BY GREG KLEIN

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Organizers of the Clark Sports Center’s new “Commit to be Fit” program had their doubts about the program. “We were unsure if it was going to be a success,” said Doug McCoy, Clark personal training coordinator and co-designer of the program. “It was a lot of work in the beginning.

We had to get all the department heads to sign off on it, we had to present it to all the staff members. I think we worried that after all that, it might not be (a success).” Those fears were erased by the second day of sign-ups, when 100 Clark members had “committed” to the program.

That was nearly as many as had participated last year in the Pound for Pound Challenge, which the Commit program is replacing. The Pound for Pound was a weight loss program that rewarded members for losing weight with membership discounts and  a chart of their success. TheCommit program is similar, but doesn’t just focus on weight loss. It charts members participation throughout the fitness center, keeping a log of all their activities, and helping them try new activities and learn new skills.

Now eight weeks into the new program, McCoy and his fellow designer, Emily Kishbaugh, can see how successful they have been.

“Last year, when we would put the results on the charts, you could see the spot where results started leveling off,” said Kishbaugh, Marketing Specialist and Program Coordinator for the sports center.

“It isn’t that people were going backward, but they just weren’t improving anymore. Here, everyone turns in their account logs, and you can see the hard work every time.”

The numbers for the new program are impressive. A total of 255 members are in the  program, about a sixth of theClark’s total membership and nearly 30 percent of the adult members. Pool attendance and fitness class participation are up from last year by significant amounts. More people are attending the monthly health seminars too.

Even website viewings have gone up, five percent so far this year, and the Commit to be Fit website is the fourth most viewed page on the Clark site. More impressive than the numbers, however, are the individual stories.

“I don’t do this for the discount,” said Joanie Lee, 65 of Fly Creek. “I don’t do this to compete with the other members, although I have lost more weight than my daughter. I am doing this for my self-esteem. When you see what you have done at the end of the day, it really makes you proud.”

Lee, who worked in human  resources at Basset untilhealth problems forced her into retirement, has suffered from debilitating back problems.

“I have had major surgeries  that have failed,” she said.“At one point, I really hit the duldrums. When I saw this program, I decided to sign up and see what I could do.”

Lee said she has lost 12 pounds in eight weeks and greatly improved her back strength. She said she is particularly impressed with her yoga instructor, Katherine Walters.

“She’s wonderful,” Lee said. “She went to a retreat in Texas and she knows all the esoteric names and positions. We have a great class. There’s a 91- year old woman. There’s a 95-year old woman. We have everyone from a 95-pounder to a 400-plus pound woman.  She has to sit on a chair thewhole time, but she is doing the exercises. Everyone in the program is losing weight.

“The thing is, you do what you can do, and they never push you past your limits,” Lee said. “If they work here, then they are there for you.”

Part of the appeal of the new program is that it takes  advantage of the entirecenter and not just the weight room.

“You get credit for everything you do that is working out,” said Kishbaugh. Adds McCoy, “We wanted to do something that made people want to work out. This way it is always something different.

I hear people saying ‘man, I haven’t been in a pool in  years. I really love it!’” Each week, participants are given new challenges and encouraged to work out in different ways. New exercises are taught, new skills learned.

Tips and recipes for healthy eating are included. Results are logged in personal books, passports as they are called, and certified by instructors.

There are charts hanging on the walls that show who is having the most success— members are identified by number, not by name—and the challenges can spur some friendly competition.

“It has become a social thing,” McCoy said. “You see people looking at the weekly chart and you hear people talking about the results. Like ‘wow, number 22 really had a good week. I have to work harder to beat 22.’”

For McCoy, the program has become an extension of his personal journey.

“I had a sedentary job,” said the former van driver, “and I had gained a lot of weight. I started working out. Then I became interested in why I was working out, and what I was doing.”

McCoy became a part-time personal trainer at the Clark in 2000, and went full time four years ago. He said he was particularly interested in helping people find a successful routine.

“For me, when I first started working out, the hardest part was committing to a regular program. It is hard to keep to a routine,” he said.

It may be hard work, but with the help of their instructors, the Commit participants have also been successful.

Since the program started, the 255 members have worked out for 3,373-plus hours, and an average of 562 hours a week. Even the staff members are getting into it. Where just 12 did the previous program, 45 are now signed up for the new one.

Phase one of the program started on Jan. 2 and runs through May, but the program will continue throughout the year. Phase two will start in late spring and include more outdoor activities to take advantage of the weather.

“We’re going to keep it going,” McCoy said. “We want to give our members more ways to make healthy life changes.”

Continue reading here:
Fitness program ‘success’