Every year around this time, I end up writing an article right before Bermuda Day. Usually it’s easy. Culture. Community. Roadside vibes. Flags flying. Music loud enough to shake windows two parishes over. People training for the half-marathon derby like they’re headed to the Olympics while others are simply preparing to secure their spot, traditionally held for 25 years ― “Please don't take my spot”. Classic Bermuda Day.

But the older I get — and the deeper I get into fitness and wellness — the more I realise Bermuda Day has always quietly represented both.

Not just fitness. Not just wellness. Both! Both working hand in hand for a more wholesome you.

When you think about it, that’s not just Bermuda Day. That’s Bermuda holidays as a whole.

Our holidays have always centred around community, movement, connection and togetherness.

Cup Match? Families camping for days, children outside from sunrise to moonlight, cricket, swimming, dancing, walking from tent to tent or doing a lap around the field seeing familiar faces.

Good Friday? People walking beaches, flying kites, gathering with family, slowing down long enough to breathe a little.

Heroes Weekend? Fetes, dancing, social connection, laughter, release.

Even Christmas here feels different. People checking on neighbours, cooking for others, visiting family, reconnecting with people they may not have seen all year.

At the core of all of it is wellness. Not the Instagram version. Real life wellness. Connection. Movement. Joy. Support. Belonging.

And Bermuda Day may just be the loudest reminder of all. Not because it's the most celebrated but because it begins our Bermuda summer season and naturally, people start moving again.

Walking groups form. Friends decide to train together. Coworkers start step challenges. Community races pop up. Free fitness classes and wellness events begin happening all over the island.

And then, our people show up.

Not because they suddenly became fitness fanatics overnight. Not because motivation magically appeared one morning sitting at the edge of the bed waiting for them. But because community pulls people in.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: action matters more than motivation.

Motivation is unreliable. One day you have it, next day you’re negotiating with yourself over whether putting on sneakers counts as exercise. But community? Community keeps people going.

Sometimes somebody attends a free class because their friend invited them. Sometimes somebody starts walking because they saw somebody else who looks like them doing it.

Sometimes somebody keeps going simply because people noticed when they stopped showing up.

That matters. And I love that many of Bermuda’s wellness initiatives are community-based and accessible because wellness should never feel reserved for people with the most money.

You do not need expensive workout sets. You do not need luxury wellness trends. You do not need to spend wildly trying to look the part.

• Sometimes wellness looks like:

• A free community workout

• Walking with friends after work

• Dancing for hours during a fête

• Drinking more water because your body is crying out for it

• Supporting local wellness events

• Resting when needed

• Spending wisely during holiday weekends instead of financially recovering until the next public holiday arrives

Financial wellness matters too, guys. Bermuda holidays have a funny way of exposing where people may be out of balance. Too much spending. Too little rest. Too much pressure to keep up.

But the holidays themselves? They were never meant to drain us. Traditionally, they were meant to bring us together.

That’s the piece I think people sometimes miss. The true value of Bermuda holidays has never only been the event itself. It’s what happens around it: The connection. The movement. The support. The togetherness. The memories. The reset.

So yes, Bermuda Day is beautiful because of the colours, the culture and the energy. But maybe its greatest reminder is this:

Wellness has always existed within our traditions. We just forgot to call it that.

Happy Wednesday, fitfam! As usual, be honest with your efforts, stay true to yourself and always be honest with your efforts.

Happy Bermuda Day guys! Enjoy the festivities and make the most of “gap time” with a ‘lil skank dank!

• Dre Hinds is a personal trainer, aerobic and yoga instructor and fitness “addict” with more than 20 years’ experience. She specialises in nutrition, weight and sprint training, operating out of HindsSight Fitness and Wellness at the Berkeley Cultural Centre. Contact her at absbydre@gmail.com or on 599-6683. Find her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram under @Absbydre