Fitness centers across the nation, including Georgia Tech’s Campus Recreation Center (CRC), are teeming with new members who have resolved to get in shape. According to the experts, one key to success is creating a routine and sticking with it after the novelty fades.  

“Approximately 80 percent of those who start a fitness program will not be there in four to six weeks,” said CRC Director Michael Edwards, adding that “for-profit fitness centers bank on this.”

Attendance at the CRC, which averages about 55,000 visits per month, is steady throughout January and February, but it diminishes around spring break.  

“Over the years, we’ve seen our biggest increases in attendance at the beginning of fall semester and the beginning of spring semester,” said Edwards. “We’re expecting the numbers will show we had a 10,000-visit increase for the month of January.”

Edwards notes that many newcomers want instant gratification, similar to clicking a remote control to make a change.

“You may look at old photos from high school or college and wonder what happened,” he said. “Remember, it took you a while to get out of shape, and it will take a while to get back. But the rewards are great.”

Having a healthy lifestyle is a marathon — not a sprint, Edwards said, and it has to become part of a person’s daily schedule.

“Progress is slow,” he said. “You should set steady goals for the short term. If you want to lose 10 pounds, aim to lose one to two pounds per week. There will be setbacks along the way, and you will have to make adjustments.”

Ruth Kanfer, professor of Psychology, agrees.

“If it were easy, everyone would do it,” Kanfer said. “People start out strong with goals, but maintaining effort over time is often the most difficult part. Behavior change requires a specific plan and a way to monitor your progress. Breaking a larger goal into sub-goals allows you to feel good about your progress and to make changes to your strategy if necessary.”

Visualizing the process, as well as the end result, is also an important step.

“Visualizing your goal as a process, how you will make progress, how you will pick yourself up after setbacks, and enlisting the aid of others to support you in accomplishing your goal are all important elements for accomplishing difficult but important personal goals,” Kanfer said. 

Start with Small Steps

A recent Georgia Tech study found that, while all adults, even those over the age of 65, should strive to attain the weekly goal of 150 minutes of exercise, individual goals must be realistic, taking into account possible physical limitations and established patterns of inactivity.

“Only about one in 10 adults aged 40 and older in the U.S. and the U.K. is getting what is considered to be ‘sufficient’ exercise,” said Phillip Sparling, a professor emeritus in the School of Applied Physiology and lead author of the paper.

Sparling and colleagues made the case that any increase in physical activity, even small amounts, will be beneficial. For sedentary individuals, a gradual transition to increased activity may be the most practical way to improve health. 

“For example, adding five to 10 minutes per day of light walking and standing is a good start, building up to 30 minutes per day during the course of a month,” he said.

Long-term sitting has been cited by the World Health Organization as a leading risk factor for death.

“A major point we were trying to make is that older adults should replace sitting with standing and light activity,” said Sparling. An inability to meet the 150 minutes-per-week standard shouldn’t keep sedentary individuals from increasing their physical activity in small increments, though the greatest benefit will go to those who invest the most in their health, he added.