Intense workouts help woman with MS find Fit City Success

Marketta Simmons no longer takes any medications for her multiple sclerosis.  She believes her faithful boot camp workouts have helped wean her off the MS medicines.

It was a year ago Marketta decided she needed something more from her workout.

“I was looking for something that was challenging and something I could increase the intensity of the work and someone who really pushed me,” says Marketta Simmons.

Marketta found that in Melanie Edwards workouts at East Texas Adventure Boot Camp.  Since 2003, Marketta has battled multiple sclerosis and the toll it takes on her body.  “I knew something was wrong.  There was numbness all over,” says Marketta.  “There was numbness in the hands, the feet, the legs and even now I still deal with the numbness and the weakness of the muscles.”

MS is a chronic disease. That’s often disabling. It attacks the central nervous system.

“Being diagnosed with MS, we often have a lot of problems with our muscles. So we must exercise every day and we must have an exercise that fatigues our muscles to strengthen our muscles and that is what boot camp has done for me,” says Marketta.

Melanie uses a PVC pipe as a workout bar. She actually fills it with water and uses it for functional training.  It helps her students like Marketta work on their balance.

“Coming to boot camp regularly, I don’t have as many symptoms as I used to,” says Marketta.

Marketta admits she has a love hate relationship with the challenging, exhausting workouts.

“If I didn’t exercise, I would have problems walking, problems lifting things, problems with my hands, basically home bound,” says Marketta.

So, the boot camp results are worth it. “So this has saved my life.”

MS can take a toll physically and mentally, but Marketta says with her intense exercise, she’s regained her energy and it helps get her through each day.

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