Classes can help achieve New Year's goals
First comes a New Year's resolution to exercise. Then comes the challenge of motivating yourself to keep up with it.
Those looking to add a social element to their resolutions to “get fit” have a plethora of fitness class options across Butler County to choose from.
From membership at a larger gym, like the Butler or Cranberry YMCA, to varied classes at the Cranberry Township Municipal Center, prospective new fitness enthusiasts have no shortage of choices.
At the Rose E. Schneider Family YMCA in Cranberry Township, visitors can tour the facility at any time, but to get involved with classes typically requires a membership.
A family membership is $88 per month, individual memberships are $59 dollars a month, and a youth membership is $18 a month. There is no requirement to commit to a full year's worth of gym time. One-day memberships are also available, as well as scholarships for those who qualify.
Kathy Hensler, healthy living director, said that the center often sees a “big surge” of signups for classes and programs in January, depending on the weather.“Right now, December (has been) pretty mild, so it has been pretty busy here,” Hensler said. “January is the best time to kick off your goals, (but) you can't do a lot outside. We have an indoor track, we have a big selection of cardio equipment, we have rowers, and we also offer small group-training classes.”Small-group classes sometimes have an additional cost, but some other classes are discounted or free for members.“If you come to our Y and you need help with fitness, it can start with a wellness orientation with me,” Hensler said. “We can give you a free orientation on all the equipment, a consult with a personal trainer and free classes (about 130 on the schedule). “We have aquatic exercise; cardio classes, like cycling; combo strength and cardio classes, like X-Fit Rig or cardio intervals; boot camps; HEAT (High-Energy-Athletic-Training); Interval Insanity classes; Zumba; Aqua Zumba; Zumba Gold; yoga; and pilates.”The myriad of programs offered at the YMCA, include classes targeted specifically toward seniors and those with SilverSneakers senior insurance-related memberships, she said. “People who have arthritis, we recommend the Aqua Arthritis Class, because our warm pool is good for accommodating that,” she added.
At the Butler YMCA, Heidi Nicholls Bowser, the membership and healthy living director, agrees that January is a busy month for the fitness world.“Weight loss and fitness is still the No. 1 New Year's resolution. It is every single year. That's the way it goes,” she said. “It's what happens at every place where you can exercise. “If you are in the wellness and fitness industry, January is going to be a month where people come in.”Like the Cranberry location, the Butler YMCA offers a plethora of classes.
“Between our association, which is Rose E. Schneider YMCA and us, we run upwards of 72 classes a week just at our branch,” Bowser said. “There's no place in the county that does group fitness the way that the Y's do.”Bowser touted the variety of options as one of the YMCA's strengths.“When you're coming in, you're not going to be alone. You can talk to either myself or someone on the Healthy Living team about what you're interested in, what your goals are, habit formation — we talk about all of that stuff,” she said. “We will lead you to classes you might be interested in. “There's such a variety here. You're going to be able to try things and see what suits you. It's really about consistency, and it's a lot easier to be consistent if you can try new stuff.”
Habit formation, Bowser said, is a big part of making good on a New Year's resolution.“The first thing is still to plan it and put it on a calendar. And the second thing is not to overcommit, because that is the biggest poison to good habits — saying you are going to do more than you do,” she said. “Undercommitting, but following through, is going to be your path to success. “It's that all-or-nothing thinking that is the path to breaking your resolution. (If you're) saying 'I'm going to work out six days a week,' when you are currently working out zero (days), I would immediately try to adjust (that) goal.”The Butler YMCA also offers a “class pass” option before membership, where the fitness-curious can pay to try out a number of classes before deciding whether they want to become members. The center is also running a promotion through the end of the month, reducing the join fee for members from $100 to $22.
The Cranberry Township Municipal Center also offers a number of fitness classes for local residents and visitors.“We are definitely smaller and more intimate, so you're not going to get all of the bikes and the treadmills, but we're situated in a place where the library is here, the police department is here — it's kind of more of a hub for the township, so it's nice to be able to come in,” said group fitness coordinator Nancy Triscuit.Before COVID-19, the center ran a monthly membership program, but has switched to $5 a class for ease of scheduling for participants. Pre-registration is still required for classes. Group barbell classes, chair yoga, Fitness Light and Zumba classes are popular at the center, and a number of classes for seniors are available, Triscuit said.“We try not to emphasize the losing weight aspect of it, because it takes nutrition, it's not how much you work out. You could work out for five days straight and not change a thing,” she said.
“It's about nutrition and good eating habits, and that's what we emphasize, and we emphasize the community we build and being able to destress and form good habits. It's not just thinking they can muscle their way through weight loss.”Cranberry also offers some online classes, and Triscuit hopes to begin offering more beginner online classes this year.“It is nice, because some of the things we do in class, they can take that right into their workspace and do a lot of different things,” she said. “The Muscles and Mobility class, those are things you can, and should, be doing all day long. We have been getting more requests for more online classes.”Triscuit encourages those who are curious about developing an exercise routine to make that first step and register to try a class.“You'll find that everybody is friendly. The first step is really just getting your body in a course, or making that phone call or clicking the link,” she said. “Then you have to get there — but once you're there, it'll be a piece of cake after that. It's committing and saying you're going to do something to make yourself a little better.”
