SouthBMore Fitness Corner: How Sports and Fitness Can Make Us All Better

Sponsored Post | May 1, 2015 | 0 Comments

Sponsored Post from Reese Ashe of Reflex Functional Fitness:

It’s no secret that these have been tough times for our city. Baltimore has been through more in the last few days than I have seen in my lifetime. No matter your opinion or your point of view, we can all clearly see that there is a problem that needs to be fixed, but how? How can we fix such a huge problem? How can we teach ourselves and our children to be accepting of others, to follow rules, to respect authority and to support one another? I don’t have the answer for all of society but I know what worked for me and I know where I would like to start.

I’m no lawyer or law enforcement officer, no civil rights activist or vandal. I am a trainer, a coach and an athlete. Athlete, I take great pride in this word because being an athlete has saved my life in more ways than one and more times than I can remember. It put me through college and gave me the strength to fight through a life threatening illness and a week-long coma. It made me a fighter!

Growing up in West Baltimore just blocks away from Mondawmin Mall where last Monday’s rioting began, I saw and faced peer pressure and violence daily. I remember when my parents separated and when the lights were cut off when times got hard financially, but I stayed positive and stayed focused. I owe much of this to the discipline I learned from playing sports.

Sports not only gave me something constructive to do after school, it helped motivate me to get good grades so I could continue to play. Bad grades meant no karate, no wrestling, none of the things I loved to do. My coaches checked in with my parents and my teachers, they worked with them to make sure I was in line and being the best student and athlete I could be. I respected my coaches and looked to them as role models who I knew cared about me because they showed it. I respected my teammates who I looked up to and who looked up to me.

Being from West Baltimore, a predominately black neighborhood, I didn’t have much, if any, interaction with other races. However, after playing sports and being exposed to people of all races and backgrounds, I looked to them as family, as brothers and I respected them as such. I learned to respect and follow the rules of my sport even if I didn’t like some of the rules, I learned how to respect my competition, how to overcome loss and shake the hands of my competitors in both victory and in defeat. I learned how hard I had to work for what I wanted, I learned the importance of competition and what it takes to be successful.

All of this translates in the world today. I look at life as one big sport, a competition. There are rules to this game of life, some call them laws. Whether or not I like all the rules to this game I still respect them. I’ve competed for jobs, some I got and some I didn’t, but I knew what I had to do to get better. I tend look at people as either teammates or competition, but I respect them all and I know they have to work at this game of life just as hard as I do.

I would love to see more kids involved in sports and learning the value of fitness, hard work and competition. No, this isn’t the answer to all our problems but it can be a start. I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone and I’m building a brand and a business from this philosophy. Win or lose, I am determined to try and work as hard as it takes for the success of Reflex Functional Fitness. I’ve learned to dream big and work for what I want. Now I’m the coach and I’m building my team. I’m working with both our kids and adults and hope to help in any way I can to push us all to B-More!

Reese Ashe, NSPA, ISCA, and Black Belt., is the owner and operator of Reflex Functional Fitness at the Southside Marketplace in Locust Point/Federal Hill. Reese, a familiar figure in Baltimore, has more than 15 years of experience in the fitness industry as a personal trainer, group fitness leader and martial arts instructor. He won Baltimore Magazine’s Best of Baltimore “Best Personal Trainer” in 2010, Baltimore Sun Magazine’s “Top Trainer” in 2011, and Baltimore Magazine’s Best of Baltimore “Best Fitness Class” in 2012 and was again nominated in 2014.
Reese was a four-year NCAA Division I wrestler at Coppin State and has experience in Jiu Jitsu, boxing, Mui Thai, and Mixed Martial Arts. Reese has been taught and trained by some of the world’s best, which has fostered a discipline and work ethic that he strives to instill in all his clients.
Are you interested in ramping up your health regimen? Make sure to stop by Reflex Functional Fitness for a group fitness class, a personal training session, or to get more information.
410.962.8400 – www.ReflexBaltimore.com