From a Simple Bootcamp to a Thriving Fitness Studio for Seniors: The Story of Restoring Bodies
When our founder, Tammie Brown, began Restoring Bodies Fitness & Nutrition Services in the summer of 2014, it was just an outdoor class born from a desire to fill a gap in fitness for people over 40.
“I had just retired from the military and still had that military mindset. I taught bootcamps and would meet behind a church. Even though we weren’t in the location we are in now, I already had the name Restoring Bodies in mind because I wanted to offer a space where men and women over 40 could feel loved and accepted,” Tammie reflects. “I found that a lot of older people around 48 and up, start wanting to relive the years when they were ‘snatched’ or ‘fine’ or had an hourglass figure. They start doing things to their body that are not natural like not eating. I felt that demographic needed to be better served in Madison County. I wanted to show them how it is possible to take care of yourself without needing to beat up your body to fight aging and stay young.”
Building Team Restore
Eventually, in 2015, Tammie was able to find a physical location on Wall Triana Highway (her current location) and officially open Restoring Bodies Fitness & Nutrition Services. She continued teaching bootcamp classes along with a couple more classes, but quickly realized she could not do it all herself, especially since she was also pursuing an undergraduate degree.
“I actually began pursuing my degree in 2013, after retiring from the military. I enrolled in Lipscomb University in Nashville and was driving back and forth from Madison five days a week. In 2015, I took two semesters off to officially open Restoring Bodies. That’s also when I hired my first employee, Angela Parton Rousey.”
Angela not only taught barre, yoga, and mat pilates, but she was also Restoring Bodies’ first manager. Then, sometime between 2016 and 2017, Chris Irrgang joined the team to teach yoga, and eventually transitioned into the manager’s role after Angela left to start a family.
“Chris has been the manager since then,” Tammie recalls. “There has been a lot of transition in my business over the years, and people have come and gone, but Chris has always been my mainstay.”
Educational Pursuits and Personal Growth
With staff in place, Tammie had more freedom to focus on completing her education. She graduated May 6, 2018 and realized God was calling her to come from behind the scenes and standout.
“Lipscomb played a big role in building my confidence. I was 44 when I started and was older than all my professors except for one. I got along fine with my classmates and would share my life experiences with them, from having a child when I was very young to the different things I’ve experienced throughout my military career. I would just talk openly with them.
But graduation day was especially memorable. I remember we were all lining up, and as they began playing music, I started crying. If you had seen my transcripts, you would have wondered how I got into Lipscomb. I was not a good student growing up. I was often compared to my brothers who were more academically inclined than I was. Yet, there I was graduating from college.
And I’ll never forget the school president surprised me by recognizing me in his speech. He said sometimes we do life first before we come to school, and he acknowledged me as a veteran. The whole place stood up and gave me a standing ovation. I never had that before. It was a real ah-ha moment, because I realized God was calling me to the forefront.”
After graduating, Tammie took a year off to take care of family responsibilities. Then in 2019, she applied to Samford University’s dietetic internship, which also allowed her to earn her Master of Public Health degree.
Triumph Despite Doubts and a Global Pandemic
Building Restoring Bodies was never easy, but there were days that were much harder to navigate than others, especially when Tammie encountered negative comments and even a pandemic.
”When I first started telling others I wanted to start a business, someone told me no one would come because of the way I looked. As you can see I’m not a small woman. I was small most of my life, but after injuries from the military that limited me, having a child in my late 30s, and just getting older, I began to wear my weight differently – as we all do as we age.
The person’s comment really hurt me because we were friends, but I kept a strong poker face. The truth is what does my size, color, skin, height, shoe size have to do with helping you take care of your body and your mental health? It’s not about me. It’s about helping others prioritize themselves. Every time I get tired or feel like quitting, I think about what that person said, and I say to myself, ‘No, I’m not going to quit!’”
Then in March 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic shut down everything.
“We were like, what are we going to do?” remembers Tammie. “I initially thought Restoring Bodies was going to close and never open again, because we deal with older people. Some are immunocompromised and some just fear. There was a lot of uncertainty during that time, but I said, we are going to go online. So Chris and our other instructor at the time, Claudia Peters, would come in and record so that members could follow along live, or log in to watch it later.
I saw fitness studios and businesses open after me and close before me. I’ve had people quit, but we are still here. I get down sometimes and think about turning in the keys, but I keep going because I’m not a quitter.”
The Future of Restoring Bodies
The stories from clients about how Restoring Bodies has been a blessing in their lives has been nothing short of an answer to prayer for Tammie. “It makes me feel like, okay, God, I’m on the right path. Just seeing them challenge themselves and realize they don’t just have to age, but they can age gracefully. That’s what I love about this community. ”
But Tammie envisions doing much more for the Aging Gracefully Community. One day she hopes to have a full-service, holistic health and wellness center.
“The goal is to have our own free standing building with several different departments and offer services like massage therapy, reflexology, facials, and chiropractic services...maybe even have a nurse practitioner who can do blood pressures and obtain data for the nutrition department.
I also want to offer medically tailored meals for people with diabetes, chronic diseases, or who simply don’t want to cook. As you age, sometimes your energy just isn’t there and you don’t want to cook, so having medically tailored meals would be helpful.
Ultimately, I want it to be a wellness center where people can come and know we will take care of all their needs. It’s a huge dream, I know, but I want to teach people how to truly age gracefully.”
Encouraging Men and Women to Live Boldly at Any Age
Our purpose at Restoring Bodies goes beyond helping people build strength and maintain their mobility or eating well. It’s rooted in something much deeper.
“As people grow older, they often start taking more pills and start feeling like they’ve lost the essence of who they are,” notes Tammie, “but really they haven’t. Your body is aging but the essence of who you are is still there. It is your spirit man deep inside.
I want older adults to tap into that core part of them and grow bolder, not hide or withdraw. I want them to know they still have a significant place in society. The fountain of youth is in your mind. If you think you are old, you’re going to be old and you’ll shrink back. But if you know you offer something valuable, you’ll never shrink back no matter how old you get. You’ll never hide.”
And for those thinking it may be too late to pursue a dream, Tammie says:
“As long as you are drawing breath in your body, as long as you’re able to stand, sit, move, talk, it is never too late to pursue your dream. Your gifts and talents weren’t made for you. They were made for others. If God thought you were good enough to have them, why do you think you’re not good enough to share them? It’s never too late.”