In high school, I was a semi-regular gym attendee. Nine times out of ten, one of my friends forced me to go, but after a few minutes of protesting, I would lace up my sneakers and head to the gym. Once I started college, my gym habits changed dramatically. Most of my friends weren’t working out, I didn’t have any sports to keep up with, and there were many more fun activities I could be doing instead.
Now in my senior year, I’m trying to get back on track with a healthier lifestyle. Soon, I’ll be leaving my world where binge-drinking, junk food-eating, and waking up at noon is the norm, and trading it for 9 to 5 work hours, cooking for myself, and the occasional glass of wine after a long day.
During the first semester of my senior year, I was in denial. I pretended that I wouldn’t be graduating in a few short months. But with job applications, graduation emails, and a series of “lasts” coming my way, I’ve received my reality check. I’m finally preparing for my new lifestyle, which includes getting healthier and going to the gym.
It just so happens that my last semester of college starts in January, the month that every person with a resolution to get fit in 2016 heads to the gym. Regular gym goers often complain about us newbies. Social media is filled with posts of gym junkies saying, “I can’t wait until February so the gym won’t be so crowded.”
It is these doubters that make many people with gym resolutions fail early on. It’s hard to go to the gym when you feel vulnerable and unaccepted. Instead of looking at me disapprovingly when I can’t get the elliptical to start, help me out. If you see someone lifting weights the wrong way, show them how to do it correctly. Instead of asking your friend who hasn’t been to the gym in a while what they are doing there, tell them you’ll take them to your favorite class so that they might end up loving as much as you do.
I challenge the gym regulars to encourage their friends and new faces at the gym to keep up the active lifestyles that they themselves love, and challenge the people who made resolutions to get healthy to keep up the good work, despite the few naysayers that may be trying to hold them back.
