This is the peak season for gyms across the world. The influx of resolutioners has fitness centers busier than ever. As the weeks progress deeper into the year, though, that rapid increase in people ends up decreasing. This has been a natural cycle for gyms since their inception. Everyone knows this.
So it’s a bit odd that one gym owner in the United Kingdom has taken extreme measures to combat this. Clayton Leah, the 31-year-old who runs Ascendancy Fitness in Warrington, Cheshire, has turned off all sign-ups from the moment the ball dropped through January. Without going any further into the details, that seems pretty idiotic.
For starters, the lost money with that surge in new memberships alone is worth it for gyms, even with the short-term overcrowding that comes into play. Second, it seems a bit unfair to block out potential new members who want to sign up at their local gym.
Gym Owner Bans New Member Signups After New Year’s
Leah explained the decision to Fox News, citing that his primary rationale behind the odd choice is that he wants to protect his long-time members. Basically, the aforementioned short-term surge that comes for every gym in January can be a turn-off for regular gymgoers.
I know when I routinely went to the gym before building out a home gym, this time of the year was always my least favorite due to the overcrowding. That being said, it’s not my job to gatekeep people from getting healthy.
This guy apparently does, though.
It doesn’t sound like he’s seeing any ramifications from it, telling the outlet that the “response has been overwhelmingly positive.” He called it a decision that he says is attempting to “break the mold.”
To be honest, you have to give this guy a level of admiration. He’s certainly losing out on a quick cash grab for the sake of making a better experience for his committed members. It does seem wrong to block people from signing up at a time of the year when fitness is at the top of the mind for more people than at any point in the 12-month calendar.
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