Encourage New Gym Members

Have you seen the typical swell of new people at the gym? I know I certainly have. Our Zumba class tends to be filled to overflowing, which I know is great for my instructor and for the gym, but I sure do miss the space to dance around.

That being said, I learned after I joined my gym 3 yrs ago, that some people at gyms don't have a lot of patience for people who decide one of their goals is to get fit in the new year. I had no idea. Why would someone be annoyed? Sure there's an influx of people trying to stick to their New Year's resolution, and many of them won't. But, what if we had a different attitude towards these new people?

What if instead of giving them the stink eye, we welcomed them? What if we encouraged them to come back? Last week was the first uptick in our Zumba class. There are a lot of ladies that I've been doing it with for the past 2 yrs and we're definitely the regulars. Well, one of the gals must've noticed that one of the ladies was struggling with the moves and she moved back to stand next to her to help her. In that moment, she was my hero.

I think what she did should be our attitude all of the time, but especially at the start of the year when people are just getting started. When they are trying to make lifestyle changes to help them be healthy.

Personally, I try to be welcoming to anyone I haven't recognized before. I try to smile at them, joke around with them, and in general be friendly. I'll even introduce myself and welcome them back. Unfortunately that doesn't always work out. People don't seem to be super open to making friendly with the "locals". I mean, it took me these entire past 2 yrs to have people coming up to me and talking to me. These are ladies I've been dancing with for 2 yrs. Like NOW they know I'm sticking around. lol People I've tried to be friendly with, at least in the past, ended up not coming back. HA! Trying not to take that personal.

That being said, if you see someone new, greet them! Offer to help them if they seem to be struggling or don't know what to do. Give them a smile if you're not comfortable talking to them. Just be willing to welcome everyone who's trying to get healthy like you!

Here's to year 3 of Zumba! I'm excited and loving it.