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Gyms Expect Higher Attendance Following New Year's

Mallory Simon / Flickr

New Year’s resolutions tend to be the butt of an ongoing joke, especially when the resolution is to get in shape. It’s often viewed as a short-lived aspiration specific to the month - or months - following New Year's.

January is usually a lucrative time for gyms in Billings.

Michael McVay finds that to be true. He and his wife, Tawny McVay, run a small fitness center, the Asylum, and he said they get a spike in business right after New Year’s. 

“It’s usually not super long winded though,” said McVay.

He said attendance can last a few weeks or a couple of months. Sometimes, he said, it leads to long-term business.

Larger gyms see this same trend.

Angie Seifred is fitness director at the Billings Athletic Club and said many new members join at the end of December and beginning of January.

Gyms want to keep as many of those new members as possible, and Seifred said one way to do that is to get them involved in a program.

“That gives them a little bit more accountability," said Seifred. "They’re definitely going to stick with it [more than if they were to] come in and try things on their own.”

McVay said he tries to help his clients turn exercise into a habit and impress upon them that fitness involves a lifestyle change. It’s not just a one-month fix.

Edit 1/04: When originally aired, YPR described Billings Athletic Club as downtown. It is located in midtown.

Kayla writes about energy policy, the oil and gas industry and new electricity developments.