Resolution to stay in the gym all year long

Trainers say people are excited to get in the gym in January, but the problem is, most of those same people will be gone in just a few months. “Everyone’s New Year’s resolution is to work out and go to the gym but no one follows through with it”.

Although there is a big gym rush, Nayor says the New Year’s resolution crowd doesn’t last for long and that the pace of the gym returns to its average just after Martin Luther King Jr. day.

“Whoever loses largest percentage of weight during that time frame, will win the grand prize which is $5000, a lifetime membership to best fitness, and one free year unlimited personal training”, said Scott McGregor, Albany Best Fitness Operations Manager.

“Just like anything else you do, you need a support system and (to) have the family come is great”, Hawthorne said.

Benigni said he set fitness goals for himself in 2016.

A person usually needs six to eight weeks for a pattern to set in or to see major change, said Steph Hoffman, coordinator of fitness and nutrition at UND’s Wellness Center.

Planet Fitness manager Brian Sorrells said he was signing up new members all day on New Year’s Eve. “When people come in here and they train with me or take a class, I can then ensure they’ll have success because I have one on one hands on experience with them constantly”.

Not everyone who joins a gym stays committed, however.

While gym attendance is down in December, Benigni said, existing members become more active after the first of the year in addition to the new members signing up.

“You see new people at this time of the year”, said Ardolino. You’re going to break them within a certain number of days getting into January; so it’s really about setting those goals. People will always want to, especially on the first Monday, run not walk to their nearest gym and turn over a new leaf.