A gym owner bans new fitness members in January, he has reasons for his actions
Did you make a New Year’s resolution to get fit and healthy again?
One gym owner says good luck with that — because there’s no room for new entrants in January at his place.
Gym owner Clayton Leah, 31, has been turning away potential members at his gym, Ascendancy Fitness, even though it’s the busiest time of year, he told Fox News Digital in a phone interview Saturday, Jan. 4. “We stopped those who registered on New Year,” he said.
FRIENDS, FAMILY CAN PROTECT FROM HEART ATTACK, STROKE AND TYPE 2 DIABETES, STUDY SUGGESTIONS
He has a specific reason for his unusual posture, he said.
The goal is to protect existing gym members and long-time fitness workers from being infected by new entrants, he told Fox News Digital.
New gym entrants in January tend to quit as soon as their New Year’s resolution goals fall apart, says one gym owner. (Stock)
He said that usually, newcomers in January end up backsliding as their intentions to keep the New Year’s resolution disappear.
Leah said in part that she didn’t want to “upset all of our members that have been with us for a long time.”
He added of his exercise news, “I would hate to focus more on the negative than the positive. The response has been overwhelmingly positive,” he told Fox News Digital on Saturday.
DEPRESSION CAN’T BE PREVENTED WITH SOME DAILY STEPS, RESEARCH FINDS
“Most people appreciate the fact that we did this and they see why we did it,” he said. “We’ve always prioritized our membership experience – it’s very important to us.”
For those who criticized his gym for an “unwise” business move, it’s actually “been the opposite,” he said.
The Ascendancy Fitness leadership team, with Clayton Leah on the right and business partner Jack Bramhall on the left. “We’ve always prioritized our membership experience,” Leah told Fox News Digital. (Ascendancy Fitness)
“The first important thing is our members, and they really appreciate what we do,” he said.
“We usually have questions about joining. And I’ve said this before, but if you just take something from people, people want it more. But that’s not why we’re doing this.”
“The only negative response people have is, ‘I was going to join, but now I can’t.’
“We wanted to try to break the mold,” he told SWNS media.
He said he’s trying to “take an unconventional approach and protect our existing members — that’s the most important thing to us.”
DANCE IMPROVES DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS IN PARKINSON’S PATIENTS, NEW RESEARCH SUGGESTS
The gym is located in Warrington, Cheshire, England, roughly between Liverpool and Manchester.
His gym has about 650 current members. It also offers one-time passes to those who want to work there.
The Ascendancy Fitness gym is shown above. Owner Leah said the fitness industry is “an amazing industry” and “we try to help people with whatever fitness and health goals they have.” (Ascendancy Fitness)
Leah said she hopes her gym’s resolution will encourage people to join the gym year-round – not just in January, when people are drawn to it because of New Year’s resolutions.
He said the fitness industry is “an amazing industry” and “we try to help people with whatever fitness and health goals they have.”
The gym owner said the only negative reaction to the restricted membership was from those hoping to join.
The gym owner said “we try to help people with whatever fitness and health goals they have.” (Stock)
He said, “The only negative response people have is the story of ‘I was going to join, but now I can’t.’
He added, “To those people, I say, ‘Well, you should have joined sooner,'” he told SWNS.
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR HEALTH PAPER
This is not the first case of gyms or fitness clubs banning new members in January.
Equinox, an upscale fitness club, banned new members on Jan. 1, 2023, as Fox News Digital previously reported.
The owner of the gym did not want to “upset all our members who have been with us for a long time,” he said. (Stock)
It was part of the “We’re Not Talking About January” campaign to discourage short-term New Year’s resolutions and encourage long-term commitment.
For more health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health
Coach and certified strength coach Melissa Kendter of Pennsylvania said that each coach’s “great passion” should be guiding others to live a healthy life and build long-term success through sustainable practices, as Fox News Digital also previously reported.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM
Leah of Ascendancy Fitness said her gym may reopen to new memberships in February, although the gym does not have an exact date confirmed yet.
“Obviously our plan was to avoid the January flood,” he told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital’s Angelica Stabile contributed reporting.
Source link
