that work out together, all from Hopkinton, and they meet early to chat and catch up. “It’s a social gathering as well,” he said.

“I’m 80 years old, and I want to live to 90 at least,” Marty said with a smile. “I figure that a little exercise in addition to my walking every day is good for my heart and my cardiovascular system. And it’s fun to see my friends every day too.”

“The Resilience community is very supportive,” said Jennifer. “We all just cheer each other on.”