- ContributedNichelle Wilks (left) and Karelle Ashley (centre), directors of JAMFIT, and Samantha Phillipson, a fitness enthusiast, introduce themselves to patrons during the first fitness expo held in 1999.
IF YOU ARE into physical fitness or like buff bodies then perhaps the place you ought to be later this month is the JAMFIT Fitness Expo being staged at the Hilton Hotel in Kingston.
The Expo has grown steadily since its inception in 1999 and this year promises to be the biggest yet. At the launch of the event recently the organisers, Karelle Ashley and Nichelle Wilks, both JAMFIT directors, gave an overview of what to expect during the two-day event.
They explained that during the two days - July 27 and 28 - there will be booth displays from sponsors and workshops taught by local and international fitness instructors.
The event will also feature performances by the Ashe Performance Group and the annual Step Competition which usually generates a lot of interest. "This year we have expanded our horizons and the JAMFIT expo is physically bigger than before," Ashley said.
And bigger it will be. This year, there will be even more instructors parlaying advice this year than in any year previously. Local instructors will include Keith Fagan, a professional dancer and member of the National Dance Theatre Company, who will be introducing a new aerobic craze called Kongafit.
There will also be Keith Cousins, Jamaica's Latin Instructor who will be holding a Latin workshop. Also for the first time, Aerin Arumina Dunford of the Ananda Marga Yoga Institute will demonstrate the importance of yoga and flexibility.
Some of the international instructors will include Dino Spencer from Chicago, a fifth degree black sash in Chinese Shaolin Kung Fu, who will be conducting a Cardio Kickboxing workshop; Aimee Barnas, also from Chicago, who returns to conduct popular Step workshop; Cynthia Bowser from California who is certified in the new sensation Pilates, Resist-A-Ball and Spinning, and who will be conducting a Medicine Ball workshop.
There will be something for everyone whether they are in personal training, fitness instruction or just interested in health and fitness," explained Wilks, a director of JAMFIT.
