Thursday, January 13, 2000 Older Editions

Say you made a resolution

By Rebecca Lipchitz

Is the January rush on health club memberships a group of fitness phonies or earnest exercisers? If Andover residents have resolved to get in shape this year, they aren't doing it when anyone is looking.

The Townsman searched this week for Andover residents who recently signed up at local gyms to fulfill New Year's resolutions. What we found were many regulars who say exercise is a way of life for them, but few new-comers.

Leaning into it -- Pam Gertie, who joined Silverado in December, says working out at a club works better than using the equipment in her basement, which was gathering dust.

Yet health club directors say the resolvers did come out -- that their membership skyrocketed this January, which is an annual phenomenon. Have new members abandoned their goals already?

Colleen Mengell, director of member services for the Andover/North Andover YMCA, says they average 10 new memberships a day in January.

Julie Chechik, who also works in membership at the YMCA, agrees. "People were signing up like crazy the day after New Year's Day. It was their New Year's resolution to join," she says.

While regulars reportedly pine for the start of February when the crowd thins (by number, not by volume), trainers at local fitness centers try to encourage new patrons to stick with their programs.

"You don't have to be in here sweating to death or writhing in pain," says Ted Bertini, physical director at the Y.

He says 80 percent of the members who sign on to a fitness plan are still on it a year later.

The key to designing a program someone can stick to, Bertini says, is sometimes finding out what they will actually do, as opposed to what they say they want.

"People come in asking which machines burn the most calories. The answer is 'the machine that you use.' If you only last five minutes on a machine, it's self-defeating," he says.

Lest Andover be divided into those who exercise and those who don't, the expansion of the YMCA slated for this year is expected to include the creation of a "Ready to be Fit" program, designed to help those who wouldn't know a Nautilus from a forklift get into the gym without being intimidated by complicated machines or over-ambitious goals.

"We try to keep the atmosphere from being overwhelming. We don't compete with Gold's Gym," Bertini says.

The Y is also home to many regulars.

Chuck Keeler, 35, who was weight-training Tuesday morning at the YMCA, says he has been working out regularly since he was 18, and prefers weights to running. He visits the YMCA four times a week now that he moved to the Shawsheen neighborhood, he says.

But even a die-hard like Keeler admits to taking a week or two off during the holidays.

While many were taking a break in December, Andover's Pam Gertie joined Silverado, a fitness club for women in downtown Andover. Gertie, 42, says she once had a basement stash of exercise equipment that began to collect dust.

After reading about the benefits of weight-training, she found a program to which she could commit, she says.

"You can vary your routine. That's the part that makes it interesting," says Gertie.

She decided to try weight-training in an effort to gain strength and ward off dangers like osteoporosis.

"I don't enjoy aerobics. I'm more the solitary type," she says.

Elise Caffrey, owner of Silverado, says their membership rush often occurs in late December.

"A lot of gift certificates are purchased by well-intending spouses and friends," Caffrey says, but adds that Silverado is not immune to the New Year's influx of the resolute, she says.

"Statistics show that 40 percent of adults exercise, which is probably consistent with the percentage of people who stick with their programs."

Health club owners also say they can't tell who has decided to take their exercise regimen outdoors in the spring, and who has given up.

Sue Luby, who runs BodySense Yoga, says her goal is to teach her clients something, no matter how many classes they attend. While some clubs cash in on the January rush, Luby offered a free week of classes.

"Even if you took the free week of classes and go back to your club having learned something, we've accomplished something. I hate to see people hurting their bodies," says Luby, adding that she tries to teach clients how to work their bodies efficiently.

"It's quite a simple thing to honor your own body and your own alignment," Luby says.

Ron Hatem, owner of the Andover Training Station gym in Dundee Park, says they too sell lots of gift certificates at Christmas time, and their trainers spend January trying to get members to keep appointments.

One Training Station trainer says she encourages new clients not to try to work off all their holiday weight by coming seven days a week, but to start with a moderate program and stick to it.

They may have found success in Paul Roy, 57, of North Andover. He joined the Training Station nearly six months ago. He attends three times a week and uses a variety of equipment. He's also trying out the Atkins diet.

His goal was simply to stay healthy, he says.

"I just didn't want to let myself go," Roy says.