Site last updated: Thursday, October 23, 2025

Log In

Reset Password
MENU
Butler County's great daily newspaper

Best Intentions

YMCA Executive Director Sandy Ihlenfeld, center, instructs a body pump class at the Butler YMCA in 2016. Exercise classes at the Y tend to get crowded at the beginning of the year with people attempting to make good on New Year's resolutions.
Be SMART when making healthy New Year's resolutions

It's like the tide every January. The Butler YMCA classes fill up with participants resolved to become a better, or at least a healthier, person in 2019. And by February the flood of exercise class participants begins to ebb.

“It's common. Everybody has this rush of good intentions,” said Julie Saeler, healthy living director at the Butler YMCA, 339 N. Washington St. “For 30 to 60 days everybody comes in with high energy and good intentions.”

“It's a ton of people. The classes get filled,” agreed Nicole Parrish, the YMCA's aquatics director.

And then the participation begins to trail off around St. Valentine's Day.

Parrish said, “By the middle of February, people start to trickle out.”

There's a reason for this, said Saeler. People start a new exercise program with unrealistic expectations.

“The typical pattern is this 'all-or-nothing' approach. People tell themselves 'I'm going to go to the gym every day,'” she said.

“People are starting off the new year in regards to exercise with super-high intensity workouts. It gets to be too much,” she said.

Play it SMART

The key to making and keeping a resolution to exercise or lose weight in 2019 is to play it SMART.

That stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-phased.

According to Saeler, this means a program is Specific — Rather saying, “I'm going to exercise more,” specify how many calories you will burn or minutes you will work out; Measurable — Track the calories burned to gauge success; attainable — bumping up exercise duration to burn extra calories;

Relevant — Fit exercising into a larger weight-loss plan; and Time-phased — Set an exact goal: 'I'm going to lose five pounds in three months' or 'I'm going to improve my time in the mile from 20 minutes to 18.'

“We want people to break a sweat and move their bodies,” said Saeler. “Saying 'I'm going to commit to two or three days a week' and maintaining that is so much healthier than going to the gym every day for a month and burning out.”

Fortunately, she added, the YMCA has a multitude of classes to fit every schedule, fitness level and age.

The Y offers more than 70 classes a week from indoor cycling to pool aerobics from beginner to advanced exerciser.

“There is no reason not to find a movement activity you will be comfortable with,” said Saeler.

“There is an option here for everyone, so if you are trying something you don't like, you need to keep trying new options until you find something that challenges you but encourages and motivates you,” she said.

Non-members can sample classes through the use of a day pass or a five-punch pass, she said.

Saeler said, “In February we have two small group trainings we are launching at the Butler YMCA (and many small group trainings are already ongoing at the Rose E. Schneider Family YMCA in Cranberry Township).

“Tread and Shred and W.O.W. (Women on Weights) are starting here Feb. 4. Registration is required for these,” she said.

“W.O.W. is a class to educate women on weight training to increase their bone density and muscle mass,” she said.

The Tread and Shred class combines treadmills and strength training.

The YMCA also has a “Buddy Up Personal Training” program where two people can save money on the cost of a personal trainer and gain the extra accountability and motivation of working with a partner.

Saeler said the Butler YMCA will have three personal trainers offering health and nutrition coaching.

“This allows us to work with members on more than just their physical health,” she said. “ We engage in dialogue about all the components that make up our day-to-day lives (nutrition, sleep patterns, stress levels, work/life balance, and more).

This approach opens the doors for us to help a greater number of people in more ways than just exercise. After all, we can't out exercise a bad diet or unhealthy lifestyle,” said Saeler.

Stages of change

Psychologist Jaclyn Herring of Malec, Herring and Krause in Mars is not a fan of New Year's resolutions.

She said there can be too much pressure to change habits quickly at the turn of a new year.

“When I look at people trying to change,” said Herring. “It's well researched that there are six stages of change:

Precontemplation where you might be resisting change;

Contemplation where you are thinking through the pros and cons of change;

Planning or taking steps to enact the change;

Action or actually stopping smoking or beginning walking

Maintenance where you work to keep the change and

Learning from relapses.

“Some people when they slip up go from stage six all the way back to stage one, deciding the effort isn't worth it,” said Herring.

Deciding to break a habit or start exercising on New Year's Eve is setting up for failure, she said.

“It's important that planning and preparation is really done,” Herring said. “Maybe you can use the early part of the New Year to make a plan, consider the pros and cons and then take action.”

“It's all about getting out of your comfort zone and into your stretch zone,” Saeler said. “The stretch zone is learning to get comfortable being uncomfortable.”

“Look at where you are and move forward from there. Do not compare yourself to others and do not set the bar so high that you set yourself up for failure,” she said.

“Reaching smaller (short-term) more attainable goals more consistently will have a larger impact on your overall movement toward better health than one large long-term goal,” Saeler said.

Julie Saeler, the healthy living director at the Butler YMCA, recommends the following links to view classes and services available at the YMCA:- Personal training webpage: http://butler.bcfymca.org/personal-training/- Group exercise class schedules can be found here: http://butler.bcfymca.org/group-exercise-schedules/- Entire program guide can be found here: https://www.flipsnack.com/bcfymca/butler-ymca-2019-winter-spring-program-brochure.html

Jaclyn Herring
Julie Saeler

More in Community

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

* indicates required
TODAY'S PHOTOS