Women Find Community at the Refinery’s Morning Bootcamps

At 5:45 a.m., before the sun has a chance to rise, the Refinery gym parking lot is full. On weekday mornings, the McKenzie gym becomes the most popular establishment in town. While some are in the main room of the gym, working out on the treadmills or by the benches, many find themselves in the back garage, nervous for whichever exercises trainer Melanie Sawyers has in store for them.

When the door to the Refinery's back room opens, the women know how to start their day. Some go straight into stretches. Some stand and chat for a few minutes. But the class officially starts when Sawyers begins reading the day's exercises from the whiteboard.

The room is hot. The garage door stays open, letting in any light or wind that could be felt from the outside. There is no air conditioning. The only relief from the summer heat comes from fans situated throughout the room, but no one complains. It's just part of the experience.

Most of the women are as scared of Sawyers as they are admiring. The room's speakers blare loud music, but everyone's eyes and ears are focused on Sawyers as she explains and briefly demonstrates the exercises. When she finishes her instruction, the women disperse and get to work, periodically checking the whiteboard for assistance.

Sawyers, more coach than instructor, floats around the room. As she walks past the women exercising, she checks their form and takes photos to document their progress. Sometimes, if she doesn't think they are challenging themselves enough, she'll add more weights to their exercises.

"I know women are capable of more than what they think they are," said Sawyers. "I enjoy coming up with workouts that I know are going to be challenging because I know they're gonna feel proud that they did it. That's rewarding for me. That's why I push 'em with their weight. I enjoy seeing progress and seeing that they are capable of more than they thought."

Every participant has their own story, their own testimony, as to why they joined. They also have their own ways of measuring their progress. While body weight is sometimes a contributor, their reasoning goes much deeper. They want a gym community. They want to feel like themselves again. They want to feel young. They want to be healthy. They want to be able to show up for their kids.

When Lacie Watson signed up for Sawyers' bootcamp in March 2025, she and Sawyers messaged a bit about each other's expectations. During that conversation, Melanie asked her, "What is your 'why?'"

Watson had spent most of her childhood and early adulthood being active. She played basketball and softball throughout high school and played intramural sports in college. After having kids, though, she said she lost that side of herself.

"I told her that I wanted to feel good again," Watson said. "I wanted to get stronger. I did want to lose a little bit of weight, too."

Watson had friends who spoke highly of the program, but she had attended different gyms and classes before and wasn't sure if she was ready to try another.

During the week of spring break, Watson, a Dresden schoolteacher, decided to take a chance on the class. Her friends were out of town that week, and she thought, "If I'm going to do this, it's now or never." This was her chance to prove she was strong enough to go to the classes, with or without friends.

That first week, Watson said, was "terrifying." Every day, she woke up at 4:15 a.m., made the drive from Gleason to McKenzie, and came into the 5 a.m. classes by herself.

Sawyers texted her every day that week. Her messages would vary from "I'm proud of you!" to "You're showing up!" or "You're doing things!"

"I think a lot of women are very hesitant," said Sawyers, "because they think everybody in here has it all figured out and everybody's doing all these amazing things. I just work with everybody and try to meet 'em where they're at so they feel comfortable in this space just as much as somebody who's been here for two or three years."

Sawyers, a professional trainer from Gleason, has amassed quite the following of women since the day Refinery co-owner Josh Crawford recommended she start teaching morning bootcamp classes. Saywers had experience in other workout classes, including Crossfit, but she hadn't started one at this scale.

Sawyers began coaching the classes, which started as two mornings of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) each week, in January 2024. Over time, word of mouth inspired more and more women to sign up for the eight-week bootcamp.

Last summer, Sawyers added strength training to the mix. Now, she teaches four classes, 45 minutes each, from 5-8 a.m., Monday through Thursday. Mondays are dedicated to upper body strength exercises, Tuesdays and Thursdays are HIIT days and Wednesdays are focused on lower body exercises. At the end of each eight weeks, Sawyers releases new sign-up forms via Facebook, welcoming anyone to join.

Since January 2024, Sawyers' coaching has inspired over one hundred local women like Watson to begin their workout journeys. As they've built up their strength, they have also built and strengthened friendships.

Alyse Lowe and Emma McDaniel, though cousins, never had much of a relationship before joining bootcamp. Now, they are each other's morning workout partners.

Molly Wilson, a McKenzie schoolteacher, used to never go to the gym. Now, she considers herself "bitten by the bug." She and a group of women now work out together on Fridays and weekends to start their days. 

"I am myself," said Wilson. "I found myself in here. It's about the victories to yourself. You start out so small. Then you get to be proud of yourself as you progress. And there's all these people in here who are cheering for you, and you cheer for them, and it just, it just changes you."

Kerri Burden and her friend began at-home training with Sawyers in May. As they gained more confidence, they joined morning bootcamp sessions. Burden, who lost a lot of muscle after battling illnesses, was unable to walk upstairs without help before joining the class. Sawyers worked with her, modifying exercises to fit her capabilities. Just a week ago, she completed ten box steps on her own. When Sawyers posted Burden's accomplishment on Facebook, the post received over 200 likes and 70 comments from women supporting her and her testimony.

Jasmine Hatcher and Stacie Warman, coworkers at Hatcher's law office, have become each other's accountability partners. When the bootcamp classes began, they said they made fun of their friends for joining. Now, the two say attending the classes is as natural as brushing their teeth in the morning.

"You can't measure the quality of life this class has given us," Warman said. "Everyone in here is family now. We may not even all know each other's last names, but we're family."

Whether they are signed up for the current session of bootcamp or not, the women stay connected through the bootcamp's Facebook group. They post about their workout milestones and cheer for each other's progress. They can spot each other in town wearing t-shirts sold in the Facebook group that say Sawyers' motto, "Keep Showing Up." They've become a community, even if some barely know each other.