Typically this time of year brings a flood of new members to the gym who are looking to jump start their New Year’s resolution, but 2024 seems to have brought a different trend in New Brunswick.
“We have had a little bit of an increase in membership over the past week or so, but really we noticed the significant amount of people coming in proactively,” said Just Fit Fitness Centre owner Julie Solbak. “They were coming in end of November, all the way through December.”
While people are still focusing on similar goals like more consistency, making exercise a part of their weekly routine, or small changes to eating habits, Solbak says the January rush hasn’t been as prominent the last two years.
“What we’re seeing instead of the big grand resolution, is they’re making small habit changes,” said Solbak.
2024 seems to have brought a shift to Jan. 1 and not just for gym-goers.
Tracey MacDonald has been a life and leadership coach for more than eight years and she says when it comes to resolutions, people need to look at it in a new way.
“I would say make change, growth maybe the resolution, or just drop the resolution completely and really get clear on who do I want to be, what does that look like, how do I want to feel, what’s the emotion I’m looking for and build your habits around that,” she said.
“To me, resolutions a lot of the time they fizzle out. Really start with how do you want to feel this year? What would that look like?”
Through her line of work she says she’s noticed people are wanting something different in their day-to-day life like relationship changes or growth at work.
She notes achieving long-term goals takes a lot more than just setting them.
“I always say, you know, listen, when do you tap out? If you want to do something different is it after two weeks? Three weeks? Is it a month? Get to know that part of yourself because that’s the part that sabotages. That’s the part that holds you back. That’s where the real work begins,” she said.
Whether it’s big or small or if it’s called a resolution or not, it’s still difficult to start a new challenge.
MacDonald says anytime you stretch outside your comfort zone, there’s going to be a part of you that wants to pull back, but there are ways to do it.
“Give yourself grace. It doesn’t have to be these massive goals,” said MacDonald. “It can be a two per cent shift. It doesn’t look like much, you know, if you want to drink water more, a two per cent shift because over time it doesn’t end up at the same place.
“My cousin is actually a pilot and if he did a two per cent shift on his flight, you wouldn’t land in the same area.”
Solbak says she gives similar advice when it comes to her clients at the gym: Start small and stay consistent.
“What we suggest that they do is make really small goals, more realistic instead of big, big goals where they’re going to go from nothing at all to coming in the gym seven-days a week,” she said. “It’s not realistic, nobody is going to do that and if they do attempt it, than often they wont last so we ask our clients to start by saying two times a week, three times a week at the most.”
