KEMPNER – Years ago, when longtime Copperas Cove teacher Trish Stoddard was living in California, she wasn’t very happy with her health.
Today, the mother of five and grandmother of five is not only the epitome of fitness, she’s a personal trainer, group instructor and owner of Sweat at Cove Fitness in Copperas Cove, a family-run facility with about 1,000 members that features treadmills, free weights , elliptical machines, two group fitness studios, an indoor cycling studio, solariums, saunas, jacuzzis and a fresh bar.
When she bought the business two and a half years ago, it was literally a dream come true.
“It’s always been my dream to own a gym — always,” said Stoddard, an educator of 27 years who finished her career as a physical education teacher and swim coach at Copperas Cove High School and took over the gym in 2021.
Born in Reno, Nevada, Trish graduated from El Dorado Hills, California High School in 1985. After getting married, having two children, gaining weight and finding it difficult to lose weight, she joined a gym, started a nutrition counseling program , and participates in step aerobics.
“I had kind of an ‘aha moment’ and decided I had to do something,” Stoddard said.
She was making progress when the US Army assigned her now ex-husband to Fort Hood (Fort Cavazos) and they moved to Central Texas. As soon as she arrived, she started looking for a gym and found Ace Athletics, which was located in the Town Square Shopping Center and later moved to its new location and renamed Sweat at Cove Fitness.
As determined as she was to get in shape, like many people, she struggled at times.
“I have to admit, I was on a roller coaster back then,” Trish said. “You know, life gets in the way, so you stop going to the gym. Then you start back; then you stop; then you start again. Then the Ace Athletics girl asked me if I wanted to teach a step aerobics class. I said to myself, “I don’t know how to teach step aerobics.”
“She said she would train me, and once I started taking classes, she was like, ‘I don’t feel like going to the gym, but I have to because I have to teach my class.'” It helped me stay more motivated and more consistent .
“One class turned into five, which turned into 19 hours a week (she currently teaches).”
Finding success in your pursuit of physical fitness requires two main things, says Trish: consistency and patience.
“A lot of people know they want to get fit,” she said. “They just have to take that first step and get here. That’s why our enrollment room has a sign on the door that says “The First Step.” Sometimes people say, “I’m not sure if I want to sign up today,” and I’m like, “Look, you’ve taken the first step. You’ve made it this far. You obviously want to be fit, so what’s stopping you?’
“Once you get here, consistency is the key. You don’t have to train 10 hours a day or do a thousand burpees or anything crazy. Do a little each day and you’ll get stronger and fitter. You will feel better and that will motivate you to do more and eventually get to where you want to be.
“A lot of people want to get results right away. They join the gym and are consistent for a month or two, then quit because they aren’t getting the results they want. I ask them, “How long did it take you to gain weight?”
“They might say something like ‘Nine years.’
“Okay, okay, you need to give yourself some time to get it off.”
Some say the hardest part of getting in shape is just showing up. One way to find—and keep—that motivation is to understand your why. What is the main reason you want to start an exercise program?
“A lot of people are motivated by the aesthetics of fitness — they want to look good — but as you get older, you start to realize that it’s really about your health,” Trish said. “When you go to the doctor and they take blood tests, everything looks fine. This is when I want to go to San Antonio with my grandkids and run up and down the River Walk and not get out of breath. If the kids want to go on a hike, you don’t want to be like, “Oh, I can’t do that.”
“Everyone is motivated for different reasons. Over time, I learned that some people come to the gym to work hard. They want to exercise; they want to sweat. Some people come to the gym because they need a break from their kids or want to socialize with their friends.
“It doesn’t matter what drives you, as long as you show up and move your body. That’s the key.”
After so many years in the fitness industry, the transition from employee to owner was relatively smooth, but not without the occasional bump in the road, Stoddard says. It’s been a lot of work, but she loves it, and the support and encouragement she gets from her husband of 19 years, Jeff, is a big part of helping her achieve her dream.
“He supports me in every way,” Trish said. “I have been working in this hall for 25 years. I went from instructor to group fitness manager to general manager and now owner. I always thought, “If I ran this place, I would do it one way or another. Now I can do it this way.
“I really hope I’ve made improvements and made it better.”
