Traci Doran-Hawkins says she "just wasn't feeling good, wasn't feeling good inside myself and I decided to make a change." She says the decision came when her father, Tommy Hawkins, who played for the Lakers and worked for the Dodgers, died suddenly almost two years ago.
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"It put so much fear in my heart about my life. I'm a single mother, I have three children. I said, my god, I want to live. I need to live and be here and be healthy. I need to get it together," she said.
That's when she found trainer Dion Hudson and his 40-50 Fit Club at Self-Made Training in Rancho Cucamonga. Hudson says he sees a lot of clients come in with knee injuries or lower back pain. He tailors each workout specifically to the needs of his older clients.
For Hawkins, that's lower back pain.
"I have to figure out how to alter her exercises so she can still work with the group and get to her goal, and figure out to change the workouts that fit to her needs, and if we're doing cardio, maybe she can't do jump rope, so I need to put her on the rower, or maybe she can't run, so I put her on the treadmill on an incline," Hudson says.
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"I don't have to be embarrassed if I can't get off the floor, he will extend a hand, and he will help me," Hawkins said.
Hudson understands that each client has their own needs and their own limitations.
Cynthia Harris from Rancho Cucamonga says, "you never know, it could be your last day, we don't know what's around the corner."