Every year on January 1, the gyms are flooded with people determined to improve their fitness level, but how long that resolution lasts is a matter of speculation
JAY JOSHI
A change in the calendar year brings considerable fortune to two groups of professionals. While the bar and hotel owners make windfall gains between December 25 and 31, the dawn of the new year brings blessings for gym trainers. Come the first of January, people high on New Year resolutions flock to the gyms, determined to become fitter and get in shape in the new year. How many of them manage to keep the resolution is a matter of speculation. How do the gym trainers themselves feel about this ‘circle of fitness’ that manifests itself every year?
“Well, it’s quite funny,” says Akash Thompe, a gym trainer from Ponda. “ People enroll in the gym a week in advance, and most of them attend hardly for 10-15 days. Out of every 10 people that enroll, hardly two will stick around for as long as a month.” Thompe, has worked at a number of other gyms before opening his own, has found that only around 20% of the new members of a gym will complete full year of regular training at the fitness centre.
Pratosh Pirankar from Vasco just shrugs at the whole idea of a New Year resolution. “Why do people need to wait for the New Year to start gym is beyond me,” says the trainer. “If you are truly willing, you could start here and now. But people wait for the New Year. Then, they make an enthusiastic start, and later keep putting off the gym due to other commitments. If you can casually spend an hour surfing social media or watching TV, you can certainly spend the same amount of time improving your fitness,” the trainer quips.
We do put off gymming for a number of reasons, but what are some of the silliest excuses that people use to escape the exercise?
“Well, in my case, I tell myself every night before sleeping that I am going to hit the gym, first thing in the morning, but when the morning comes, I just don’t want to part with the lovely warm bed! And when I have particularly beautiful dreams, I don’t want to break them!” says Christina Gomes from Margao, who made and broke her fitness resolution in 2018 within 15 days, but is determined to make a fresh effort in 2019, has so far stuck to it. “This year, I am definitely going to make it” she adds.
Another great excuse that we heard was provided to us by a Panaji resident only on the condition of anonymity. “I had been sincerely sweating it off at the gym for the past two years, but couldn’t make it to gym after I got married a year ago,” said the anonymous John Doe. Upon probing for details, he stated that this happened because he could not get up early in the morning after marriage as he then began sleeping late at night.
We believe no further explanation is needed in this case.
