Humidity clung to the air of the third-floor room, a condition not present until members of the roping class at the Butler County

Family YMCA started sweating. These were serious exercisers.

The heavy bass of the “Rocky”-esque song “Eye of the Tiger” pounded out the correct beats per minute Tuesday at the start of the packed class.

About 20 people, chipper at the beginning then quietly concentrating later on in the hour, followed the lead of Sandra Ihlenfeld, physical director at the YMCA.

Roping at the Y involves neither riding horses nor lassoing cows. It’s more like the rope-jumping boxers do, with fancy footwork choreographed to music. Starting out slowly, then picking up the pace — all the jumping, hopping, lunging and squatting results in an advanced workout.“There’s no two classes alike,” said Randy Kruger, a class participant. “It’s jumping rope, it’s stairs, sprinting, jogging and sports drills.”The class is part of a time slot called Sports Conditioning at the Y, and the workout challenges even a man like Kruger, who enjoys kayaking and triathlons.“It’s a solid hour of calisthenics. It doesn’t require weights. … It doesn’t require you to go outdoors. It doesn’t require any expensive equipment, but it’s something you would not do on your own.”Getting people to exercise is the goal for Ihlenfeld, whether it’s an advanced workout like roping or a new class called Express Workout for unseasoned exercisers.“January’s our biggest fitness month, followed by September,” Ihlenfeld said. “It’s good for the community. We have worked hard to try to think what’s the best of the best.”

Express Workout is for adults brand new to exercise, a “quick and easy” 30 minutes of weight training and cardiovascular exercise combined, said Ihlenfeld. Participants complete a circuit of eight stations, spending three minutes at each stop.“Fifty percent of new exercisers don’t make it six months because they don’t have the habit,” Ihlenfeld said. “A lot of it is education. ... Most people just start by thinking about doing something ... The contemplation stage could actually last for years. If they get started and they go into a class where they think people are perfect-looking, they may reject exercise altogether.”The class is for those new to exercise, she noted, not for seasoned exercisers.“If they’re not doing anything, physically speaking, they will get a benefit from this (workout). It will be effective for them up to a year,” Ihlenfeld said. “Then they would want to move into other classes.”Express Workout will be offered morning, afternoon and evening and will expand as needed.“We want it to be the least intimidating and the most convenient, just to get people started,” she said. “It’s a half-hour; you’re in, you’re out.”

The roping class, on the other hand, represents a higher level of intensity. At one point Tuesday, black-and-white beads went flying when one of the swinging ropes broke. The moves at the end of the class included push-ups and the use of hand weights.Class members did move around a bit, going to the water fountain for a drink or taking a little break.Stretching out in the hallway after class, Kristen Fiorina and Rebecca Lozzi both said they love the workout.“We’re supposed to cool down on our own,” said Fiorina, gathering up the coats of her four children before going to collect them from the Y’s play place and recreation center.“She (Ihlenfeld) doesn’t waste time stretching,” added Lozzi. “After you do this class, no other exercise is so satisfying.”Mars Elementary School students find jumping rope satisfying as well.Pam Best, who teaches physical education and health there, has organized two, 12-member groups: a club for students who take their jumping less seriously and a team for those who are a bit more serious.“It used to just be in-house, but this year the team has been approved by the school board to be a demonstration team,” Best said.Dates have already been scheduled for the team to travel to the Moniteau, Hampton, Pine-Richland, North Allegheny and Shaler school districts.

The group will perform for their classmates on Feb. 17 and for parents later in the season.“They can do some amazing things,” Best said.Making fitness part of life starting with childhood, Rowan Elementary phys ed teacher Mike Manipole involves not only children but their families in the process.“We start out with a physical fitness unit right in January,” Manipole said. “We learn proper exercises, and the children and I build stations together and we do those.”Then he hosts a “Bring Your Parents to Fitness Day,” where the students take their families through the workout stations.“We do a circuit,” he said. “I believe fitness is a lifestyle. If we involve the whole family, the kids are more likely to keep with it.”From beginner to advanced, the Y offers 70-odd classes every week for its 8,000 members as well as non-members who sign up on a per-class basis. For more information, call 724-287-4733.<br></br><br></br><br></br>