Do You Know Why Gym Memberships Fall in February?
A common scenario that plays out in gyms worldwide once every year is why gym memberships fall in February.
Most gyms see a huge increase in membership attendance in January. The gyms are packed with people desperate to lose weight and meet their New Year’s weight loss goals.
This number will have greatly dwindled by the end of February, and by the end of March, most of the January crowd will have disappeared, and things at the gyms will have returned to the status quo.
What happened?
The answer is that most gym goers have lost motivation and excitement. When the New Year descends upon us, there is a promise of a new beginning. Everything seems possible, and people are excited to make positive changes in their lives.
So, they sign up for a gym and mistake this activity for actual work. Joining a gym is not going to make you lean or fit. It is easy and fun and can help you achieve better fitness, but only if you make the effort!
Actually, sweating it out and working your butt off at the gym is hard work. This is what makes you lose weight, and it’s not that fun.
When people are faced with the mundane prospect of working out regularly, they lose interest because the promise that seemed so exciting in the beginning has become duller than a dirty bowling ball.
The hard truth is that weight loss takes time. It takes 90 days for the change in your body to be visible to the point where everyone takes notice. Can you last those 90 days?
To last… you need to inculcate good habits. It’s these habits that will carry you to the finish line. As motivational speaker Jim Rohn used to say, “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”
So, to make good on your New Year resolution, you must promise yourself that you will develop the right habits. If you decide to go to the gym three times a week, you MUST go three times a week. Making excuses will not cut it. If three times a week is too much for you, make it two times a week.
Bite what you can chew. Small but consistent efforts are better than huge, irregular efforts. The best way to stick to your weight loss goals is to take things progressively.
If you’ve lived a sedentary life for years, you don’t need to sign up for a gym membership in January. All you need to do is take a brisk walk daily and gradually clean up your diet.
See if you can stick to these small, progressive changes.
If you can, try incorporating bodyweight training into your exercise regimen. If you dedicate three months solely to bodyweight training at home, you could be just as lean and strong as people who go to the gym. Can you stick with it?
If you can, then you’ll definitely be ready to sign up at your local gym. You’ve proven that you’re consistent and have the discipline to do what you say you’ll do. Gyms make money from members who pay for an entire year but never show up after the second month. What a fantastic business for them.
You know better.
If you decided to lose weight at the beginning of the year and feel like quitting or maybe have already quit, it’s time to get back on track and start forming the right habits. Focus on small, progressive changes that will take you to your goals. You can do it if you think you can.
