By BEN LUNDIN

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE – New Years Resolutions are abound as we welcome 2007 and look towards a brighter future, but for many people the past has left its mark on the midsection and its time to get into shape.

Fitness clubs experience an annual resurgence this time of year, when people come to work off the holiday calories and look forward to a healthier 2007.

&#8220I haven’t had any time for myself,” said Guillermo Paz, owner of Anytime Fitness in LaPlace. &#8220The phone is ringing and ringing.”

Corey Treas, a physical trainer at the LaPlace French Riviera Health Spa agrees with Guillermo’s sentiments. &#8220The first month and a half of the year people are coming in left and right,” he said.

&#8220We’ve signed up at least five people just today,” said the regional sales manager of Snap Fitness Chase Richard.

&#8220Last night you could barely get a machine,” said Jill Boudreaux, a front desk clerk at Airline Athletic Center in LaPlace, referring to New Year’s Day.

Getting into shape is the most popular New Year’s Resolution in America, and many people are hoping, unlike years past, that this is the year they stick with it.

&#8220Business slacks off and once it’s the New Year everybody starts re-joining,” said Boudreaux, adding that many of the same people return every January hoping this is the year they commit to their resolution.

The New Year is typically the busiest time of the year for fitness clubs, second only to the beginning of summer, according to Boudreaux and Treas.

Many fitness clubs, like Anytime Fitness, offer New Year’s discounts. The French Riviera Health Spa holds an optional participation competition starting on New Years Day, which pits members against one another in a friendly battle to increase their push-up and sit-up abilities over the course of a few months.

LaPlace resident Paige Cortez made a resolution to get healthier and kicked her work out regimen into full gear on Jan. 2 to take off 25 unwanted pounds she gained in her first term of college.

&#8220I had lost 25 lbs., and I gained all 25 back in three months,” she said. &#8220I stopped working out when I went to school and today is my first day. I didn’t do it New Years Day because I ate.”

Although delayed by a day, Cortez is fully committed to her New Year’s Resolution. &#8220I’ll be here for at least five months,” she says. &#8220So I can get a swimsuit for summertime.”