Resolution Check-in!

Hey all! I know I said I didn’t make New Year’s resolutions, but I did make some year-long objectives which I’m working on via monthly goals. So I thought I’d let everyone know how those goals are going, and you can let me know how your resolutions or monthly goals are coming along too! (Here’s a refresher on my January goals.)

1) Get more sleep: Hmmm… so the goal was to get seven hours at least five nights per week. That hasn’t exactly been happening. However, I’ve been getting better about it! Weekends I’m obviously still getting plenty, and six hours during the week has been a lot more common than the five I was looking at before. I could still improve here, but I must say that I’ve been a lot less tired, my skin has looked better, and I’m pushing a lot harder in workouts. I’m going to start getting myself on a more consistent sleep cycle (especially since I’m getting a LOT more morning clients, so these seven hours are going to be key!)

2) Sit somewhere different on the bus: I wanted to do this so I could change my point of view in more than just a figurative way. This one has actually been harder than any of the others, which seems so silly to me. I don’t know why, but I’m practically drawn to the back of the bus! Maybe it’s because I was never a cool enough kid to sit there in grade school, so I have to live out that dream as a 24-year-old woman. Whatever. Still working on it!

3) Strength train twice per week: Yes! I’ve got this one! I’ve been working out almost everyday with my fitness director at the gym, so that makes it a little easier to get motivated to do it. When the lunch rush dies down and 2pm rolls around, I hear, “You have five minutes to get changed. Let’s go.” Which may sound kind of bossy (well, I guess he is my boss), but I totally need that push sometimes. It’s not like I don’t have a choice, but I kind of feel like I’m back in high school and I’m getting ready for practice, so I really like that. Plus, I’m following his workout plan, so it’s tough! I’m starting to feel like a real athlete again, and it’s making me a bit more ambitious. Like, ‘maybe I should sign up for the Chicago Triathlon’ ambitious.

4) Write and post at least once per week: Mission accomplished! I’ve been taking every opportunity and free moment to write, and I have this renewed passion that I am loving. Expect to see some big changes happening on the blog soon!

Overall, I’d say two (and a half…ish) out of four ain’t bad! Did you make goals for this month or for the year as a whole? How are they going? If not, are you thinking about making some? Let me know!

January Joiners

I know the tracksuit is dead giveaway, but give the guy some credit!

Around this time of year, a big topic of discussion at the gym is all of the newcomers who flood health clubs everywhere right around January 1. The resolutions kick in when the pants don't fit, so everyone who hasn't been to the gym in a while signs up for a shiny new membership package or dusts off the card that's been sitting in his or her wallet for the past 11 months. I know there are a lot of opinions on these "Resolutionaries," so let's discuss, shall we?

This morning I was training a client in the pool at 6:30am, a time when the gym is normally pretty dead besides the regulars. Well, not today. Even from the pool, I could tell the gym was packed. Very few, if any, cardio machines weren't in use, and the cable machines were taken over by guys in tank tops who just couldn't get enough of themselves in the mirrors. There were even a few more people swimming laps with me after I finished my early swim lesson. All of this new activity at the club got me thinking about how I feel about these January joiners.

In college, I dreaded coming back to my beloved gym after winter break. I just knew that all of the people who had pushed working out to the wayside the previous semester would charge in and take over every piece of equipment because the holidays had done them in. And because Michigan has a ridiculously early spring break, and my peers who had forgotten where the gym actually was would need to elliptical and bicep curl themselves into bathing suit shape by February 25th. Those of us who considered ourselves regulars were, of course, annoyed for this month and a half, because we not only knew where the gym was but -- gasp -- knew there were multiple gyms on campus. We pretty much just waited for the newbies to give up so we could get our precious treadmills and weight machines back.

But today, I was really thinking about it. I got kind of excited that so many people had chosen to get up at 5am to get their butts into the gym. And not just because that means more clients (although, I guess that doesn't hurt). I was happy that so many people wanted to improve their health and follow through with those resolutions. I'm not sure what changed since college (or even since last winter when I was pissed that the lines at my neighborhood gym were even longer), but I kind of feel bad, and more than a little selfish, for wishing my peers in college would just quit on their goals before January even came to a close. And now I'm even finding a bit of inspiration in these wide-eyed first timers. I may be a regular (OK, I work at the gym, so I kind of have to be), but that doesn't mean that I don't have new fitness goals. I want to strength train more, build my swimming endurance back up, and increase my running mileage to where it used to be. If they can brave the gym for the first time in ages, then I can push myself a little harder in the workouts that I'm already doing. Even this morning, when swimming a mile was the last thing I wanted to do, I saw all of those folks sweating it out before work, and I knew I had no excuse. Thanks to them, I stuck it out in the pool, so I'm hoping they stick it out for the year. I hope all of the resolutionaries become regulars.

So which camp are you? Still hating on those newbies? Or do you embrace the fresh faces and encourage them to keep up the good work? I know I'll be in the latter group this year, but tell me what you think!