There have been discussions on social media about Americans not making 2024 resolutions given the current state of the U.S. economy.
These resolutions include people not planning to flood gyms the first few weeks of the new year, and some Indianapolis gyms are seeing evidence of this.
Arc Fitness, a local gym that has been around for over five years, said that the usual influx of people signing up for gym memberships during the new year seems lower.
RELATED: Old beliefs, new resolutions: How New Year’s resolutions affect mental health
“We are a small boutique gym. We typically do not see the influx in the first week of January like most commercial gyms. I think health is a more widespread norm in society these days, and, therefore, New Year’s resolutions are not as prominent with health and fitness goals,” said Andrea Neu with Arc Fitness.
“Health coaching is so accessible nowadays; people are turning to it more frequently.”
Even as a boutique gym, Neu said that during the first week of January around 20-30 people showed interest in joining but only three signed up.
New year, new resolutions
Other local gyms in Indianapolis are seeing the opposite of what is being said on social media.
“Just as many people are coming in and attending classes. We’ve been getting lots of phone calls and emails, and for this time of year, it’s about the same we see every year,” said Kelsey Taylor, founder and owner of Taylor Made Wellness.
“The problem is people lose sight of their goals or sometimes people tend to go a little hard and bite off more than they can chew. They don’t have a good plan in place.”
Her gym has been in business for the last five years, and since 2018, she has seen a wave of new people joining her gym in January with New Year’s resolutions for fitness.
“There’s always an influx. The question is how long they stay. So, we ask ourselves, ‘What do we do as a facility to try to help them stay?’” said Taylor.
Same results
According to market research, improving fitness (39%) and diet (33%) are the most common New Year’s resolutions for Americans; 38% of Americans make resolutions each year but only 9% stick to these all year long; 80% of resolutions are forgotten by February, while 46% of adults stick to their resolutions after six months.
Friday is also the most popular day for goal-setters to drop their resolutions.
Jason Shaw, co-owner of Day Won Fitness, said that because the gym was fairly new in January 2022, having opened in October 2021, a lot of people were willing to try them out.
However, in January 2023, they noticed that not as many clients came in at the end of Thanksgiving as they had in 2022.
This year, their attendance jumped with all their offered classes full.
“Going into February and around spring break, we see a downtick. It’s all across the board.
A lot of our clients are just looking for more consistency. They always kind of say they want to get back into the habit. Our goal is to be as encouraging as we can to help them reach their goals,” said Shaw.
Taylor said that in order to achieve their goals, goal-setters should consider seeking out certified personal trainers.
She encourages people to find trainers with a good track record and to ensure that a gym and/or a trainer is a right fit for their needs.
Contact staff writer Jade Jackson at (317) 762-7853 or by email JadeJ@IndyRecorder.com. Follow her on Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON.
