Gyms, nutritionists see New Year's spike in demand

One of the most popular New Year's resolutions is getting into shape and working out more.

LETHBRIDGE -

With the calendar now flipped to 2023, many will begin to tackle their New Year’s resolutions.

One of the most popular resolutions year after year is getting into shape and working out more.

It leads to the busiest time of year at local gyms.

“We've see an influx of people in the first couple weeks of January, for sure. We just try to be patient and answer any questions they might have. But yeah, for sure, the first couple weeks of January, we tend to see a huge number of people,” said Ahmad Abushaban, who works at the University of Lethbridge gym.

He says the increase is a combination of new members signing up and existing members dusting off their sneakers and going to the gym more often.

Nutritionists also see a similar spike in demand.

“We definitely notice that things get a bit busier during this time of year,” said Robyn Stewart, owner of YQL Nutrition.

“In saying that, too, we also notice that people are signing up even just before (New Year’s) to kind of prepare themselves, which is good.”

But while things are busy now, they may not stay that way for long.

The reality is while many will set resolutions and goals, not everyone will achieve them.

After just a few weeks, gyms will be close to their pre-New Year’s levels.

“It probably takes a couple months for it to die down again. Of course, that’s not something we want to see here. People are here. We want to motivate them. We want to motivate them to be here. They're entitled to the space just as much as anyone else. So we’re here – we’re patient,” said Abushaban.

Many of the resolutions we make may seem difficult to achieve, leading to so many giving up on them so quickly.

But experts advise there are ways to help set yourself up for success.

Writing down resolutions can help to increase dopamine and serotonin in our brains, and visualizing can also have the same effect.

“Even something as simple as making a plan for how to achieve your goal can go a long way. It just really depends on how you set yourself up, in terms of goal achievement,” Stewart said.