If you’re thinking about getting healthier in the new year, you’re not alone. Gyms will see their biggest spike in membership this month, but sticking to goals after January can get tricky.
A sign outside The Workout Club in Salem advertising a New Year's discount reads: "New Year, New You."
Assistant Manager Brody Williams says most months, they get around 200 new members. In January, they get more more than double that.
"On January first, a lot of people are still recovering from the holiday," he explains, "But come tomorrow, we’re going to see a lot of people coming through our doors."
They’ll keep coming through - for a few weeks at least.
"By about the second week of February, that crowded parking lot starts to thin out quite a bit and the amount of check-ins and phone calls starts to thin out," Williams laughs.
New Year’s resolutions are notoriously hard to keep, but Ernesto Pinder, a Sales Manager at Zoo Health Club in Derry, says not all hope is lost.
As Pinder gives me a tour of the gym, a co-ed group of body-builders bench the equivalent of their own body weight.
"She's making a lot of noise," someone teases.
"We're a 24-hour club, 7 days a week - we never close!" Pinder says. "Snowmaggedon, Armageddon, zombie apocolypse - if you can get in, you can get a workout."
Pinder says it’s great to set a goal of getting in shape - but be specific and be realistic.
"I think what ends up happening is that people come in with these wide-eyed anticipations - like 'Oh, I’m going to go from where I am [now] to super fit overnight,' and they have no idea what they’re doing."
As for Pinder? He’s not really into New Year’s resolutions. He says you can set goals any time of the year - just call them “Now Year’s resolutions.”
