I’m in the habit of going to the gym nearly every day. As the holidays drew to a close I was steeling myself for big New Year’s resolution crowds at my local Planet Fitness in Albuquerque, but so far have seen only a few more perspiring patrons than usual during my mid-morning workout.
That’s a welcome change from the chain health club I used to frequent in the Chicago suburbs. The large gym was busy, especially in the peak hours after work, but I always was able to drop in and work out with relative convenience.
Until January, that is. Every year the chain conducted an aggressive Christmas promotion with saturation advertising and discounts on gym memberships. I admired the savvy marketing but was dismayed at the resulting invasion of newcomers.
The post-holiday horde inundated the locker room and parking lot, forcing me to change at home and park at a nearby shopping center. Getting onto a treadmill was nearly impossible. The first couple of aerobics classes were downright hazardous, a demolition derby of randomly flailing limbs. I soon learned to just avoid the place the first few days of the year.
Fortunately, the crowds began to diminish after a week or two. According to national statistics, 80% of new exercisers stop coming to the gym by February. The aerobics program at my local gym saw even faster attrition because the instructor, a cheerful young woman with a sadistic streak, weeded out the faint-hearted in a matter of days by stepping-up the intensity of her classes.
Within a few weeks, the gym was back to normal and the chain’s managers were counting the money from new one-year memberships that went unused.