With more people purchasing gym memberships to fulfill New Year’s resolutions of exercising more and maintaining overall healthier habits, long-standing members of the gym have noticed recent gym rushes.
Senior Ben Christopher has been frequently going to the gym for 5-6 days a week. Christopher said that starting to go to the gym in January isn’t the best time for new gym members to start.
“Everyone else is going to be going at that time and it’s going to be very intimidating. I started in the mid-summer because the people that were there weren’t too intimidating and I had a lot of people offering me help,” Christopher said. “I think it was a lot more welcoming going in the middle of the year.”
Freshman Alexis Wheeler agrees that starting off right at the beginning of the year isn’t the best time to start.
“I think it’s best to start in summer since everyone is starting now. [The gyms] get packed and filled,” Wheeler said. “So starting at a different time could be easier for them.”
According to Christopher, the influx of new people at the gym has a negative effect on him. “I have to now work around it,” Christopher said. “It’s hard to find machines to use and you have to alter your workouts a lot.”
Freshman Adalyn Yost has similar concerns. “Since there’s more people [at the gym], [people exercising] can’t take their time,” Yost said. “It isn’t beneficial for old members.”
Aside from public gyms, some believe that going to an at home gym or group gym could be more beneficial for new gym members.
Freshman Cora Richter is an ex-public gym member who finds that home gyms are better than public gyms. “I didn’t have to buy a membership,” Richter said. “I didn’t have to drive [to work out], either.”
Gym owner Josh Wagner owns CrossFit Apex, which is a group workout gym located in Souderton. Wagner believes that because his gym offers all group workouts, it contributes to their membership “usually stay[ing] similar throughout the year.”
“Our gym is a little different in the structure of it all [being] group fitness,” Wagner said. “It’s not an individual gym so there will be people holding you accountable for showing up and being there.”