SALISBURY — As 2024 takes shape, many people’s New Year’s resolution is to get in shape. 

The J.F. Hurley YMCA has 6,700 members who are taking a proactive approach to staying healthy. According to Senior Director of Membership and Marketing Bailey Bourn, 308 new members have signed up to the YMCA and 67 members have renewed their memberships since Jan. 1.

“A lot of individuals come into the new year with resolutions. A lot of those resolutions include getting healthier in mind, body and spirit. We see a significant increase, particularly in January and February in the number of individuals who are signing up for memberships at the YMCA,” Associate Executive Director Chris Wallace said. 

While the new year may have more people going to the gym, that number can decrease as the year progresses. Director of Healthy Living Ester Marsh has been with the YMCA for 27 years and teaches several exercise classes to its members. For as long as she’s worked at the YMCA, Marsh has seen the trend of people coming to the gym, but not following through with it in the long term. 

“Beginning of the year is definitely where everybody wants to try and do the ‘New Year’ thing. I’m from the Netherlands originally, so even in the Netherlands, at the beginning of the year they go then it fizzles out. That’s why we try to catch them and get them connected,” Marsh said. 

For people interested in joining, the YMCA offers deals and discounts as early as December. Bourn says that they also have “insurance memberships,” where if a person has medicare and a supplement insurance, the supplement will pay for the membership fees.

As a way to entice parents to make more trips to the gym, the YMCA has a nursery and after school programming available for kids and teens to take part in like culinary, theater, STEM and swim lessons. For adults, they can learn pickleball, boxing, rock climbing and other kinds of activities. However, being a member goes beyond just breaking a sweat. 

“They want more connections, they want more opportunities to build relationships with individuals. I think that’s what we provide here, a place not only for individuals to work out and get fit, but to build healthy relationships,” Wallace said. 

To get more people over the hump and coming back to the gym for longer than a few weeks or months, Marsh says it’s all about not overdoing it once they begin.

“Start easy, progress slowly. If you haven’t done anything, start with two times a week instead of being here five to seven days a week,” Marsh said. 

Marsh admits people get annoyed when they don’t see any positive changes immediately and tend to give up in March if they put in too much effort. She advises to add on a little bit each week, plan the workouts, and plan when to go workout. She also stresses to “warm up and stretch” before exercising to limit the chance of injury. 

“Health is the focus, not weight loss,” Marsh said.