‘The best me I can be’: Thrive Fit Fest reaches hundreds, helps Culpepper on road to fitness
Meghan Culpepper found her answer on Facebook.
The medical office associate at the Penn State Center for Protection of Children in Harrisburg was cruising through her feed when she saw an ad featuring a photo of people in workout poses in the center of an aircraft hangar.
It was Thrive Fit Fest, a Penn State Health-sponsored one-day fitness festival. On June 22, fitness and wellness companies demonstrated fitness technology and the latest workout routines on three different stages at the Capital City Airport in New Cumberland, Pa., and offered free health and wellness screenings.
Penn State Health scheduled seven mammograms and completed 26 heart-risk assessments at the event. More than 650 people attended, including Culpepper.
Culpepper has been on a fitness mission lately. In March, she’d undergone weight loss surgery at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Since then, she’s lost 78 pounds and has been attending her gym armed with energy levels she never had before.
“I just want to be the best me I can be,” she said.
Lately, Culpepper reached a crossroads with her workouts – should she keep trying to take off pounds on her own or try group exercise?
Penn State Health and Thrive Fit Fest had Culpepper covered. Penn State Health gave her free tickets to the festival. She tried three group exercises — Dance Party, which was hosted by Crunch Fitness, a chair dancing and twerking workshop, led by Spinning Harts Studio, and a Zumba class, led by ZumbawithCat.
Culpepper loved it. “It was really, really great,” she said. First, her weight loss surgery had paid dividends, giving her the stamina to complete all three classes. And Thrive Fit Fest kept her comfortable – participants of all skill levels were welcome and received helpful tips and instruction.
“Everybody was really energetic,” she said.
Thrive Fit Fest has sold Culpepper on group exercise. She’s joining a new gym and signing up for classes.
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