Gym newbies already gone at my gym ...

n0ob

Another year, another round of I told you so's...congrats to all who actually stuck with it and "made it". Thanks for keeping my costs low.

MidwestAngel

craigja

LOL.. It is so true. They all jumped on the no charge or $1 signup fee but now locked into a monthly charge for two years. What a deal... I shouldn't laugh, I spent years on that program..

tropaze

Funny thing is my Zumba class has been empty until just this week. Guess we're backwards. Luckily, I use the YMCA and we don't have contracts like that!

__RANDY__

Yep, yesterday the gym was back to normal.

BamBam125

Why do people cheer about this? The way I see it, if your gym and it's members had been more supportive of the newbies at a time when you all knew they would be challenged, maybe you could have helped them stick with it and made a real difference in more of their lives. Clearly, your gym doesn't do well by the members who need it the most (the new ones).

spade117

My place is always just me and sometimes my wife. Occasionally we get some drifters, but we encourage them to leave.

IronSmasher

Mine was packed last night, but I didn't mind because I'm injured.

They usually last into February here to be honest. Then an empty gym until the first sunny day of the year.

sunsnstatheart

Why do people cheer about this? The way I see it, if your gym and it's members had been more supportive of the newbies at a time when you all knew they would be challenged, maybe you could have helped them stick with it and made a real difference in more of their lives. Clearly, your gym doesn't do well by the members who need it the most (the new ones).

It's gym humor and it's frankly based in economic reality. None of us is responsible for whether someone shows up or not. It's up to them to make the commitment and stick with it.

TylerJ76

I paid for my membership for almost 4 years before I started going regularly...

Oops!

Bakkasan

Mine too and thank goodness for that!!

n0ob

It's gym humor and it's frankly based in economic reality. None of us is responsible for whether someone shows up or not. It's up to them to make the commitment and stick with it.

This. I've actually helped a lot of people with form, suggestions for fitness programs (mainly to target a certain area) and I even wrote a beginner routine for one guy (who I've actually gotten a thank you from weeks later).

DavPul

As someone who has set goals and not achieved them, I try not to look down my nose at other people when they come up short. I didn't wind up on mfp because all awesome, all the time

concordancia

So, I made it?!

I have been at it for six weeks, so it is a habit now, right? Right?

jst1986

I decided to skip joining till around now specifically to avoid the usual quitters, If I'm gonna quit I'll do it in February instead!

jackaroo21

Taking glee in something like this is a major character flaw. Next year try encouraging the new members to reach thier goals instead of bragging about how they keep your gym membership low.

tndejong

the ymca was BUSY. the had a january promotion of no joiner fee. so everyone was lined up with applications. i signed up as part of this though:( but i was exercising at home for about a month everyday before doing so. all i have is an elliptical and wanted to step it up. i have been at the gym everyday for an hour or more since i signed up. i did stick to do.

MB_Positif

I didn't wind up on mfp because all awesome, all the time

Lies!

BamBam125

Why do people cheer about this? The way I see it, if your gym and it's members had been more supportive of the newbies at a time when you all knew they would be challenged, maybe you could have helped them stick with it and made a real difference in more of their lives. Clearly, your gym doesn't do well by the members who need it the most (the new ones).

It's gym humor and it's frankly based in economic reality. None of us is responsible for whether someone shows up or not. It's up to them to make the commitment and stick with it.

I beg to differ. It's a sign of a chronic gym problem that no one cares enough to bother fixing. I'm not saying that every noobie would stick with it, but I do think that gyms and their members could do a lot more to help AND still make a profit while doing so.

For example, last time I joined a gym they gave me a key fob thingy to scan to get past the front desk. Gyms could do so much more with those, like send an email to the member if a week or more has gone by and they haven't come in.

aka: It's Febuary and you know what that means! It's time to re-affirm those new year resolutions. We've missed you this week(month, etc). Please join us for <insert free or low cost perk> on <date> or stop by the front desk to set up a session with one of our personal trainers. Mention this email to get 10% off your first training session.

Heck, even just using the fob to "learn" my name would have been nice. aka: I scan the fob, screen tells the front desk who I am (exists) and desk person SHOULD say "HI <name>!" and look at me to acknowledge my existence.

Or, have a bulletin board for members and newbies seeking "accountability buddies."

Or have a sign up sheet for members to become newbie mentors/buddies. It could be as simple as promising to call the noobie once a week. For each week/month a mentor's noobie comes in, give the member a % off next year's membership. That way the mentor member gets a perk and the noobie is more likely to renew his/her membership next year AND more likely to recommend the gym to a friend. More members who renew = more money for profit and for improvements to the gym or even opening extra locations.

I'm glad to hear that some members do try to help out the noobies. That was never my experience when I was at the local gym, but I was "noobie" in early Nov of that year, not January. Maybe no one recognized me as new even though I went at the same time each day. I live in a friendly town, but it seemed like at the gym few people smiled or waved back, even at the front desk or the locker room. Everyone was too busy living in their own world. It made me miss my old campus gym from college. I let my membership to the local gym expire. For the same price as a fancy gym membership for a year, I can buy craig list equipment and just stay home, instead.

I know that the noobies have their own share of responsibility for whether they go to the gym or not. BUT I firmly believe that gyms and their members could help a lot more of them than they do. That's a sign of a gym that's not properly serving it's members. All the gym cares about is it's pocketbook, rather than it's most valuable asset---the members (new and old).

sunsnstatheart

It's gym humor and it's frankly based in economic reality. None of us is responsible for whether someone shows up or not. It's up to them to make the commitment and stick with it.

This. I've actually helped a lot of people with form, suggestions for fitness programs (mainly to target a certain area) and I even wrote a beginner routine for one guy (who I've actually gotten a thank you from weeks later).

Yea, but going out of your way to actually help people is "creepy", and then addressing the drop off is "unsupportive". No one seems to want to simply take responsibility for their own actions. In the end, we just keep on doing what we're doing and the blue avatars come and go.

If people want support, advice and encouragement, that's available here. If they want hand holding to force them to actually show up, then they should talk to mommy.

SVCat

Mine are slowly waning off...right now Mondays are crazy from all the guilt of overeating over the weekend