from The Beacon News | Aurora, Illinois
New fitness program coming to Aurora

'New face'; Dee Hakala
moves to Aurora, YWCA,
with nationally known class

By Mike Norbut
STAFF WRITER

AURORA - No more excuses, couch potatoes. The perfect exercise class for you is coming to the YWCA of Aurora.

The class wasn't developed by Tae Bo instructor Billy Blanks, by Denise Austin, or by any of those other chiseled, unrealistically fit people, either.

The "New Face of Fitness" is Dee Hakala, a self-proclaimed "fit, but not thin" certified fitness instructor and personal trainer. Her fitness program is designed not for the people looking to go from a size 4 to a size 2, but for people who need exercise to live happier, healthier lives.

"My goal is to get people off the couch, shake them up and say fitness is fun," Hakala said. "It doesn't matter what size you are. You have to get up."

Hakala, author of the book Thin is Just a Four Letter Word, Living Fit for all Shapes and Sizes, recently moved to Aurora. She once weighed more than 350 pounds, then decided to change her living habits. She is now a physically fit 220 pounds, although she admits she's still a "work in progress."

Her real victories, however, are evident in the healthy lifestylcs people in her program have been able to maintain. The results, she said, are not necessarily in the smaller pant sizes, but in the vital numbers, like cholesterol and blood pressure. While anyone is welcome to join, it's geared toward people with weight problems and medical conditions.

"The goal should not be to look like me," she said. "I'm not saying 220 pounds is the epitome of health. But my blood pressure has been healthy since 1992 and my diabetes has been gone since 1992."

Hakala's program has been licensed at more than a dozen locations throughout the country, but, since she recently moved to Aurora, she plans to run the local program herself.

That will mean an even bigger inspiration and more motivation for people interested in joining the program, said YWCA health promotions director Vicki Lettow.

Hakala will start the local program with a motivational talk Tuesday at the YWCA, 201 N. River St., and she'll do another presentation, titled "Dee's Magic Box," from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday. Classes, which will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, will start next week.

The YWCA is offering an introductory rate of $35 per month for the class, and participation will be renewed on a monthly basis. For more information or to register, call the YWCA at (630) 896-8588.

"I think of her as a female Richard Simmons," Lettow said. "They say how health clubs are fighting for the same 15 percent of people who exercise. Dee's not going after those people, at all. She's going after the 85 percent"

She's doing it through flexible classes, one-on-one lifestyle consultations, and support sessions, all of which are wrapped into the program. Program associates even help get physician permission for people who otherwise might not consult their doctors before exercise.

Her idea won her Nike's Fitness Innovation Award in 1994, and it has continued to win her thanks from people who have changed their lives.

"This isn't just to get people to start, but to stay with it," Hakala said. "Getting off blood pressure medication is just as important as losing 50 pounds."

Contact Mike Norbut at (630) 844-5829 or mnorbut@scn1.com.