After the holidays are over, it's time to burn off those extra calories. What better way to do that than join the gym? While crowds of people join the gym as the new year starts, it can become clear who the new members and the older members are. If you've been attending your gym for quite some time and find yourself encountering these situations after New Year's Day has come and gone, you might be surrounded by the "new year, new me" gym members.
1. Sudden, large crowds
Every new year we tend to set new goals for ourselves. Some people start off their new year with the goal of becoming more physically fit or losing excess body fat. With gym membership sales starting in January, crowds of new members will occupy the gym with hopes of achieving their resolutions. If you've been attending your gym for a few weeks or months prior to the new year, you'll notice a sudden, overwhelming amount of people crowding into the gym at the beginning of the year. These new members mean well but it ultimately leads to some inconveniences for you as you try to get through your daily workout.
2. No parking spots
With more people in the gym, you can expect more cars in the parking lot. On an average day during the year, you can usually find a parking spot within an aisle or two away from the front doors of the gym, often no more than halfway down the aisle. Once the new year starts, you can find yourself parking nearly five aisles away and having to make the trek to just walk from your car to the gym. On the bright side, this can be an unexpected walk to let you stretch your legs before jumpstarting your workout.
3. Lack of available machines
Instead of going through your daily workout without waiting for more than a minute for your machine, now you'll be lucky to use even a third of all the machines you normally would. In addition to not having your regular machines available, you have to stand by and watch as people sit on the machine you need, playing on their phones or aimlessly looking around the gym. On the rare chance that you get to use the machine of your choice, you're rushed and pressured as people ask you how much longer you'll be on the machine for — even when you just got on it.
4. Confused looks
As with every gym member, we all start out somewhere. I've personally never met someone who was born extremely physically fit and knew exactly what routines to do upon their first day at a gym. Putting together a routine right for you and figuring out what works best for your body type takes a lot of trial-and-error efforts. While you've, hopefully, figured out your perfect routine after spending quite some time at the gym, the new members haven't. Understandably, you'll realize this as you notice a surplus of confused looks on the faces of those new members trying to figure out what to do once they've arrived at the gym.
5. Copy cats
If you've noticed the confused looks by now, you've probably also picked up on some of the new members copying your workout routine or the routines of experienced gym members around you. Sometimes people go into the gym with a game plan, while some don't. Maybe some of the new members thought they had a routine planned and decided to change it up or that they weren't doing the workout correctly, so they decide to copy the experienced gym members who clearly know what they're doing. There's nothing wrong with that, but just know that these copy cats most likely aren't trying to be your new stalker but rather that they're just trying to find the right workouts for them as they start this new process.
6. SOS
Instead of these new members staying quiet and watching your workout routine from a distance, you could encounter some new members that will ask for your help toward their routine. Maybe they see you doing a part of your routine and try to copy it but simply can't feel any stretch or muscle constraint and want to ensure they're doing it correctly. Maybe they're trying to use a seemingly intimidating machine while you're standing nearby and they decide to ask you for help in using it properly. Whatever the case may be, be sure to remember that these new members are probably just trying to ask for your help because you seem to have your sh*t together and they need the assistance of someone who's noticeably an experienced gym member by now.
7. Brand new fitness attire
The holidays are a time of gifting and perhaps some of these new gym members got their membership as a holiday gift, along with some new fitness attire. If you see gym members in modern, clean gym clothes without any creases or scuff marks on their sneakers, you can almost guarantee they just got brand new gym attire. Perhaps they got it as a gift or decided to buy them after choosing their new year's goal. No matter what it may be, it's often obvious who is a new gym member when they rock their squeaky-clean, picture-perfect fitness attire.
8. Trainers everywhere
As I've said before — we all start off somewhere. When new gym members don't know where to start and how to achieve their goal for the gym, they can turn to a trainer for help. With an increase of new gym members, there's often an increase in gym trainers needed. While you go amongst your business and do your normal routine, you can observe more trainers helping people around the gym. There's nothing bad about a new gym member doing this, it's just another thing you'll suddenly notice as you continue with your daily trips to the gym.
9. Gym selfies
One of the most noticeable and annoying things to see at the gym in the new year is the number of gym selfies taken. With new gym attire on and no sweat on their body, new gym members can sometimes be found taking gym selfies off their phones or in the large mirrors around the perimeter of the gym. Intended for watching your posture during each workout, the mirrors are suddenly used for creating Insta-perfect photos. The most irritating part about this is watching someone go into the gym, take a gym photo, then barely do a workout before they leave the gym. Granted, it's great to track your progress in the gym, but it's one thing to track your progress through photos and another to take gym selfies simply so people know you went to the gym that day.
10. Inevitable diminishing of crowds
This is the time to celebrate and feel relieved of the many inconveniences that the new gym members unintentionally created. While the crowds of people show up to the gym at the start of the new year, the majority gradually stop coming, leaving only a few new gym members who actually stay past the "new year, new me" phase. It's great for people to create new year's goals and aim toward bettering their bodies, but it's also a relief to no longer wait for your normal machines or having to park five aisles away from the gym's front doors. Once the new year's members disperse, you can get back to your average day at the gym and go amongst your daily routine in peace.
The new year is a great opportunity to set a personal goal for yourself. While most resort to a goal involving the gym, it can inevitably create inconveniences for frequent gym members. If you start your new year with a goal at the gym, just keep in mind the little things that could affect others. Aside from that, I encourage you all to become the best versions of yourself as we enter this new year. Happy 2020!
