Butler YMCA gym busy Saturday after New Year’s
The Butler YMCA’s wellness center was full of people Saturday, Jan. 3, working out with specific goals in mind — from preparing for upcoming trips to gaining more consistency in their gym visits.
Wendy Raviotta, of Center Township, was building endurance using hula hoops of varying weights and sizes. She teaches a hoop artistry class at Urban Air Adventure Park in Cranberry Township.
“I have to keep in good enough shape to teach on a regular basis,” she said.
Raviotta explained she loves teaching people who claim they’re unable to hula hoop how to do it. She said the hula hoops sold in grocery stores are toys and workout hula hoops have water inside so the water’s momentum carries the hoop around the body.
She said smaller and lighter hula hoops are often the most difficult to work with.
“The bigger they are, and the heavier they are, the easier they are, because they go slower,” Raviotta said. “If you make it fun and teach people how to be successful with it, they’ll stick with it.”
Chuck Kreinbucher, another Center Township resident, aims to get into the gym five days per week as a New Year’s resolution. He played football in school and is working to transition into running.
“I’ve never been a runner, so I’m trying to get more into that,” Kreinbucher said.
Kreinbucher said he’s also training to complete the 29th annual Rachel Carson Trail Challenge with his dad on June 20, the Saturday closest to the summer solstice, in Pittsburgh. The 37-mile challenge from North Park to Harrison Hills Park runs from sunrise to sunset.
The trail is “primitive” with no added grading or surface materials. The challenge is both to finish the trail in one day and not get lost.
Lance Slater, of Meridian, also aims to make his workouts more consistent with dedicated gym time five days per week. He’s looking to gain weight and muscle and, hopefully, see the results on the field when he returns to Gannon University in Erie to play baseball.
