WAHM for January - Tonya Wells (part 1)

 Ask Tonya Wells about passion, and her face immediately gets serious as she quickly says, it’s all about the Moms. Physical fitness, healthy living, and going as far as you can go is what gets her out of bed every morning, at 4 am! (Yikes!)

picture by Jacque @ Jacque-inc.com

Being energetic, athletic is something she undoubtedly was born with. A competitive gymnast at age 10, her work ethic was apparent as she would not even take a break to go to Disney World with her family until her trials were finished! Now that’s dedication. Homeschooled in Wichita and a graduate of Northwest high school, marriage took her out of state where she lived in  Chicago and Dallas for 13 years. A fitness and personal trainer for 14 years she knew she wanted to work with Moms before she even was one.  A move back to Wichita three years ago brought her back to Kansas where she was left to start fresh. 

Fitness is where her heart is, and she knew, pregnant with her first child that she was not going to do anything that didn’t allow her to be able to still experience every moment with her child.  Working for another fitness facility like the one she left in Dallas was not an option as that would mean leaving her daughter behind full time and missing out on the “firsts” and interactions she was so excited to experience.  She began looking for something that would allow her to be self-employed and still bring her love and dedication of fitness to other Moms.  After extensive research in finding the best fit for her vision, she started with a small franchise that had Moms exercising along with their children in strollers. This led to Strollers In Motion, Fit&Tone, CoreFusion, Zumba, and the running club, Momsinmotion. Future classes are Yoga, Bootcamp: Train Like a Mother, and the Triathlon group  Everything began to fall into place for her business when two years later the franchise company sold their business to another similar franchise business.  This changed the expectations Tonya had for her business.  Taking a risk she decided to go out on her own. Thus, Mommy Movement Fitness was born.   Carrying on some of the popular classes already held she added to the format of her previous business and still is.  Owning the business fully has given her the chance to have complete control over what she wants to do and how it is presented.  

Not only are the popular Strollers classes continuing, but there are now Fit, Tone and Core-fusion classes (held at Rylie & Reece Boutique), a morning “Firm Your Butt” small group personal training class,  Yoga, Play dates complete with field trips and story times, Dad participation classes, and Fit Challenges where she coaches and trains individually complete with health assessments, grocery shopping trips, and text message food diaries. These give more personal accountability, encouragement and education.  That doesn’t even mention what’s to come for 2011!  

Moms moving it

Sounds like a fitness megaplex, but amazingly Tonya does most of this on her own.  Teaching majority of the classes, her and her daughter participate in the play dates, running in the marathons and racing in the triathlons. With an office out of her home, she is always looking for rental or borrowed space for the group classes. When the weather is nice they head outside to one of the local parks, or to the mall with the moms and their strollers.  Her dreams are to own a megaplex, complete with all the room, and then some, to make a child-friendly, Mom-centered workout facility.

But of course, behind every great woman…is another woman, or three or four. She is grateful to have help in some different areas in her business from some of the Moms that have become close friends throughout her journey.  Though she feels none of this would all run thoroughly without help from her Mother.  She is there whenever she needs her, and is at about every class to help her with her daughter in the background. Of course she couldn’t have made any of this happen without the 100% support she receives from her husband, whom patiently “allows” her to do it, and “puts up with her”, and has always encouraged her to pursue her passion. Most of all it is the ladies and Moms that come to her classes that get her up every morning. You can see the emotion behind it when she speaks of how so many Moms put off fitness and healthier lifestyles because they don’t feel they deserve it.   “When will we feel important enough?” She asks. “Isn’t being a wife and Mom important enough to make you want to take better care of yourself?”  She goes on to add “When you are healthier physically you are healthier emotionally and spiritually. Your self-esteem and confidence will benefit and you’ll be a better you.” Well put.

Race for the cure 2010

As a Personal Trainer, it’s easy for her to emotionally get caught up in the success of her students.  She wants them to succeed and any failure for them is a failure to her.  She works tirelessly to keep them going and wants everyday to find ways to make it better and easier for them to reach their personal goals.  Weight has never been an issue for Tonya, she admits this almost shamefully. But given her lifetime of energy and drive – it’s no surprise.  She doesn’t ever want a Mom who is on a weight loss mission to think that she doesn’t understand what they are going through.  She knows it’s a tough road – she lives and breathes discipline not only in how her and her family eats: but in her own fitness regimen.  Not willing to take full credit for the lives she’s changing, she sometimes feels that success could be limited without a Cinderella story of her own, but gives all the credit to the Moms who work so hard to change and take care of themselves for their families.


To be continued...Read part two of Tonya's story here. 
Meanwhile, you can check out her site www.mommymovementfitness.blogspot.com to get class info and schedules.