About 100 steps, two automatic sliding doors and a card swipe were the only things standing between Kendall Duet and his New Year’s resolution.Duet, biology freshman, is one of roughly 100 million Americans who vowed to stop weight gain and start doing something about it in 2009.”I’ve made resolutions in the past, and they’ve all worked out,” Duet said. “I stopped biting my nails, stopped drinking as much, so I figured I should be able to go through with this one and get in shape.”Duet is not the only one determined to shed extra pounds. Seventy-one percent of American adults made a resolution this year relating to fitness, weight loss or exercise, according to a poll conducted by Opinion Dynamics for Fox News.And the University Recreation staff has witnessed this trend first hand with increased traffic and membership sign ups.”January is always our busiest month,” said Tricia Milford-Hoyt, University Recreation assistant director of marketing and membership. “We’ve had about 1,200 people per day come in and out of the complex. A lot of people have resolutions on their mind, some are getting settled in, and some are just regulars back from the break.”The University Student Recreational Complex welcomed 24,850 individuals in the first three weeks of January — 6,016 more than during the same period last January.Furthermore, 341 new members have joined since the beginning of the year.University Recreation officials were prepared for the increased traffic, according to Milford-Hoyt. They implemented online class offerings to relieve congestion in the complex.”People that are new to fitness or who don’t feel comfortable being in a gym with a bunch of people have the chance to work out and reach their New Year’s resolution goals anywhere with an Internet connection,” Milford-Hoyt said. “Because we only have about four square feet per student on this campus, it was a great way to get people started.” Milford-Hoyt said the online classes have been popular. The kickboxing class had more than 2,000 views, as of Wednesday. The online pilates class had more than 1,200 views.Though the UREC offers these “stay-at-home” classes, Milford-Hoyt said the workout facility usually becomes crowded from 4 p.m. until 11 p.m.Jordan Garcia, business and marketing sophomore, is a regular and has noticed a difference in the number of people working out.”There are so many people here that it’s sometimes claustrophobic,” Garcia said. “Last semester, I used to be able to come in during the evening and get a workout in. Nowadays, I have to come early to get a machine.”Madeline Dreher, education sophomore, said she had to rethink her resolution to get in shape after seeing how busy the complex becomes.”The first few nights were horrible,” Dreher said. “There were so many people. I decided to come during the morning and mid-day hours when there are less people taking up the machines.”The UREC is not the only fitness center experiencing an increase in its membership and traffic flow.”This time of the year is like Christmas for fitness centers,” said Kirk Simmons, owner of Definitions Fitness Center near the University campus. “Most of our money — especially fitness centers around campus — make their money in January and in August when everyone is coming back to school.”Simmons said the center has signed 140 new memberships since the beginning of the month. The 140 new members are more than the gym signed up in November and December combined.  But these new members don’t necessarily stick with it.”It’s just a shame that we’ll see new people start coming in on a regular basis, and it’ll start to slow down right after spring break,” Simmons said. “It’s a revolving cycle that happens every year. Last August, we signed up 209 new members. From that group, I might see 20 members still coming on a regular basis.”
 
 
 
—-Contact Jay St. Pierre at [email protected]