logo
Weather page
GET THE APP
ePaper
google_play
app_store
  • Login
  • E-Edition
  • News
  • Sports
  • Obituaries
  • Opinion
  • Classifieds
    • All Listings
    • Jobs
    • Place an Ad
  • SPECIAL SECTIONS
  • PHOTO GALLERY
  • CONTESTS
  • LIFESTYLE/ENTERTAINMENT
  • GAMES
  • CATTARAUGUS COUNTY SOURCE
    • NEWS
      • LOCAL
      • STATE
      • NATION
    • SPORTS
      • LOCAL
      • NATIONAL
    • OBITUARIES
    • OPINION
      • NEWS
        • LOCAL
        • STATE
        • NATION
      • SPORTS
        • LOCAL
        • NATIONAL
      • OBITUARIES
      • OPINION
    logo
    • Classifieds
      • Place an Ad
      • All Listings
      • Jobs
    • E-Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Login
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • All Listings
        • Jobs
      • E-Edition
      • Subscribe
      • Login
    Salamanca sends off 85 Warriors at 139th commencement
    Breaking News
    Salamanca sends off 85 Warriors at 139th commencement
    Kellen Quigley 
    June 27, 2025
    SALAMANCA — Before the 85 graduates in the Salamanca High School Class of 2025 received their diplomas Friday night, Class Speaker Danica Teeter remin...
    {"to-print":"To Print", "website":"Website"}
    Home Health
    What it takes to stay on your fitness journey
    Health
    Jon DePaolis  
    January 18, 2018

    What it takes to stay on your fitness journey

    Three men share their strategies for achieving their wellness goals

    A number of years ago, when Jeff Petzak, now a middle school learning support teacher with New Hope-Solebury School District, was starting graduate school, a friend of his got the two interested in triathlons.

    “I actually had time on my hands,” Petzak says. “My previous career fell apart because the real estate and housing market crashed. I had about 10 months to really change my career and try to figure myself out. During that time, I traveled and visited friends.”

    One of those friends asked Petzak, then around 36 years old, to start biking with him.

    “I came back home and started running and biking and swimming, and next thing I know, he said ‘Let’s sign up for a triathlon,’” Petzak says. “I said ‘Sure, why not?’”

    The sport clicked with him, so during that time of his life, he focused on his studies and his fitness.

    “I just kept setting six-month goals,” Petzak says.

    One would be to complete a triathlon during the semester. Over time, he would do other races, like Olympic triathlons. Years later, he has completed five triathlons — three Olympic triathlons, a sprint triathlon and half-Ironman triathlon.

    Petzak, now 42, hasn’t eased up on his fitness — even though his schedule hasn’t permitted him the necessary time to train for triathlons. Instead, over the past few years, Petzak has run annually in half-marathons.

    In terms of advice, Petzak says he’s always had someone to team up with for these activities, which has helped — currently, he and David Kolinchak are training for a half-marathon. A positive mindset is also a factor.

    “The focus of being healthy is so rewarding,” Petzak says. “And you’ve got to have a goal.”

    Whether it is preparing for a race or a level of fitness, set a goal.

    “And don’t be satisfied with just that one goal,” he says.

    David Kolinchak, a math teacher at New Hope-Solebury School District, has had a lifelong interest in health and fitness. But the past years, he’s let his fitness level slip from time to time.

    “When I was younger, I would ride my bike on a regular basis — completing several centuries along the way,” Kolinchak says. “However, as my children got older, I stopped cycling, and my fitness suffered.”

    But about four years ago, that changed when Kolinchak became interested in running.

    “I started running with a co-worker,” Kolinchak says. “I never ran more than 5 miles before I started running with him. He convinced me to sign up for a half-marathon, and we trained for it together.”

    Since that first suggestion, the two have completed three half-marathons.

    “During the course of our training, there were times one of us would not feel like running, but we went because we didn’t want to let the other person down,” Kolinchak says. “Each time we ran one, my times improved. It is a satisfying sense of accomplishment. Also, it is the best medication for managing a stressful, busy life.”

    Kolinchak says it’s important to find ways to manage stress.

    “Running, for me, has been the tool to manage stress,” he said. “It also helps me stay fit in other activities that require fitness. I have also adopted an 80/20 philosophy. I try to live a healthy, active lifestyle 80 percent of the time and let myself indulge about 20 percent of the time.”

    To Kolinchak, it is important to always remember that it is fine to take some time off. However, too much time off can be counter-productive. He also says it is important to stay active in life, for many reasons.

    “The first is being a role model for your children,” he says. “But it is also a valuable stress management tool. Whenever things get a little crazy, I know getting a run in is the best medicine.”

    And it doesn’t hurt finding a friend who is interested in the same activity.

    “Then, set a goal and work on it together,” he says.

    This past summer while on a hike in the woods, elementary school music teacher and President of the Bistol Township Education Association Brad Pawlikowski was bit by a tick. Soon after, he was diagnosed with Lyme disease.

    “Even though I’d always been an active person, my weight was always higher than I wanted it to be,” he says. “Well, with the Lyme disease, I was debilitated for several weeks. I just couldn’t do anything — and the weight really piled on.”

    Eventually, he stepped onto a scale.

    “The first number was a 2,” he says. “The first number on the scale had never been a 2 in my entire life, so I finally said that was enough. That was the wakeup call to do something about it.”

    Pawlikowski did three basic things to get his health and fitness back on track: eating better, eating less and being more active.

    “Really, every week the weight has started to gradually come off,” he says. “I’m at the point now where I’m down 35 pounds. It’s really just basically eating a little bit better, a little bit less and doing a lot more.”

    Pawlikowski says he was like most Americans prior to this, coming up with reasons why he couldn’t eat healthier — things like getting home too late to cook and settling for fast food. Now, that has been eliminated from his diet, and his lunches consist of items like edamame, tofu or an apple.

    “I think a big motivating factor for me has been looking at my friends and colleagues who have kind of done the same things I’ve done,” he says of peers who cut out fast food or exercise more. “I thought, ‘I can do all of that.’ When you piece it together, anybody can do it. It’s a basic formula. If you put less in, and put more out, the weight is going to come off.”

    Tags:

    brad pawlikowski cycling david kolinchak fitness hope-solebury jeff petzak medicine peer sport triathlon
    {"website":"Website"}

    Salamanca Press

    Local & Social
    Latest news for you
    Out & About
    Featured, Local News, News
    Out & About
    July 2, 2025
    To add an event, email the details to salamancapress@gmail.com. Include "Out & About" in email subject line. July 3 – Ellicottville Gazebo Series in f...
    Read More...
    {"to-print":"To Print", "website":"Website"}
    Local News, News, Salamanca News
    Salamanca Zoning Board to meet Tuesday
    July 2, 2025
    SALAMANCA — Lindley Pryor, chairman of the City of Salamanca Zoning Board of Appeals, has announced the next zoning board meeting will be held at 5:30...
    Read More...
    {"to-print":"To Print", "website":"Website"}
    Opinion
    Readers’ Turn to Write: More than a teacher
    By MIKE COLLINS 
    July 2, 2025
    High school is the time we begin to figure out who we really are — when we first gravitate to the interests that will take us toward adulthood. If we ...
    Read More...
    {"to-print":"To Print", "website":"Website"}
    Summer fun planned at Allegany State Park
    Cattaraugus County News, Featured, Local News, ...
    Summer fun planned at Allegany State Park
    Kellen Quigley 
    July 2, 2025
    RED HOUSE — Whether you’re looking for adventure or learning something new, Allegany State Park’s Environmental Education and Recreation department ha...
    Read More...
    {"to-print":"To Print", "website":"Website"}
    From ‘Maverick’ director Kosinski, ‘F1’ satisfies the need for speed
    Movie Review
    From ‘Maverick’ director Kosinski, ‘F1’ satisfies the need for speed
    Kellen Quigley 
    July 2, 2025
    People are pretty simple animals — we like it when something goes fast. I mean, really fast. Jet planes, rocket ships, race cars, etc. Even other anim...
    Read More...
    {"to-print":"To Print", "website":"Website"}
    Public review for Cattaraugus Co. Ag District No. 5 runs through July 31
    Cattaraugus County News, Featured, Local News, ...
    Public review for Cattaraugus Co. Ag District No. 5 runs through July 31
    July 2, 2025
    LITTLE VALLEY — A 30-day public review for Agricultural District No. 5 in Cattaraugus County runs through July 31. Required by state law, the county l...
    Read More...
    {"to-print":"To Print", "website":"Website"}
    Cattaraugus County Source
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Cattaraugus County Source 06-26-2025
    Cattaraugus County Source, Special Sections
    Cattaraugus County Source 06-26-2025
    mkeim@oleantimesherald.com 
    June 26, 2025
    Read More...
    {"website":"Website"}
    This Week's Ads
    Current e-Edition
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Already a subscriber? Click the image to view the latest e-edition.
    Don't have a subscription? Click here to see our subscription options.
    Mobile App

    Download Now

    The Salamanca Press mobile app brings you the latest local breaking news, updates, and more. Read the Salamanca Press on your mobile device just as it appears in print.

    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store

    Help Our Community

    Please help local businesses by taking an online survey to help us navigate through these unprecedented times. None of the responses will be shared or used for any other purpose except to better serve our community. The survey is at: www.pulsepoll.com $1,000 is being awarded. Everyone completing the survey will be able to enter a contest to Win as our way of saying, "Thank You" for your time. Thank You!

    Get in touch with The Salamanca Press

    Submit Content
    Submit News Send a Letter to the Editor Place Wedding Announcement
    Advertise
    Place Birth Announcement Place Anniversary Announcement Place Obituary
    Subscribe
    Start a Subscription e-Edition Contact Us
    Illinois Hancock Journal-Pilot Iroquois Times-Republic Journal-Republican The News-Gazette
    Indiana Fountain Co. Neighbor Herald Journal KV Post News Newton Co. Enterprise Rensselaer Republican Review-Republican
    Iowa Atlantic News Telegraph Audubon Advocate-Journal Barr's Post Card News Burlington Hawk Eye Collector's Journal Fayette County Union Ft. Madison Daily Democrat Independence Bulletin-Journal Keokuk Daily Gate City Oelwein Daily Register Vinton Newspapers Waverly Newspapers
    Michigan Iosco County News-Herald Ludington Daily News Oceana's Herald-Journal Oscoda Press White Lake Beacon New York Finger Lakes Times Olean Times Herald Salamanca Press
    Pennsylvania Bradford Era Clearfield Progress Courier Express Free Press Courier Jeffersonian Democrat Leader Vindicator Potter Leader-Enterprise The Wellsboro Gazette
    © Copyright 2025 The Salamanca Press 639 Norton Drive, Olean, NY 14760  | Terms of Use  | Privacy Policy
    Powered by TECNAVIA