January is still a few days away, but Bay Club Fitness in Portland is already racking up new members.
"In the last two weeks it’s definitely picked up. A lot of memberships," said employee Nicholas Violette.
With New Year’s resolutions in mind, some will be ready to hit the ground running. However, fitness instructors say the key to achieving those goals is to take things slow and steady.
"It’s a matter of consistency and patience. To lose fat it takes a considerable amount of time. As does putting on lean mass or any muscle mass," Violette said.
If you're new to working out, let gym staff know up front. They'll help you work through the intimidation factor.
"Anything that is a concern, if you’re not sure about a certain movement, a certain exercise you wanted to try, we’re fully staffed with 3 or 4 personal trainers, so there’s always people here to help," Violette said.
Another typical resolution is diet and nutrition. So, if you're looking for a way to rekindle your relationship to food, one expert says: get back to the basics.
"Typically speaking, if you can look at the food that you’ve eaten in your day and you can point out several different colors of whole foods that you have eaten, it’s likely that you’re doing what you should be doing," said dietitian Kylie Fagnano.
Think twice before setting strict rules around what you eat, because that could lead to negative food behaviors.
"It’s important, from my standpoint, to not get wrapped up in rules that should you stray from this really specific outline, you’re going to be left feeling really guilty or like you failed," Fagnano said.
The best way to know if your resolution is working? It's not a size or a look. Fagnano says it's how you feel.
"If you can care enough about yourself to be in a place where you can say 'no, this is where I feel good, and that’s great' not only is it good enough, it’s actually just, it’s perfect."