Local News - January 2004

Fitness resolutions boosts YMCA rolls

By SARAH GRANO, Staff Writer

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Many people ring in the New Year with resolutions to lose weight, and every January Lincoln County’s YMCA has seen an increase in membership and busier workout rooms.

“Everyone’s trying to work off those holiday inches,” said Stephanie Edwards, a YMCA member and aerobics enthusiast.

 “I’m delighted because the more the merrier. It makes it a lot easier to get through the class when you have a lot of fellow sufferers."

The YMCA expects around 180 people to join in January, said Carol Cochrane. That’s almost twice the number of people that normally join in a given month.

Not everyone who joins the YMCA in January does so with a New Year’s resolution in mind.

“I really don’t do resolutions,” said Kathy Black, who joined the YMCA in January three years ago. “I just try to maintain it all year long.”

A special January offer, which takes $50 off of the regular joining fee helps encourage membership.

“It gives people that extra incentive,” Cochrane said. “They’re not only going to lose the weight. They have the opportunity to have it be less expensive.”

While a large number of people join the YMCA in January, only a portion of the new members remain active in the spring.

“From their attitude the first day, you think you’re going to see them for the rest of the year,” said Amy McCranie, a group exercise instructor and personal trainer at the YMCA.

“It will last until about April, and then things will slowly taper off through the summer, everybody’s on vacation, and then it dies at the end of the year.”

For those newcomers who feel a little unsure about working out, the YMCA offers an orientation program.

“It can be intimidating if they’ve never been and don’t know what to do,” Cochrane said.

New members can discuss their history and their goals with a fitness instructor. The instructor then helps create a personalized workout plan for the new member.

The YMCA offers scholarships for those who can’t afford a membership, even with the $50 decrease in price.

Around 28 percent of the YMCA’s members do not pay full price, said Cochrane.

“We never turn anyone away because of financial needs,” said Cochrane. “It gives people the opportunity for people to stay healthy as far as spirit, mind and body when their lives are in disarray.”

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Staff Writer Sarah Grano can be reached at 704-735-3031 or sgrano@ltnews.com

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© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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