New fitness supervisor shares passion with Bensenville community

New Bensenville Park District Fitness Program Supervisor Sylvia Acevedo hopes her own fitness journey can serve as inspiration to those she serves. The Mexican native transformed her life and made fitness her career after coming to America.

Her journey from Celaya Guanajuato, a 450-year-old town in central Mexico, to Bensenville began when she met her husband after graduating from the San Luis Potosi State University with a bachelor’s degree in communication science. She married and later moved to Bensenville in 2003, returning to his home state. A few years later, she discovered her passion for fitness.

“I decided to immerse myself in the fitness field in 2010,” says Acevedo, who has taught fitness classes at the Bensenville Park District the past 10 years. “I took my first training to become a Zumba® instructor and started teaching a weekly Zumba® Kids class at the Elmhurst Park District; that led me to adding more classes until I found myself teaching 17 classes a week in four different park districts in the area as well as an assisted nursing home and a corporate class in Elmhurst.”

Then the pandemic hit, and she found herself going from 17 classes to zero due to the state’s restrictions on gyms and indoor fitness activities. She decided that her clients were too important to her to leave them without access to her classes, so she opened a Zoom account, learned to use it and created a training program for seniors to learn to use the technology to access her training for free.

Acevedo still teaches several group fitness classes virtually and in person, and she has aggressively focused on adding new instructors and classes. She explains, “I am excited to benefit my community by offering new classes and new opportunities for our participants to enjoy and experience.”

Since starting her new role, Acevedo has added Zumba® Toning and Core de Force classes, and she expects to add more classes in March as more instructors get added. Those classes include Zumba®, Chair Yoga and Power Yoga. Additionally, she plans to bring free group fitness programs to local parks this summer. Those events will be announced in the district’s Summer 2022 Program Guide, which is scheduled to be in homes the week of March 21. The most recent class schedule is posted at WoodStFitness.com/classes.

“I want our participants to look forward to attending classes with us, for them be able to easily find all the information regarding our group fitness program and make them feel welcomed and cared for every time they walk in the Deer Grove Leisure Center,” she adds.

There are several ways to take part in group fitness classes at Wood Street Fitness:

• The Core Class Pass is available to adults 14 and older and allows unlimited access to all in-person and virtual fitness classes for $300 (residents) and $360 (non-residents) annually and $35 and $40 monthly, respectively (per calendar month, pro-rated);
• Punch passes offer a punch card of 11 classes for $60 ($80 for non-residents); and
• Daily pass fees are just $6, $8 for non-residents.

Membership information can be found online at WoodStFitness.com/membership.

Those interested in purchasing access to group fitness classes or joining Wood Street Fitness may do so in person at the Bensenville Park District registration desk at the Deer Grove Leisure Center, 1000 W. Wood Street, 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday.