Good, the more runners the better, I hope they all stick with it. It’s been great seeing running getting more and more popular over the last couple of years
Any exercise infact, we should be encouraging people to be more healthy rather than hoping they quit soon. Health is wealth
I find myself holding two opposing viewpoints here.
I love seeing new people in the gym, it's exciting to see people getting hyped about fitness and when you see people hit goals or figure out a lift that's been giving them issues it's legitimately heartwarming, but at the same time I know full well that 70% of the faces I see in my gym this evening are going to clog the place up for a few weeks then never return, and that's frustrating for me.
Most gyms don't have minimum terms anymore, and a lot of them do Introductory pricing in January with no minimum contract term. That model's become kind of outdated.
Where did I complain about people bettering themselves? I literally said I love seeing new people in the gym, I cheer with them when they hit new goals.
What I don't like is the people who bow to the societally enforced "new year new me" mentality who don't want to be there and aren't going to stick it out.
It’s not that deep though. It’s just a bit of a joke about people doing the same thing time and again, almost like a tradition. If people/“newbs” get that easily discouraged or affected by a joke Reddit post, they’re probably not going to succeed at anything tbh.
your mate at a gym could own the place if he decided to try and convert that 74% into 20%... buying snacks, and extra sessions, paying for locker space / etc.
He just works there. And why would he wanna do that anyway? Memberships paid for that aren’t used is just free money for them, while also keeping the gym from becoming overcrowded.
Its fucking annoying how busy tesco gets the 3 days before christmas but i accept it because i dont own tesco same way you dont own the gym. It gets busy as people try to better themselves. Thats a good thing and you are still one of the people making it busy
I was abroad for 2 months last year and walked everywhere and I can't believe how easily the weight came off me. I'm not overweight and have always been reasonably active but I'm wobblier than I'd like to be. I always felt like I needed to do "exercise" to lose weight so it was crazy that just doing +10k steps a day did it. Granted I've put it back on over Christmas but I'll be getting back to walking when work starts again.
I can both be happy that people are getting more exercise in general but also personally look forward to the gym being back to normal levels of busy when 70% have given up by the end of Feb lol
Today was genuinely awful, I'd forgotten how busy it gets in January!
Yeah I feel like I can be both happy and welcoming for the newcomers/returners and slightly irked at the same time that I can't get on a machine I want to because there's always at least 2 people loitering waiting for someone else to finish.
If that was Friday evening, which is usually pretty dead, I'm really not looking forward to Saturday morning! I always forget how bad the first few weeks of January actually are.
It does make signing up for races more difficult though. You have to get your entry way in advance and hope you can still run when it comes around. I wish more races kept bibs available for club standard runners, but understand them wanting to maximise profits.
I was disappointed on my lunchtime run today not to see a single other runner. Perhaps the cold snap has broken wills that usually last the first week of January.
Me and my friend went out yesterday to feed the ducks all bundled up in our coats, we saw joggers in shorts and beach goers in bikini's. I felt cold seeing them but good on them on getting out.
When I still did New Year resolutions, I did them as starting on the first day I was back at work. Which, this year, is Monday. Maybe some people do that as well.
I don't do them anymore though. I am committed to my gradual bodily breakdown and early death.
Maybe we should improve our pavements, create actual bicycle lanes, and build more free or low-cost recreational centres.
A badminton court for an hour at my local council-owned centre that's contracted to a for-profit is £30. It's insane! Not to mention youth centres are no longer a thing.
Would be nice. I would love to see better pavements, more bicycle lanes like in some European countries I’ve been too.
However the toughest thing we have facing that is the size of our country. Our limited and expensive land that is ever growing smaller to find free space.
I'm the healthiest I've been in years and the only difference I made last year really was walking a lot more. People getting outdoors and being active is great, even if it takes New Years pressures to get it going. Kudos to all that give it a go.
Was going to suggest this myself, so many people launch into intensive exercise that can be hard to keep up if you don’t love it, walking is seriously underrated as a gentler means of getting healthier! (lower risk of injury too…)
Yeah, walking is one of the best exercises you can do.
Doesn't hammer the joints like running, and you can do it almost indefinitely if you a bunch of snacks and water to keep you going.
sure, you aren't gonna hike everest just like that, hell, going for a LONG hill walk is gonna get you if you just start but if you are capable of walking, a mile or so everyday leading to longer walks is more than enough for the average person
Hey! I haven't mentioned the fact I've run a marathon in at least a week.
Running is my hobby. But I get that in general unless I'm speaking to another runner then talking about it is just white noise. We are not all infernal bores.
I signed up to my first marathon last month, as a casual runner I'm excited and have of course made it my mission to shoehorn the fact I'm doing it into every conversation.
I have my first trip of the year to the gym tomorrow and I'm expecting it to be Bedlam. However, based on past experience I'm also expecting it to be business as usual by mid February.
I loathe the annual condescending nastiness about people trying to be healthy. I think it’s sad that people get so bitter about others wanting to improve themselves. I celebrate seeing every person no matter their fitness, and think it’s great that people want to feel good and healthy.
And? It’s good that they tried. Maybe next year they will try again and it will stick. What WON’T help, in the slightest, is people out there, mocking them for trying.
Yes, of course its good that they tried. But we’re still allowed to make jokes about a common thing that happens every single year. It’s not mocking it’s just having a laugh.
Just to retroactively annoy OP, I joined a gym this time last year, quit after a week because staring at a blank blue wall was boring and started running outside instead.
I feel better and my weight is healthier than I have in decades.
Wait til you get deep enough into running that you start needing to do strength training to supplement it. I've just started going to the gym again after 5yrs of not
I bought a bike last year - can't be doing with gyms, not my thing, but a bike is both practical and good for me. I feel so much better when I've been out on it. Especially as I pretty much have to go over a big bridge to get anywhere useful.
I had planned to nip out today to Argos but decided better of it as it was too slippy. Went for a walk instead and was sliding about like shit off a shiny shovel. Nearly stacked it three times. Most stressful walk I've ever had. Going on the bike would've been a big mistake.
It's excellent but can I ask the new people to put the weights back. Just returned from my first workout this year and the weights were an absolute mess
I took up running a couple of months ago. Just going out once a week, so I'm still in the run/walk phase. I'm almost reluctant to go out right now, because people will assume I'm on a new year kick.
The big problem is that the gym becomes unbearably busy with people who give up after a few weeks, because of how unbearably busy the gym gets. If we could persuade people to start out sustainably, and keep it going, the gyms would be a lot nicer.
I mean, why wait until the new year? I think new year new me is a self defeating philosophy - if you wanted to make a change you wouldn't wait for some arbitrary passage of time to do it, you'd just do it.
Sometimes the reset helps. I'm quitting smoking currently also because I have the time off work to do nothing and don't expect to be drinking or partying for the foreseeable.
I'm out with injury so I can't run ATM...and god I'm so envious of all those new joggers! But I'm taking heart in that even when I go for walks there are more people around the local park and even the national park near me...the more people use and value the space the more they'll be protected!
Especially in the suburban and urban spheres, we really need to value the green spaces we have near us. You don't know what you've got till it's gone...
The likelihood is they aren't new runners, just people who run anyway who are just out for a run again as normal and the date happens to be the 2nd Jan.
I'm generalising here but new runners are unlikely to choose a week of minus degree temperatures, snow and ice to begin running.
The lane swim at lunchtime was like a reenactment of the M25 at rush hour.
Added a good 5 minutes to my normal time while people convinced they hadn't lost any of their fitness since the last time they went swimming huffed and puffed their way up and down the "fast lane"
Happens now and again in June when they realise there is a pool at their holiday resort so they need to perfect their breaststroke without getting a single hair on their hair wet. While the rest of us choke on their hairspray and body spray, because preswim showers aren't for them.
Mine to and I know once everyone goes back to work next week the lunchtime seasons will go back to being quiet, the timetable is messed up at the moment because the swimming lessons don't restart till Monday so they don't have many lifeguards either ( it's a super small 20 m 3 lane pool).
I fully expect more down votes because I get sarcasm doesn't always come across well. The no wet hair over powering body spray people are here most of the year, it just intensifies this time of year due to people being time rich but the pool being session poor!
I also go around lunchtime and it seems stay relatively steady, though have noticed the panic holiday preppers in summer! I don’t mind the pool being busier but there’s always someone in the wrong lane! Maddening!
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Good, the more runners the better, I hope they all stick with it. It’s been great seeing running getting more and more popular over the last couple of years
Any exercise infact, we should be encouraging people to be more healthy rather than hoping they quit soon. Health is wealth
Running has transformed my life since I started 15 years ago
I bet your family miss you.
Agreed. The gatekeeping around gyms and fitness this time of year is always so petulant.
I find myself holding two opposing viewpoints here.
I love seeing new people in the gym, it's exciting to see people getting hyped about fitness and when you see people hit goals or figure out a lift that's been giving them issues it's legitimately heartwarming, but at the same time I know full well that 70% of the faces I see in my gym this evening are going to clog the place up for a few weeks then never return, and that's frustrating for me.
If they didn't attend then it would cost you more to keep the same facilities open through the rest of the year
Most gyms don't have minimum terms anymore, and a lot of them do Introductory pricing in January with no minimum contract term. That model's become kind of outdated.
The gyms can make stronger margins in January that can offset losses / small margins later in the year though.
Surely this solves your problem of overclogging.
Get your own gym then weirdo. Complaining about people trying to better themselves is definitely a take.
Where did I complain about people bettering themselves? I literally said I love seeing new people in the gym, I cheer with them when they hit new goals.
What I don't like is the people who bow to the societally enforced "new year new me" mentality who don't want to be there and aren't going to stick it out.
Mate it’s not gatekeeping 😂 OP is just making the common point that most of these people won’t continue past January.
My mate who works at a gym said that 74% of their active memberships are from people who signed up in January and then never returned 🤣
It's a negative attitude towards those trying to better themselves, who cares whether they give up and have to start again, at least they're trying
No it’s not, it’s just a common joke. There’s nothing personal about it all, it’s something that tens of thousands of people do every year.
Of course it’s a good thing that people are trying to better themselves.
I suppose, but I can't imagine the thought of people sneering and rolling their eyes at the "newbs" out running/gyming in Jan is very encouraging
It’s not that deep though. It’s just a bit of a joke about people doing the same thing time and again, almost like a tradition. If people/“newbs” get that easily discouraged or affected by a joke Reddit post, they’re probably not going to succeed at anything tbh.
People don’t typically do that in gyms tbh. Can’t speak for runners but I’m an avid gym-goer and most veterans love newbies.
Edit: people downvoting me, have you ever actually spent time in a gym?
And? Gym gets paid and it’s empty come February. What’s the downside here?
your mate at a gym could own the place if he decided to try and convert that 74% into 20%... buying snacks, and extra sessions, paying for locker space / etc.
He just works there. And why would he wanna do that anyway? Memberships paid for that aren’t used is just free money for them, while also keeping the gym from becoming overcrowded.
dunno, some people aspire to do better.
As I’ve just explained to you, the current situation is better for them.
It is fine provided they follow the etiquette (which some regulars could do learning too).
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Its fucking annoying how busy tesco gets the 3 days before christmas but i accept it because i dont own tesco same way you dont own the gym. It gets busy as people try to better themselves. Thats a good thing and you are still one of the people making it busy
I was abroad for 2 months last year and walked everywhere and I can't believe how easily the weight came off me. I'm not overweight and have always been reasonably active but I'm wobblier than I'd like to be. I always felt like I needed to do "exercise" to lose weight so it was crazy that just doing +10k steps a day did it. Granted I've put it back on over Christmas but I'll be getting back to walking when work starts again.
I can both be happy that people are getting more exercise in general but also personally look forward to the gym being back to normal levels of busy when 70% have given up by the end of Feb lol
Today was genuinely awful, I'd forgotten how busy it gets in January!
Yeah I feel like I can be both happy and welcoming for the newcomers/returners and slightly irked at the same time that I can't get on a machine I want to because there's always at least 2 people loitering waiting for someone else to finish.
If that was Friday evening, which is usually pretty dead, I'm really not looking forward to Saturday morning! I always forget how bad the first few weeks of January actually are.
More people would stick with it if they started walking first.
It does make signing up for races more difficult though. You have to get your entry way in advance and hope you can still run when it comes around. I wish more races kept bibs available for club standard runners, but understand them wanting to maximise profits.
But races are so expensive and sell out quickly now
£45+fees for the Inverness half marathon!!
It's ridiculous how quickly they seemed to sell out this year.
Brighton Marathon 2026 sold out by early September 2025.
I was disappointed on my lunchtime run today not to see a single other runner. Perhaps the cold snap has broken wills that usually last the first week of January.
Me and my friend went out yesterday to feed the ducks all bundled up in our coats, we saw joggers in shorts and beach goers in bikini's. I felt cold seeing them but good on them on getting out.
When I still did New Year resolutions, I did them as starting on the first day I was back at work. Which, this year, is Monday. Maybe some people do that as well.
I don't do them anymore though. I am committed to my gradual bodily breakdown and early death.
Whereas I just cycled home past three runners in he dark and a windchill of -7C which I was impressed by!
I'm very much a morning runner
Yeah I saw none today or yesterday either! What gives?!
I switched my 10k run to yesterday from today because I didnt want to run in the snow 😅
But now I want to go and run in the snow
Used to see loads of people on New Year's Day. This year was just me by myself, so at least I had the pavement to myself.
There's way too many sedentary people in this country, it's great to see people embracing fitness and trying to improve their health.
This belongs in r/britishsuccess !
Maybe we should improve our pavements, create actual bicycle lanes, and build more free or low-cost recreational centres.
A badminton court for an hour at my local council-owned centre that's contracted to a for-profit is £30. It's insane! Not to mention youth centres are no longer a thing.
Would be nice. I would love to see better pavements, more bicycle lanes like in some European countries I’ve been too.
However the toughest thing we have facing that is the size of our country. Our limited and expensive land that is ever growing smaller to find free space.
Don’t know how we are meant to fix this
We seem to find space for two lanes of cars everywhere, so it's just a case of prioritising it.
I'd love to cycle to work but with the state of the country roads leading up to it, its just not viable. Our infrastructure is pretty terrible
That’s why he said he’d like to create the bicycle lanes for that to happen.
and my comment was agreeing that it's necessary
I'm the healthiest I've been in years and the only difference I made last year really was walking a lot more. People getting outdoors and being active is great, even if it takes New Years pressures to get it going. Kudos to all that give it a go.
Was going to suggest this myself, so many people launch into intensive exercise that can be hard to keep up if you don’t love it, walking is seriously underrated as a gentler means of getting healthier! (lower risk of injury too…)
Only walking?
Yeah, walking is one of the best exercises you can do.
Doesn't hammer the joints like running, and you can do it almost indefinitely if you a bunch of snacks and water to keep you going.
sure, you aren't gonna hike everest just like that, hell, going for a LONG hill walk is gonna get you if you just start but if you are capable of walking, a mile or so everyday leading to longer walks is more than enough for the average person
Gyms I can understand, they kinda become unusable for people with a 9-5 in January.
But running is great, more people should do it. Just not marathons, it ruins your personality
Hey! I haven't mentioned the fact I've run a marathon in at least a week.
Running is my hobby. But I get that in general unless I'm speaking to another runner then talking about it is just white noise. We are not all infernal bores.
I signed up to my first marathon last month, as a casual runner I'm excited and have of course made it my mission to shoehorn the fact I'm doing it into every conversation.
Urg, marathon bores are the worst, everyone I know prefers hearing about my triathlons instead...
"what you only run a marathon? I do that after a swim and before a long bike ride"
Everyone else does it third, after the swim and a ride....
Some people don't follow the rules
I signed up to do my city's half-marathon for charity in October as a kick up the arse to get fit. I apologise in advance.
There's no need to apologise! Maybe one day you'll manage to do a full one
more people should walk, running just destroys joints
Running a couple of Ks every few days is not going to destroy your joints. Don't be dramatic.
Fair play to them for taking the first step (or stepping back) on their fitness journey. Not a bad thing, OP.
Thanks for the reminder that I really need to start running again. Easier to find excuses not to when the weather's like this...
but on the plus side my local tesco has Easter eggs
Haha now I have to dodge the urge to pick up a small Lindt bunny every shop
I have my first trip of the year to the gym tomorrow and I'm expecting it to be Bedlam. However, based on past experience I'm also expecting it to be business as usual by mid February.
Mine at the moment seems business as usual hopefully that doesn’t change
The gym I go to is actually quiet at the moment
"New year" doesn't start til Monday for most, I'd bet.
Possibly, I just hope most people find a form of exercise they enjoy, doesn't necessarily have to be the gym
I can't get onto my usual spin class on Monday because it got booked up straight away. I am very annoyed. I even got new cycling shoes for Christmas!
I loathe the annual condescending nastiness about people trying to be healthy. I think it’s sad that people get so bitter about others wanting to improve themselves. I celebrate seeing every person no matter their fitness, and think it’s great that people want to feel good and healthy.
What? 😂 OP is just making the point about what happens every year, that most of these people won’t continue past January.
My mate who works at a gym said that 74% of their active memberships are from people who signed up in January and then never returned 🤣
And? It’s good that they tried. Maybe next year they will try again and it will stick. What WON’T help, in the slightest, is people out there, mocking them for trying.
Yes, of course its good that they tried. But we’re still allowed to make jokes about a common thing that happens every single year. It’s not mocking it’s just having a laugh.
My pavements are icy and slippery as fuck.
To protect myself and for safety reasons, I've made the difficult decision to stay in with my duvet.
Better safe than sorry
Just to retroactively annoy OP, I joined a gym this time last year, quit after a week because staring at a blank blue wall was boring and started running outside instead.
I feel better and my weight is healthier than I have in decades.
Did you end up having to pay for the gym all year?
No, just the month which was an introductory price anyway. They didn’t make me jump through any hoops to cancel either.
Wait til you get deep enough into running that you start needing to do strength training to supplement it. I've just started going to the gym again after 5yrs of not
Sainsbury's today had a cardboard display unit marked something like 'bringing easter to life'. I nearly threw up in my mouth.
I bought a bike last year - can't be doing with gyms, not my thing, but a bike is both practical and good for me. I feel so much better when I've been out on it. Especially as I pretty much have to go over a big bridge to get anywhere useful.
I had planned to nip out today to Argos but decided better of it as it was too slippy. Went for a walk instead and was sliding about like shit off a shiny shovel. Nearly stacked it three times. Most stressful walk I've ever had. Going on the bike would've been a big mistake.
Every second ad is for a new diet meal subscription
Yes the gym is too busy. Will be quiet again in a month
It's excellent but can I ask the new people to put the weights back. Just returned from my first workout this year and the weights were an absolute mess
We have 6” snow, no runners up here today
Went to the gym this afternoon, reasonably busy, a few "new year, new me" selfie takers, but mostly people just getting on with it.
Wait until the 9-5ers go back next week. It'll be unbearable if you get there any time between 5 and 7.30.
I took up running a couple of months ago. Just going out once a week, so I'm still in the run/walk phase. I'm almost reluctant to go out right now, because people will assume I'm on a new year kick.
Who cares? Get those legs moving!
I don't understand why people moan about other people using the new year to try and be more healthy. Always sounds kinda salty/spiteful
The big problem is that the gym becomes unbearably busy with people who give up after a few weeks, because of how unbearably busy the gym gets. If we could persuade people to start out sustainably, and keep it going, the gyms would be a lot nicer.
I mean, why wait until the new year? I think new year new me is a self defeating philosophy - if you wanted to make a change you wouldn't wait for some arbitrary passage of time to do it, you'd just do it.
Sometimes the reset helps. I'm quitting smoking currently also because I have the time off work to do nothing and don't expect to be drinking or partying for the foreseeable.
Good luck!
I genuinely wish you the best in this, but if you don't make it this time, forgive yourself and try again.
Thanks homie
I hope it works out for you, I remember doing that and it sucked shit. Took me five or six goes to nail it.
I echo what the other reply said; if you don't make it, dust yourself off and go again!
Thanks :)
I can’t even sell a fixed fitness bikep
I wish I could be jogging, but I’m settling for walking until I’m fit enough to jog. Keep at it everyone, do it for me!!
Are they running up that hill, with no problems?
My New Year’s resolution is to cancel my gym membership I got last year.
Sainsbury's have hot cross buns out already...
And 15,000 easter eggs.
what's an ad?
an advert do you mean?
tut tut tut
Standard crabs in bucket reddit post
Why's that bad?
Haven’t seen any joiners and gym is normal… maybe it’s your area
I'm out with injury so I can't run ATM...and god I'm so envious of all those new joggers! But I'm taking heart in that even when I go for walks there are more people around the local park and even the national park near me...the more people use and value the space the more they'll be protected!
Especially in the suburban and urban spheres, we really need to value the green spaces we have near us. You don't know what you've got till it's gone...
The likelihood is they aren't new runners, just people who run anyway who are just out for a run again as normal and the date happens to be the 2nd Jan.
I'm generalising here but new runners are unlikely to choose a week of minus degree temperatures, snow and ice to begin running.
The lane swim at lunchtime was like a reenactment of the M25 at rush hour.
Added a good 5 minutes to my normal time while people convinced they hadn't lost any of their fitness since the last time they went swimming huffed and puffed their way up and down the "fast lane"
Happens now and again in June when they realise there is a pool at their holiday resort so they need to perfect their breaststroke without getting a single hair on their hair wet. While the rest of us choke on their hairspray and body spray, because preswim showers aren't for them.
My pool has been empty since Christmas Eve, it’s been absolute bliss.
Mine to and I know once everyone goes back to work next week the lunchtime seasons will go back to being quiet, the timetable is messed up at the moment because the swimming lessons don't restart till Monday so they don't have many lifeguards either ( it's a super small 20 m 3 lane pool).
I fully expect more down votes because I get sarcasm doesn't always come across well. The no wet hair over powering body spray people are here most of the year, it just intensifies this time of year due to people being time rich but the pool being session poor!
I also go around lunchtime and it seems stay relatively steady, though have noticed the panic holiday preppers in summer! I don’t mind the pool being busier but there’s always someone in the wrong lane! Maddening!