January is a great month to be in the indoor fitness business. New Year’s Resolutions and cold weather make that truism a certainty. Keeping that uptick continuous as February, March, April and the sunny months arrive is the challenge.
If the past several months are any indication, Russellville’s Carpenter Fitness & Aquatics Center should maintain a high level of involvement throughout the year from its ever-growing membership.
After dropping to about 600, the city-owned health facility’s membership list has ballooned to over 2,000 currently, the highest total in the Carpenter Center’s 15-year history.
Franchelle Dickerson, who has worked at the North Main Street facility ever since it opened in December 1997, thinks there are a variety of reasons for the growth in its membership, usage and popularity.
At the top of the list is the leadership of Director JoAnn DeArmond, who started working there in the year 2000 and is in her fourth year in charge. DeArmond maintains a positive approach to the job and relates well to both employees and patrons. “She’s a people pleaser,” Dickerson says. “She has us all trying to be people pleasers.”
People pleasing includes affordable membership rates and packages, daily deals for non-members, a wide variety of classes and groups, updated fitness equipment, changed hours of operation, and concentrating on positives without dwelling on negatives.
DeArmond says Mayor Mark Stratton and the city council have been supportive in their two years together. The entire council was reelected in November, so there’s no reason to think that will change.
The Carpenter Center fitness area is open from 5:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 5:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Fridays, 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays and 2-5 p.m. Sundays. The pools are open those same hours, except they close at 7 Mondays through Thursdays.
Variety is evident in the weekly calendar. Ten classes or groups meet Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and nine on Wednesdays plus five on Fridays and three on Saturdays. Sessions include Indoor Cycling, Water Fitness, Yoga, Zumba Toning, Kidfit, Water Aerobics, Karate, Back to Basics, Body Awareness (water), Dance and Tone, Zumba and Zumba for Beginners, Dancefit, Tabata/Weight Class, Deep Water Fitness, Group Weight Lifting, Silver Sneakers, Lunch-Crunch Circuit, and Carl’s Cycle Circuit.
For example, Chelsey’s Water Aerobics class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 a.m. Participants wearing a belt jog up and down the pool and do exercises with weight training throughout the hour-long class. Chelsey Buffa has been with the Carpenter Center and Parks and Recreation for 13 years. The Carpenter Center Facebook’ page says, “If you think water aerobics is an easy workout or only for ‘older people,’ then you haven't tried Chelsey’s class.”
Yet members are also free to use the machines or pools as individuals on their own time table. For example, Martha Davis, who has been a patron for eight years, swims one to two miles four times a week. Retiree Fredia Meade, a member for 14 years, swims a mile three times per week.
The Silver Sneakers class is especially popular. It’s a national program for people who are at least 65 years old or have a disability. Many of the exercises are done in chairs. Some participants are on walkers. They use lighter dumbbells and smaller rubber balls, accompanied by music. The Carpenter Center staff had to undergo extensive training to become certified to offer the national program. Often participants memberships are paid for by insurance or Medicare.
On the other hand, the Kidsfit program is for ages 6-11. It started last week, and will run six weeks. It involves a boot camp of running, jumping and jumping jacks. Cynthia Craig, a full-time staff member who previously worked in the schools, leads this group. The cost is $3 per session for non-members but it’s free for member families. “With the concern about childhood obesity, we’ve had a great deal of interest about this group,” DeArmond says.
The swim teams from Russellville and Logan County high schools practice in the competition length pool, which is considered a rarity and a luxury in a relatively small town. Many high school teams have to travel to Bowling Green or other cities to practice. School facilities are sometimes used by Carpenter Center personnel for various activities. The gym at the Recreation Center on Winter Street, which is also owned by the city, provides space for some activities.
In addition to DeArmond, Dickerson and Craig, three other staff members are full time. They are Angie Collins Miller, Lisa Mantlo Graham and Jarrard Duncan. A number of other people teach classes as volunteers and in exchange for their own membership fees. They include Phyllis Townsend, Kori Slush and Neeley Shoemake in Dancefit, Carl Seidler and Brooke Johnson in indoor cycling, Wanda Nations and Betsey Whitescarver along with Buffa in water aerobics, Ann Gray and Carolyn Costellow in water classes, Sheila Martin in Zumba, and Hope Strode in cardio and weights. A half dozen lifeguards are employed part-time.
Swim lessons are popular, and Red Cross life-saving classes are offered periodically.
“Sometimes we give classes a try, and if there is not enough participation or if people don’t like one, then we’ll drop that class and move on to something else,” DeArmond says.
Memberships come in packages of three, six or twelve months. Current fees are as follows: Senior Adult, 3-month $45, 6-month $90, year $150; Senior Adult Couple ($60. $120, $220); Family ($110, $200, $310); Individual Adult ($62, $125. $240); Youth ($35, $70, $140). “We have an introductory offer now that if you pay for one month, you get a second month free,” DeArmond explains.
DeArmond works to help those who have trouble paying their fees. One solution is day passes, which are $5 per person. Classes for non-members cost $3 per session. Members take most classes free. Medicare often pays the membership fee for those 65 or over.
Danny Robbins teaches karate, one of the few offerings which require participants to pay an extra fee. The Facebook page says, “Martial arts builds healthy children .There are so many distractions that children face today. Martial arts are known to improve social skills, discipline and respect. Russellville Martial Arts conducts their classes here at the center for ages 4 and up. Master Danny is good with the students; he inspires them to practice hard and be good citizens .Base price is $50 a month includes two group sessions a week as well as a practice training session. Group classes last an hour with testing done on Saturday mornings after class. Practice training sessions last 30 minutes. If interested, contact instructor Danny Robbins on his Facebook page Russellville Martial Arts or call the center for a schedule
The Center also charges for the services of personal trainers, who are American Council Exercise certified. The fee is $15 an hour for an individual or these group rates: two people for $25 ($12.50 each) and 3 or 4 people $30. (3 people $10 each or 4 people $7.50 each -Limit 4.
The Carpenter Fitness & Aquatics Center also offers a program called “Fit in 6” for those who want to improve their conditioning in a short period of time. Participants will meet at the Sportsman Club on Mondays at 5:30 p.m. They not only attend the Monday sessions, but also must attend two different classes at the Carpenter Center per week and have the instructor sign off on the schedule. They must also keep a food journal and weigh in anytime before Friday. No diet pills or diet fads are allowed. Participants must be at least 16 years old.
“We’re not starting it until Monday, Feb. 4,” DeArmond notes, explaining, “By then those who have already given up on their resolutions won’t be tempted to join, and we’ll get the people who are serious about improving their fitness.”
To learn more about what the Carpenter Fitness & Aquatics Center has to offer, call 726-5052 or Like the center’s Facebook page. In the first 12 days of 2013, 46 posts appeared on that page from Center personnel, either promoting a program or encouraging healthy living. One of those posts, which appeared on Jan. 1, follows:
“If you have chosen weight loss, lowering cholesterol, or healthy eating habits as one of your goals, then for the next seven days keep a food journal, either written or use an app such as Loseit.com or myfitnesspal .This will help you learn why you eat the way you eat and help you change the habits of eating food that does not really nourish the body.
"Your body is a temple, but only if you treat it as one."