July 13, 2011
Vol 13 No 28
January 7, 2015
Lasting resolutions? Recipes
Classics Reinvented
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Around Town
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Business
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School
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Hagans celebrate anniversary
Ashley Phillips and Kyle Clawson get a pre-workout warm-up going on the rowing machines at St. Peters Crossfit, located at 929 Jungermann Road.
Photo by Brett Auten
Local fitness industry sees a wave of new customers with the New Year By Brett Auten This is it. This is the year. Come January I’m … Just fill in the blank. Often that blank is filled with a health-and-fitness-related goal that pertains to weight loss, increased exercise and activity, or simply getting back after it. If your line of work happens to fall into the health and wellness category, whether a nutritionist, gym owner, or a trainer at one of the name-brand fitness complexes – while it doesn’t reach Black Friday-type territory – January through March isn’t the best time to book that ski trip to Aspen. “The analogy that I like to use it is for us it’s what spring and summer is for landscapers and construction workers,” Matt Dickson said. “Everybody is in the mood to make change. Anyone in the self improvement endeavor is going to see an increase.” Dickson manages and operates Brickhouse Boxing that is located inside Dudas Fitness in Weldon Springs. He has been a personal trainer for seven years, first working at a mom-and-pop gym in Florissant before heading to the Mecca of all the “box gyms” Golds, where he stayed for seven years.
David Simon has a similar background. He has seven years in the fitness industry and is the owner and head coach of St. Peters Crossfit. “Global gyms thrive on New Year’s Day,” Simon said. “From January through March you’re lucky sometimes just to get on a piece of equipment.” While promises of change is good for the businesses making automated withdrawals from your credit card, what about those of us behind these pledges? While about 45 percent of Americans make New Year’s resolutions, only about eight percent succeed, according to a University of Scranton study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology. Simon looked to break through from the chain gyms when he opened St. Peters Crossfit 16 months ago. Crossfit is a burgeoning fitness community whose practitioners champion the group aspect of the workouts and a coach ( i.e. personal trainer) is nearby for every workout. His theory is that some New Year’s fitness goals are practically set up to fail. “They go into it with the right idea,” Simon said. “They join a gym and it’s very cheap. They get in there and it’s a busy time of the year and they don’t really understand how the machines operate, and they just kinda get lost.”
Local Ribbon Cutting
Dickson feels that too many times we are our own worst enemy. Most refuse to celebrate the little successes. There’s too much emphasis focused on an arbitrary weight goal and people don’t notice the little things like sleeping better or feeling less anxious. “People bite off more than they can chew,” Dickson said. “They say things like, ‘I’m going to lose weight, cut out all sugar, eat gluten-free, and workout See RESOLUTIONS on page 2
Teacher of the Year selected
“Selma” photos courtesy of Cloud Eight Films
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