The New Year is Rough for Regular Gym Goers

I was at the gym this past Sunday afternoon, a time that usually attracts bored college students and hen-pecked husbands looking to get out of the house for a while. I normally have my pick of treadmills and I can run for as long as I want. It's my favorite time to exercise. It's pure.

Today, not only did I have to wait for a machine, but while doing some sit ups I was approached by a trainer who pitched me personal sessions as I caught my breath between sets. When I told him I had just run four and half miles and was going to run a 10-mile race later in the spring, he looked as if he had been hit in the face with a skillet and moved on to the next sweaty prospect. Maybe I wasn't the easy target he thought I would be.

Such is January, when so many people decide that this is the year that they will finally lose 20 pounds, run that marathon or get their pre-baby body back. For the first two months of the year, wide-eyed newbies hog the cardio machines, loll around on the mats when they should be stretching and never quite figure out how to use that chest press machine.

For people such as myself, who are regular gym goers, we loathe this time of year. All of a sudden the gym is crowded, hot from sweat and body heat and there is always a risk I will be kicked off a machine after 30 minutes to make way for some rookie. For me, the gym isn't so much about weight loss as it about stress reduction. It's amazing how clear your head is after running for a half hour or more. How many wonderful albums you can rediscover on your iPod as you push for another mile. Ever better is when you get on a machine and realize that after weeks of working out, you can easily add another plate to your reps.

Those joys are canceled out by all the newcomers hanging around. I suppose I could be nice to them in their new endeavor, but the truth is that they're encroaching on my plans. Maybe it's some sort of inner turf war I think I should be winning. I was there first, months ago, and now these couch potatoes and their shiny new Nikes (most likely a Christmas gift) want to take up space on the bicep machine or in the hip-hop funk class. Come January I don't decide to pick up bad habits and start hanging around seedy bars or off-track betting sites. So why is my exercise compromised?

The crazy part about all this New Year's gym enthusiasm is that by March they'll all be gone. Statistics show that most people don't stick with resolutions beyond a few weeks. There are a lot of reasons for this, but I think the largest is that it's cold in January. Why would anyone want to come to the gym after work or on a weekend when it's 30 degrees out, just to take off their clothes and put on shorts and a tank top?

I suppose I could just bite my lip and hope that I can run on a treadmill for more than half an hour. I suppose I could smile and make room on the mats for the new people. But I won't. I picked up the good exercise habits long before the New Year arrived and I'll be there long after everyone else's endorphins run out. It's going to be a rough few weeks.

Follow Pauline Millard on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PaulineyM

Comments

[RadicalRepublican]

I think the best benefit of resolutionists has been overlooked. They pay for their membership, use it for 2 months or less and financially sustain the facility that gym rats get to use all year. So, say thank you tubby, way to go fatass, see you next January. Anyone else need a new lining to their cloud, I've got a million of 'em.

Hey, can someone recommend a good shoe for someone with high arches, wide feet and in need of metatarsal side support?

[DocManhattan]

Whoa ... sorry, I think I have to open a window to get rid of all that smugness.

You don't think it's a good thing that people aspire to be better, even though some may fail? Some, on the other hand, will persist -- much to the chagrin of those like yourself. The fewer there are that stay in shape, the more special that makes you, right?

You know, if you can't find a free treadmill and chest press machine, there's always actual running -- outdoors -- and push-ups. Oh, yeah, but then you'd have to carry your own mirror around, wouldn't you?

[drjay79]

Sure this is a tough time for "regulars" but after 90% disappear in March some of those left will become regulars.

[GeologyRocks]

The hardships experienced by the writer of this post and by the countless other regularly attending health club members, is just part of the price we have to pay for allowing the socially awkward and befuddled masses free access to interact with and mingle amongst the more presentable and enlightened members of our society. However, isn’t that a small price to pay for getting those people off the couch and into some sort of exercise program? Have you looked at those befuddled masses lately?