Booty Bootcamp will meet each Tuesday and Thursday April 11 through May 11 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The program is specifically designed to strengthen the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus. This group of muscles does more than add roundness. These muscles play an important functional role in your body’s alignment. Strong glutes protect you from injury, improve athletic performance and give you a curvy shape. They stabilize the pelvis during running and walking. Strong glutes also help with hip extension and forward propulsion.

An informational meeting to learn more about Booty Bootcamp will be held on Tuesday, April 4 at 5:00 p.m. in the second floor Meeting Room.

The cost of each program is $112.50 for Pearce Foundation members; $150 Pearce members; and $187.50 non-members.

Food Choices Matter, a new nutrition class, is available to add on to Booty Bootcamp. To get the best results, this add on class allows participants to pair their class with a solid nutrition plan that will help them customize the diet plan that is right for them, provide accountability, and develop specific eating habits that will help them break through to their goals. The nutrition add on class will be taught by Megan O’Reilly, AFPA certified nutritionist and wellness consultant. Megan will bring her advanced education, multiple certifications, and years of experience to the class.

As an add-on class to Booty Bootcamp, Food Choices Matter will meet on April 11 for one hour from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., and then again for 30 minutes on April 13, 20, 27, and May 4 from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m.           

The cost to add on Food Choices Matter to either class is $56.25 for Foundation members; $75 for Pearce members; and $93.75 for non-members. 

New Fitness Programs Offered at Pearce in April

Pearce will offer new fitness programs for adults in April: Challenge for Change Mini Session and Booty Bootcamp with the option to add a new nutrition class.

The Challenge for Change Mini Session will help participants change the way they think about exercise, fitness, and nutrition to overcome obstacles that prevent them from meeting their fitness goals in order to make long lasting changes to their routines for better health. Weigh-ins will be conducted and inches lost will be tracked; however, participants will come to understand that these are a byproduct of hard work. Workouts will be designed to improve strength, endurance, and overall fitness to improve everyday life.

The program will meet each Tuesday and Thursday April 4 through May 4 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. for five weeks. An informational meeting to learn more about the class will be held on Thursday, March 30 at 6:00 p.m. in the second floor Multi-Purpose Room.

Booty Bootcamp will meet each Tuesday and Thursday April 11 through May 11 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The program is specifically designed to strengthen the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus. This group of muscles does more than add roundness. These muscles play an important functional role in your body’s alignment. Strong glutes protect you from injury, improve athletic performance and give you a curvy shape. They stabilize the pelvis during running and walking. Strong glutes also help with hip extension and forward propulsion.

An informational meeting to learn more about Booty Bootcamp will be held on Tuesday, April 4 at 5:00 p.m. in the second floor Meeting Room.

The cost of each program is $112.50 for Pearce Foundation members; $150 Pearce members; and $187.50 non-members.

Food Choices Matter, a new nutrition class, is available to add on to Challenge for Change Mini Session and Booty Bootcamp. To get the best results, this add on class allows participants to pair their class with a solid nutrition plan that will help them customize the diet plan that is right for them, provide accountability, and develop specific eating habits that will help them break through to their goals. The nutrition add on class will be taught by Megan O’Reilly, AFPA certified nutritionist and wellness consultant. Megan will bring her advanced education, multiple certifications, and years of experience to the class.

Food Choices Matter as an add-on to Challenge for Change Mini Session will meet on Tuesday, April 4, 18, and May 2 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the second floor Meeting Room.

As an add-on class to Booty Bootcamp, Food Choices Matter will meet on April 11 for one hour from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., and then again for 30 minutes on April 13, 20, 27, and May 4 from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m.

The cost to add on Food Choices Matter to either class is $56.25 for Foundation members; $75 for Pearce members; and $93.75 for non-members.

Spinning Bike For Sale

Outdoor Exercise Equipment Installed at Pearce

Pearce Community Center now features five pieces of outdoor fitness equipment, thanks to the Pearce Community Center Foundation. The equipment, designed for adults ages 14 and older, has been installed directly adjacent to the playground on the west side of Pearce to allow parents to observe their children at the playground while they exercise.

This $13,000 Pearce Foundation investment was made to commemorate Pearce’s 25-year anniversary. It includes a traditional chin-up bar, recumbent bicycle, cardio walker, chest press, and balance board station. Signage indicating how to use the equipment is attached to each piece.

The Pearce Foundation was created to provide an endowment fund for planned gifts and donations to Pearce Community Center. The mission of the Pearce Foundation is to attract financial resources for the purpose of providing long-term financial security to Pearce Community Center. Since its inception, the Foundation has distributed more than two million dollars to Pearce for all major projects, remodels, and expansions including: roof repair, second floor window replacement, second floor renovation and remodel, locker room remodel, pool, new computers, fitness area expansion and equipment, Spinning® room addition and equipment, front entrance remodel, Exergame room addition and equipment, parking lot expansion, playground, women’s fitness room, and air conditioning for the new gym and track.

Pearce Foundation memberships support the mission of the Foundation and provide members with a variety of additional benefits including guest privileges and discounts on most classes, programs, and events. Because part of a Foundation membership is a donation to the Pearce Foundation, it is tax deductible.

The equipment is open to the public.

Dodgeball Develops Life-Saving Skills

A group of firefighters from Chillicothe Fire Department and Chillicothe Community Fire Department Stations 1 (Chillicothe Chestnut St), 2 (Chillicothe Bradley Ave), 4 (Rome), and 5 (Mossville) were at Pearce playing dodgeball on February 27. These community volunteers showed up in full turnout gear and SCBAs (Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus) to see how long one tank (4500psi) of oxygen would last during strenuous exercise/conditions.

Breathing is perhaps the most important skill in any fire rescue effort because fire victims are often overcome by smoke and carbon monoxide, according to experts.

For firefighters, managing the air in their tanks can be the difference between life and death. Fire departments regularly conduct air aware drills. All of the sliding, running, bending, crawling, throwing and dodging is designed to make them aware of air; to demonstrate how quickly an air tank intended to last half an hour can run out of air when the person wearing it is working and breathing hard.

Many of them say the most important piece of equipment to health and safety of a firefighter is the SCBA. During dodgeball, firefighters are getting used to paying attention to the air pressure gauge while facing all kinds of distractions. The gauge has an alarm that warns them when their air pressure is getting low.

New Indoor Cycling Bikes Coming Soon to Pearce

Habit Forming

By Raquel "Rocky" Herron, Fitness Manager

Habit.  What exactly is a habit? According to Merriam-Webster online, a habit (which has several different meanings) can be described as, "a settled tendency or usual manner of behavior; an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary."  Has exercise become a habit for you?  

As we enter the third month of this new year, has fitness become something that is usual for you to do, almost without thinking?  Do you automatically drive to the gym after work or first thing in the morning after dropping off the kids?  Has fitness become a fixture in your life that, without it, you'd feel off?  If you answered yes to these questions, then bravo, you've made exercise a habit, if not, what's holding you back?  This month, let's explore some solutions to help make exercise a lifelong habit.

Step one; change your thinking about exercise.  Exercise is not something you HAVE to do, but rather, something you GET to do.  When you start to change your thinking about exercise, you invite the possibility of actually liking exercise.  If you always look at exercise as a chore or a burden, you'll never see the true value of exercise, and that, in my opinion, is feeling better!  Sometimes you must "fake it until you make it," as the saying goes, so that might apply to your weekly sweat sessions.  After so many weeks of "faking" it, you'll more than likely actually start to like it or, hopefully, love it!  Look forward to each exercise session as a chance to better yourself; to get stronger and healthier than you were the day before!

Step two: schedule your workouts around YOUR life, not what a fitness magazine or professional bodybuilder who works out for living says.  That might mean you're working out at 4:00 a.m. or on your lunch hour.  It might mean you're working out when the kids go to bed, or while your spouse is catching up on their favorite show.  The point is, you have to fit exercise in where you can, according to your unique schedule.  I know there are opinions out there claiming the optimal times to work out, but not everyone has an optimal schedule.  Refer to paragraph two, exercise does not have to be a burden, you just have to make it work for you.

Step three: understand that sometimes life has other ideas about what you need to do. Maybe it's a week full of meetings, sports practices, and awful allergies.  Or maybe it's sick kids, work deadlines, and terrible motivation issues.  Whatever it is, sometimes the best intentions to fit your workouts in fall short.  You have other pressing matters that keep you from your workouts and that's OK!  What's important to realize is that it's not all or nothing.  Don't give up on fitness efforts because one week only yielded one workout.  Sometimes it may feel like you're barely hanging on to the wagon, but keeping your focus on what drives you to exercise will help you through the tough times when life gets messy.

To sum it all up, habits are behaviors we adopt through consistency.  Consistently exercising will hopefully lead to an exercise habit.  Keeping a positive disposition about exercise, scheduling workouts around your life, and realizing that sometimes life gets complicated, will help you keep it all in perspective.  Habits aren't formed overnight, but rather, gradually over a period of time.  It might take a good six months for exercise to become a true habit in your life, but it's six months well spent!  Keep up the good fight and continue to develop that wonderful, healthful, fulfilling habit known as exercise!

Refer a Friend!

Pearce members can earn one month free when they refer a friend to Pearce!

Lockers Available to Rent

Kids Fitness Program Registration Open

Pearce Community Center will offer four different fitness classes for kids as part of their six-week Kids Fitness Program.

The classes are designed for boys and girls ages 6 to 12 and will be held on the stage from 5:45 to 6:30 p.m. with a 15 child maximum enrollment.

Kids Cardio with Karen will begin on Monday, April 3 and features high energy aerobic exercise designed to get the heart pumping. Tumbling with Priscilla begins on Tuesday, April 4 and includes cartwheels, head and hand stands, bridges, round offs, front and back walk overs. On Wednesday, April 5, Kids Strong with Rob will begin. This class allows kids to safely participate in cross-training. Finally, Yoga with Ruth will meet on Thursdays beginning April 6. The class includes flexibility and balance, essential to overall health and physical fitness.

Pearce Foundation members pay only $18.75 per class; Pearce members $25; and non-members $31.25.

Underwater EGG-Stravaganza

Pearce Community Center will host Underwater EGG-Stravaganza on Friday, April 7 for children ages 2 to 8.

The doors will open at 5:30 p.m. for ages 2 to 5. This age group will hunt from 6:00 to 6:30 p.m. Ages 6 to 8 will hunt from 7:00 to 7:30 p.m. Each egg collected will earn a visit to the prize table. Each hunt will feature one bonus egg. The child who collects this egg will receive a special Easter basket. When the age groups are not hunting in the pool, they will be able to enjoy games and activities in the Community Room. During the hunt, parents must enter the water with their children.

Open swim will be available from 6:30 to 6:55 p.m. The cost of the event is $7 per child. Accompanying parents enter free.

Tap Dance Classes

Tap class for adults 16 and over will be offered at Pearce Community Center. Basic tap class begins on Friday, March 31 and intermediate class begins Wednesday, March 29. Both classes meet from 10:45 to 11:45 a.m. and run for eight weeks.

Pearce Foundation members pay only $30; members pay $40; and non-members pay $50.

Spring Running Club

The Pearce Community Center Running Club will kick off its 10-week spring session on Tuesday, March 28 at 5:30 p.m. The Club meets each Tuesday and Thursday evening and is open to all ages and skill levels; however, children under the age of 10 must run with an adult. Runs are led by Illinois Valley Striders. In inclement weather, the Club runs on Pearce’s indoor track. Foundation members pay only $60 for club membership; members $80; non-members $100.

March Senior Potluck

Pearce will host the monthly senior potluck at noon on Tuesday, March 28. All seniors are invited to bring a side dish and their own table service and join in the fun. Fried chicken and drinks are provided. This month, Winston Dunbar on the piano will provide musical entertainment.

Junior Fitness Certification

Junior Fitness Certification will be offered on Monday, March 27 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. for young members ages 13 and 14. After successfully completing the class and receiving certification, young members will be allowed access to the cardiovascular room, Selectorized equipment area, and group exercise classes.

Participants will learn how to use the equipment in a safe, productive manner. Additionally, they will learn fitness etiquette, and rules.

Pearce Foundation members pay only $9; members $12. Advance registration is required.

Spring Break Day Camp in 3 Weeks!

Pearce will host Spring Break Day Camp for students in grades K-6 from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, March 27 through 31. Before camp care is also available beginning at 6:30 a.m.

Campers will spend the week enjoying a variety of indoor and outdoor activities, swimming in the pool, and local field trips. Bring a daily sack lunch that does not require refrigeration but can contain microwaveable items and a drink, swimsuit and towel, gym shoes, and a book. An afternoon snack will be provided.

Register in advance at Pearce. Foundation members pay only $31.50 per child per day; Members $35; and non-members $55.

Silver Sneakers Instructor Training

Register Now For Spring Swim Lesson

Registration is now being taken for the spring session of swim lessons at Pearce. 

The cost of the class is $33.75 for Pearce Foundation members; $45 for members; and $70 for non-members. Register for swim lessons at Pearce.

Swim club registration is also being accepted. Swim Club is designed to help swimmers ages 5 and older develop and improve competitive swimming abilities including a variety of strokes, strength, and speed. Participants must be able to swim the length of the pool unassisted. The winter swim club session runs concurrently with swim lessons and meets on Mondays and Wednesdays at 4:00 p.m.


The cost of swim club is $45 for Foundation members; members $60; non-members $75.


The public is invited to join Emily Points, Aquatics Coordinator, and Pearce swim instructors on Tuesday, March 7 for our FREE youth swim lesson preview. Meet the instructors and see how we teach children to swim and be safe in and around water. Children must be age four and over and should come prepared to get in the water.


The swim lessons preview is free; however, advance registration is required in the 4:30 to 5:00 p.m. time slot or the 5:30 to 6:00 p.m. time slot. Register at the front desk by March 2. The free preview can only accommodate 20 children per time slot so don't delay. Reserve your spot today.

Summer Extra Fun Specialty Camp Registration has Begun

Registration has begun for summer Extra Fun Specialty Camps. Choose the activity your child loves and let them spend one week learning, playing, exploring, and discovering more about their favorite area of interest. This year's camps include basketball, science, cooking, art, and bows, braids, and beautiful nails.

These programs will fill to capacity so register early!

Summer Camp Registration Begins

Registration has begun for 2 of our most popular kid's programs: Summer Camp and Extra Fun Specialty Camps.

Summer Camp is an interactive program designed to provide children with a fun, supportive environment where they have an opportunity to enjoy activities and field trips; make good choices; develop responsibilities; and build lasting friendships. It is offered from 8 am to 6 pm Monday through Friday all summer long.

With Extra Fun Specialty Camps, you can choose the activity your child loves and let them spend one week learning, playing, exploring, and discovering more about their favorite area of interest. This year's camps include basketball, science, cooking, art, and bows, braids, and beautiful nails.

Visit our website for all the details and register early. These programs will fill to capacity!