Is it stupid to join a gym in January with a new years resolution to lose weight seeing as how majority of people quit soon after?

Question

genericname85 · Accepted Answer

yes it is. when i was a gym regular for many years, we kept making jokes about the new years customers, who would never return after 2 weeks or 3 weeks at most. don't use "new years" as a motivation for your fitnes journey. it's not good enough motivation. look for something better. cause most gym memberships you can't cancel before a year is over. that's how they make most of their money. the idiots who buy memberships at the start of a year and then are contractually obligated to pay for a whole year while never returning.

Massageman · Accepted Answer

It's not "stupid" if you are going to be committed enough to keep going there on a regular basis. Just remember to increase the exercise FIRST for a couple of months (creating a calorie demand), and THEN make changes to your diet second. If you reduce your calorie intake first, your body will simply get used to the new calorie count and start to shut down, the opposite of what you want to happen.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

No, like most new years resolutions it's a matter of resolve. Thing is, if you never try, you'll never succeed, and that is worse than failure. There is an honor in trying your best and failing, never trying at all is cowardice and is without honor.

HelpfulWoman · Accepted Answer

it's never stupid. Even if someone ends up quitting. It's an important step to START

WhiteSteve · Answer

I wouldn’t say “stupid.” It’s never stupid to want to improve yourself.

To me, it’s more about doing it when you’re ready to make a true lifestyle change. And the issue I have with New Year’s resolutions in general is that we have this kind of built-in expectation of failure that we chuckle at. And furthermore, it feels like the change attempt is spurred solely by the changing of the calendar. I get it, in the sense of the first day of a new year is a logical starting point for something new. But I think something about doing it for the sake of having a resolution is hollow and not built to succeed.

I think it’s more of a process. I’ve been working out habitually for a good 25 years now. Probably was more for vanity and success with women than health, lmao, but it got me where I needed to go. But it wasn’t just like “One year on January 1st, I changed EVERYTHING, and never looked back.” I probably started working out in the spring or something, and even then, it wasn’t like I had a program ready to follow. I had a weight set from a previous failed attempt at fitness, haha, and started with that, at home (Just because I didn’t have the kind of money back then to drop on a gym membership until I was sure I was in the routine (no Planet Fitness yet, haha).

And I’ll throw this out to you (either OP, if applicable, or whoever’s reading): what inspired me to start in earnest was a random conversation with some guy who I wish I could remember who he was, haha. I owe it all to one thing this forgotten acquaintance said: “If you do something 21 days in a row, you can expect it to become a habit.” And actually, combine it with when I was 18 and a high school football teammate of mine told me “you just have to make it a part of your routine”, when I was saying I admired his discipline to work out most days.

So…I knew it wasn’t something you could half-ass and get results, and it wasn’t something that needed to become a built-in habit. It had to be a committed lifestyle change. And I accomplished that with the lifting, but it was probably another 15 years before I got my diet in order. And that’s when I realized it’s like 85% what you do in the kitchen, and only like 15% what you do in the gym.

You can lift weights and run until the cows come home, if you go home and drink soda or heavily sugared juices, coffee, etc, and you’re eating burgers and pizza and Buffalo wings, or think a Caesar salad is “eating healthy”…. I'm not going to say “don’t bother”, but I’ll say you’ll yield way less satisfying results.

Honestly, I’d almost conquer healthy eating first. But working out can play into that. When you bust your ass on a treadmill for 45 minutes and see that all that effort and pain and sweat only burned 450 calories, you’ll think twice about that bag of Doritos that will just negate all that work in under 5 minutes for some temporary satisfaction. “A moment in the lips; a lifetime in the hips”…. never forget that.

Changing your relationship with food/drink is essential. When you get into working out, you need to view food as fuel for your workouts and your body’s recovery/muscular growth. It’s not for satisfaction anymore. Stop looking as food as a “treat.” You’ll find your way into loving healthier “treats” as you recalibrate. I’m EXCITED to eat a piece of chicken breast for dinner, because I worked for it at the gym, and I know it’s going to benefit me. This all sounds pretty psycho, lmao, but trust me, it becomes very easy. And now I occasionally “treat myself” with old foods and drinks I used to consider “treats”, and they just don’t hit the same. Your body gets addicted to sugar and all the other garbage in our usual foods, but once you shake it, you don’t want it so much anymore.

Anyway, this turned into a whole long thing, lmao, but the long and the short is that you have to really want the change fitness will bring. The good news is, it’s way less work in the gym than you probably think…. but the flip side is that it’s a lot more about diet. “Abs are made in the kitchen”, as they say.

So I say that to say the results aren’t overnight (although if you have 50+ lbs to lose or maybe more like 30+ for women, that excess fat really comes off quickly, because your body WANTS to shed it…the toned beach body is what takes more fine tuning, because your body isn’t desperate to drop 15 lbs), and I think that’s what you really need to push through. I threw a lot at you here, maybe too much, but if you take away anything from this, take away the “21 days to a habit” principle. Now, you shouldn’t go to the gym 21 days in a row, exactly. Especially the first week.

The first day, I would do a light full-body weight training workout. Hit your major muscle groups: biceps, triceps, deltoids, pectorals, lats (back), quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, abs…. one exercise each, only one or two sets, 12-15 reps per set. Nothing heavy, just enough that it’s noticeable resistance. Then go home and be sore as FUCK for like 3-4 days starting the next day. There will be no gym, lmao. Eat lots of protein. And then, when you recover, you’re “broken in.” I do that to this day after any long layoff. Number one thing that ever kept me out of the gym was just not wanting to be sore (especially my legs…you’ll be walking funny for a couple days, and be careful on stairs, haha). Like I’ve “skipped leg day” for long periods of time in the past because I’d allow myself to make excuses for myself. “I have football practice tomorrow, not today”, or “I’ll be at work tomorrow on my feet all day.” SUCK IT UP. It’s over soon, and it doesn’t continue if you’re working out regularly.

So, try to go to the gym 21 days out of January, that’s where I’d start. Once you get into the routine, and you start feeling like a “regular” instead of a “noob” at your gym, it’s less intimidating. Find a gym crush if you can, seriously😂 Doesn’t have to be anything you act on, but there were so many times I dragged myself in when I didn’t feel like it, in hopes of seeing one of the hot chicks at my gym, lmao. Whatever gets you out of the house😝

And keep in mind that you’re going to want to start tuning up your diet, which might mean some sacrifices (sorry, “wine moms”…. wine is a KILLER, especially red wine, loaded with sugars or even just a metabolic distraction where your liver is processing alcohol instead of your digestive tract processing food…switch to a hard liquor and tonic if you really need the buzz…but remember your dietary discipline will probably suffer when you’re tipsy).

But just focus on GOING first. And do it for you, because you want to, not because you need to come up with a resolution to post for friends on social media, haha. I don’t even have a resolution because there’s nothing I’m trying to resolve right now. Maybe one will hit me in April, or October, and that’s when I’ll start. If it’s hitting you now, great. Go for it.

I guess my theory on it all, related to your question of if it’s stupid to do it as a resolution would be like….”if you’re thinking about it in December as something you’ll start in January…. if you’re TRULY serious about it, you’d just start today.” I guess maybe there the caveat of “Holiday season is crazy busy”, so that’s fair, but other than that…anything I’m like “ok, one month from now, I’ll start doing this”, I’d question how committed I am to the idea right out of the gate.

EzOwlz · Answer

What's wrong with that? If it were easy it wouldn't be worth doing. At the end of the day you need to hold yourself accountable and really dedicate yourself to improving. Instead of just going to the gym then hoping on a treadmill for like an hour then calling it a day. If your unfamiliar with the gym, you can always open up to other people who have the type of physic you want and ask them for help but it's always good to do to research ahead of time on YouTube or something to at least know where to start otherwise it'll be too overwhelming for you and you'll just be aimlessly going to the gym. What I did when I first started working out was I did 15 minute warm ups in the morning and called that my work out like a week or 2. After I got used to increased it to 30 - 45 minute warm ups, doing push ups, squats and all that other stuff for 2 weeks. Afterward I noticed I had a burst of energy in the morning everyday. Then eventually after learning from YouTube and other sources I decided to go to the gym and start.

Great tip that I've noticed most people don't do, keep a journal and document all the works you do and how you felt about it. Add small notes on what to improve then modify the workout by slightly increasing the difficulty if it gets too easy. For example, at first I find doing a rep of 10 push ups out of 3 sets hard but after a few weeks it becomes easier. Then you could boost the number of reps for each set up to 12 instead of 10. One rule I like to do if I can go over 15 reps of 3 effortlessly then that means I need to shift the weights cause I've leveled up.

The most important thing about working out is to have a well planned system to your workout. Which is why if you have the money and your really committed to getting fit, get a mentor who can teach you and help you. Or if you have a friend who has a mentor, maybe they themselves can assist you. Quite a lot of people at the gym can always be willing to help you out as long as you don't interrupt their workout don't be shy when it comes to learning.

TheRealPepperPotts · Answer

It's not stupid. I would advise you to schedule a session or two with a personal trainer first to learn how to properly use the equipment, though. Most people either don't use it all the ways it can be used, or they are afraid of looking stupid so they avoid it. Or it's a dude who goes in and decides to use the biggest weights to stroke his ego and then doesn't clean them off (ewww). It's really important to warm up properly prior to lifting and do a slight stretch on whichever muscle groups you plan to work, so check out some YouTube videos on prelifting warm-ups, too.

I'm staying home this month, actually. I don't want to fight the crowds or wait, so I'm just going to do bodyweight and walking and pick it back up after Valentine's Day. I have some free weights at home to tide me over. :D

The hardest part is actually the first month. If you can get through that, you'll be well on your way to having a new lifestyle working for you. What I'd suggest is to get rid of all your crappy food. Be brutal and clean out your pantry and fridge. Show no mercy. Stock it with as much healthy, prepared food as possible (frozen organic veggies, frozen berries, canned/cooked chicken, fish, canned black beans, nut butter, low calorie dressings/sauces, nuts, etc.) Make sure you find a few snacks that you really like that are high protein for emergencies and always keep food you can grab quickly on hand. Eat every few hours to keep your energy up and avoid binge eating. Don't beat yourself up when you cheat, because everyone does it. The most important part is to get back in the game when you don't feel like it. Put together your "game face" playlist, and drag yourself out for a walk if you do nothing else.

You've got this. :D

CheeseMonster · Answer

No. It doesn't hurt to try.

Also you can pretend you're in one of those competitive reality TV shows or something where it starts with a bunch of people and over the season gets narrowed down to only a handful of "winners" who make it all the way through. That could help motivate you to make it further without quitting.

Even if you don't do a whole workout every time, building the habit of going to the gym regularly and doing some sort of excersize can still improve your health. It will also make you more prepared to meet your goals next year, since as mentioned in other replies discipline is often the hardest part to improve, not how much you can lift or what you weigh.

D_Bone_Steak · Answer

Before I had my home gym... yeah they show up right about now. The really start to pour in a couple weeks from now because most of them don't even start when they say they're going to start. And then they all quit a few months from now. The guys doing a set of curls and then flexing in the mirror like it grows that fast and the chick doing that leg spread machine and trying to make those guys flexing in the mirror to look. Fuck you monkies... this is why I have a home gym. It was worth the money just to not look at you people.

ohsheeT · Answer

Well depending on what you're trying to do why do you want to join the gym.

I'm trying to lose weight or tone up all you have to do is balance your meals eat better foods drink lots of water not bottled water but filtered water somehow walk 30 minutes a day at a fast pace for 30 days and watch and see what happens make sure you breathe in through your nose and exhale through your nose that way you're getting full oxygen not air if you breathe through your mouth you're just getting air you need to breathe through your nose out your nose so you fill up your blood with oxygen it will take it to all your organs it will clear your head give you clarity and you will feel 10 times better within a couple days do it for 30 days walk any fast pace

O_Canada · Answer

Fat drips like lava Treadmills grind bones to sand Resolutions dissolve New Year's corpses expand Ripping apart hearts Dead dreams crystallize  Gym mirrors reflect victory Sweat pools, they slide In protein they wada Fitness goals bloom on the tree Muscles bulge and Screams echo freely Skin glows like data Bones crunch in machinery Souls soar from trauma Weight loss brings ecstasy

Anonymous · Answer

I think people judging them is a huge ass reason for why they don't continue.

Just look at all those assholes in the replies, being judgmental and fucking rude just because someone is trying. If they don't last, then it is STILL a first step towards changing. That it fails, is alright - it's a step. I joined the gym once after new years (had been on my health journey for some time) I quit after a week after I heard some jackasses be well, like all of you jackasses.

Never stepping my foot into a gym again, going to avoid being like those assholes that goes into the gym and judges everyone else. I'd advice everyone to do the same. Just do it home, or out in the nature, let the judgmental gym freaks be for themselves.

Valdemort · Answer

I don't think it's stupid. You set a goal for yourself you'd like to achieve, whether you do is a different thing - but knowing that you are willing to try is honestly a step in the right direction.
I never understood why people would judge others for their gym-journey starting with the new year, even if it only lasted 2 weeks. At least you gave it a go.
I think the more you try such things, the easier it is to figure out what works for you.

molonski2 · Answer

Focus on Diet firstly , ZERO processed foods and sugars , ZERO fast food , then start with general cardio , the gym will do little , it needs to be holistic attitude , all of that with Intermittent fasting , 2 meals per day , no snacking , no sauces.

Just working out as I said will not work , needs more than that.

itsannalee · Answer

Gym is not the solution for weight loss.
You just need cardio and cutting (deficit calories). Gym is more suitable for muscle building, and doing cardio at gym is just waste the money.

Because you can do cardio for free without gym.
Just watch what you eat, do more cardio. And if you already if used to exercising, then u can get gym membership.

pascal_climbs · Answer

It is not stupid. Its all about consistency. And more important: a gym builds strength and fitness level. Loosing weight is 90% nutrition and 10% exercise. If you want to loose weight, your calorie intake has to be below your consumption. Gym helps you increase the consumption, but the rest is what you eat.

Changiis07 · Answer

It's not stupid to join of it's something you want to continue, but I agree with one of the comments here that it is more self discipline than anything else. You have to learn to eat and when to eat the foods you crave. The book that has helped me is called Naturally Thin by Bethenny Frankel

CupcakeTheDestroyer · Answer

Not really, if you intend to keep going after January. While the first month of the year is going to be the busiest time to try new things, it doesn’t mean you can’t keep going and take your time with your resolution.

Zack-Bann · Answer

It’s not stupid but it will be crowded  If you can stick around past February you will get a true gym experience. One where you don’t have to wait for ages to use equipment.

AviatorTom · Answer

Not really. If you stay committed to the gym, you will soon have the place mostly to yourself and can use any equipment you want, without having to wait for someone using it to get off.

AnonAndrew · Answer

No, it's not stupid, because what the majority does doesn't affect you. All that matters is if you stick to it or not. :)

rachel776 · Answer

if you decide now to join in February, and then you actually do, you'll probably stick with it 🤷‍♀️

RingOfFire · Answer

Yes. Joining a gym is not the answer. The answer is more self-discipline. If you don't have it a gym is useless.

Mangospacho · Answer

It’s only stupid if you sign a 12-month contract and stop going after 3.2 weeks. I joined a gym one January because their membership was cheap and kept going for 5 years until the gym closed because they lost money on the cheap memberships.

4ngelic · Answer

no, some people succeed in sticking with weightloss and you might be one of them

ProbablyClueless · Answer

No, that's not stupid... just have to make sure you maintain discipline and stick with your goals.

Nikki1989 · Answer

It is stupid when basic exercise costs nothing.

lightbulb27 · Answer

Yea. Set a fun goal as well. Start at home. Join a group. Chirches sometimes have for cheap

WhitneySnow · Answer

No. It’s worth trying. Maybe you won’t quit.

Friendlybro79 · Answer

It's stupid if you're the quitter. And it's not stupid really. I just can't figure out my words today lol

jahaims · Answer

Work your way up to a gym. Go to youtube and look up body weight exercises and look at whatever has the most views.

GlowUpGirly5 · Answer

I mean is it really your business what others are doing? Focus on yourself

Crazzyyworld · Answer

You know if you don’t eat dinner instead eat a lot of lunch not to get hungry. You still don’t gain weight.

Shakenbake11 · Answer

Not at all the majority of people don’t stick with it that’s why they don’t get the results and end up quitting because of frustration. Stick with it u got this

jwhig · Answer

No, just be the exception. Find ways to motivate yourself. If you’re truly not happy with your appearance, then it’s up to you and only you to change it.

more_than_a_guy · Answer

Not stupid at all, if they quit, it's theirs, not yours. You have your own goals and your own journey.

Anonymous · Answer

Not if you aren't part of the majority. But if you aren't fit you might lean that way anyway. Break the cycle.

dsrice071966 · Answer

No it will be good, do what you want to do.

Aphrodite2001 · Answer

Yes cause can’t find a machine so I workout at home. When I can’t use it.

Anonymous · Answer

Do you feel like you need to? What are you hoping to gain by joining one?

exitseven · Answer

join for a month and see how it goes.

Pupweb · Answer

No, take the chance and stay consistent

Staximus · Answer

It's not stupid if you stick with it

Babygirl_S · Answer

Not stupid to start anything good

Anonymous · Answer

Yes, it sounds kinda unreasonable.

Jmmmfi4 · Answer

Gotta have will power

In_Trance · Answer

Yes it is

Is it stupid to join a gym in January with a new years resolution to lose weight seeing as how majority of people quit soon after?

Most Helpful Opinions

Most Helpful Opinions

What Girls & Guys Said

Is hitting the weights pointless if you don’t have a good diet going?