I sold gym memberships once upon a time, too.
I live in a tourist area and look at the crowds that come in seasonally as people who drop their money off so I can have nice restaurants year 'round. Same with gyms - they’d fail without the people who pay money and then don’t show up.
A buddy of mine pointed something out to me and it has been several years of noticing now- the number of women out on the walk/hike/bike and fitness trails is ridiculously higher than the men.
And many of them are doing very well.
Agreed. But when you’ve been going to to gym for as long as I have, the pattern is obvious and I dread it.
Would love to but I found that I need a physical place away from home to go to. I think I’m inherently lazy!
Nah I get that … that’s how I felt about driving to the gym over the past 2 or so years. It was only about a 5 minute ride, but I had a tough time bringing myself to make it. That’s why I bought the equipment and the rack - it’s much better for me and my laziness to just roll out to the garage for a quick session, plus I save time for other shit. It’s the same mindset, but applied differently.
I get this too - this was another motivator was I don’t have to wait for other numbnuts to get off ‘my’ equipment haha … I used to like this time of year along with right before bathing suit season, a lot of good looking women would roll into the gym then disappear just as suddenly a few weeks later…
I am jealous. Several T Mag brothers work out from home and have great physiques. I’ve toyed with the idea now that my youngest has moved out.
there’s a small uptick the first week of Jan but I never felt like it was anything really overwhelming
Headphones On, World Off.
Still doesn’t drown out
It will be over soon enough.
The biggest reason I started stocking a home gym was when our local gym signed a contract with the retirement home. For months at 1 pm, we had the gym to ourselves, but then it was over ran by 12-15 elderly folks who sit on everything and talked.
If it makes you feel any better, those New Year’s Resolutioners are preventing your gym membership costing 2-3x more than it currently does. You should thank them next time you see one 
+1 For finding a private gym, I pay a little more but honestly its dead and I the membership is worth every cent of advice I get from older guys that frequent the gym.
I was a new year new me guy, 10 years ago and stuck to it like glue. when I see someone doing something wrong if I do frequent a commercial gym, I make small talk and if they seem decent and im not intrusive ill offer tips if warranted.
I wish someone helped me to begin, my joints and shoulders would thank me and I wouldn’t have been a victim of ego lifting.
I’m filled with anger and sadness for these people. I’m seeing it online already. “Anyone tried intermittent fasting?” And then the comments from struggling fat people roll in. “I’ve been doing it for a couple weeks but it’s hard to wait til noon to eat some days.” “I’m doing it and lost 25 lbs so far!”
I hate it because I’ve never met a successful person who did it with a fad diet. Everyone I know has rebounded at least once.
These people go hand in hand with the cardio and group fitness bunnies. “I’ll lose weight of I just kill myself in this boot camp.” Three weeks later they realize that dying in the gym every session isn’t all that enjoyable so they fizzle out. I don’t blame them. I just feel bad that they ignore the common sense approach that I’m trying to share with them. So many of them think the journey is over because they miss the gym for a few weeks.
I walked into my gym on New Years Eve and the front desk girl looked like she was going to cry. I asked her what was wrong, and she said she asked a lady for her tag to scan her in. The lady didn’t want to give her her purse, which the tag was attached to, so she asked the lady to walk around the desk and scan her tag. The lady apparently blew up and started cursing her out because she didn’t disconnect the scanner from where it always is and reconnect it closer to her. Imagine being such a nasty person that you go to the gym and then get angry that someone makes you walk 5 steps.
That story doesn’t surprise me whatsoever, which definitely sucks.
Honestly, that’s the exception, though. I think anyone even trying to go to the gym as a New Years resolution is doing a good thing. However, I did ask the girl, “Is she a regular?” The girl said “No, first time I’ve seen her.” I just said “Don’t worry, she’ll be gone in a couple weeks.” I want everyone to stick around, really. Or, a reasonable amount of them. But people like that, who are rotten on the inside and out, don’t have the mental fortitude or the positivity to put in work for long periods of time. As such, they don’t reap any of the benefits, and become more rotten.
Yep. Just a bunch of non training phone zombies cluttering the gym. I train at home.
Inside I’m hoping they all stick to it, and just let gym time be apart of their lives for the long run. They don’t have to be iron heads like us here, but just do something that further maintains their health.
Never really happens though.
my garage gym is the same now as it was all of last year, maybe a little bit colder 
Its hard being the fat guy in the gym at this time of year. Every one looks at you like you have been in the gym for 5 days :).
TBH noone is looking at you … if there are people who are looking at you, they’re most likely rooting for you.