Gym newbies already gone at my gym ...

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).

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).

Who joined the gym and was already hard bodied? Sure wasn't me. The OP said nothing about "hoping it get's back to normal." He actually said congrats to the people who stuck it out.

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).