This is the time of year when all gyms get a spike in business. While recovering from the debauchery of the previous night, people sit around groggily on New Year’s Day, planning out the many goals they will conquer during the upcoming year. Undoubtedly, goals of fitness and weight loss often come to mind.
Many people will flock to the most obvious choice when it comes to tackling their goal of a better body – Gold’s Gym, American Family, Bally’s, etc… are right around the corner, they have dirt cheap memberships, and plenty of amenities like Yoga, Pilates, saunas and swimming pools. They also know that you’re on the lookout for a gym; mailboxes and local coffee shops are packed with glossy ads. Every commercial break on TV contains an attempt to lure you in. But what you may not know is that these gyms expect, even depend, on you failing to follow through with your goal to the end. You walk into their office, high on the dreams of finally making it this year, you buy a two year contract, telling yourself you’ll be there every morning cardio kickboxing and spinning your way to fitness. Sadly, the big gyms know that most people who come to their facilities will stop coming regularly in a few months – whether it’s boredom, lack of progress, or both. But as the owner of a training facility, I can safely say that there is no way to maintain such large, expensive facilities with such low fees unless many, many people come rarely, if at all. Someone once told me they had a friend opening a big box gym, and that to even begin turning a profit, they needed 700 sign-ups. Who knows if that’s even close to the actual number, but it illustrates the point that these gyms need people to sign up who will never come.
The point is, that if you plan on joining a gym and have the slightest inclination that you’ll quit in a couple months, don’t do it, you’re wasting your money. If you still feel like training somewhere, come by for a week (it’s always free for a week, no matter the time of year). We want you to come by for free because the workouts are hard. They aren’t for everyone, and many people come once but don’t come back. For the people who do stick around, they get what they are looking for, and end up staying much longer than a couple of months (and they’ll get a call from us if we don’t see them for awhile!)
So, if you do end up joining a gym this year, come to a place where your dedication, not your failure, is expected.