NEW YEAR NEW ME!

2025 is well on its way. So you have either successfully started your New Year's resolutions and things are going well, you started and have already failed, or you haven’t started at all. A new year, a new month, a new week, or whatever temporal landmark it is, is often a great way for people to divorce themselves from their previous failings. This is the fresh start effect. The perception of a new period creates a clean slate for us. New beginnings bring about optimism! It’s time to forge a new identity that aligns with new habits.

Every December, active gym members who have been able to find some consistency for themselves complain about the spike of “new year new me” gym members, who will inconvenience them on January 1st. Every year, people start doing fitness challenges on January 1st. The fresh start effect has been researched, but we don’t need studies to know that, anecdotally, despite the initial surge in motivation and laser-like focus, 'new year, new me' goal setters often lose motivation and drop off once the novelty wears off."

On February 25th, 2016, I posted on Instagram: 'According to research, it takes 66 days to form a habit, and I am starting a #Goodhabits 66-day challenge.' On April 25th, 2016, I posted again on instagram: 'Due to multiple injuries, my 66-day #Goodhabits challenge was derailed, so this is me starting again. Day 1 #KineticFitness.' I didn’t complete that challenge; at that time, I was unlucky with injuries.

On December 22nd, 2016, I posted a screenshot of a tweet that read: 'Starting from the 1st of January, I’m gonna train 100 days on the trot.' This was my response to the constant stop-start throughout the year 2016. 2017 started with a clean slate, and I was determined to be so consistent that I would do something I had never done before: train 100 consecutive days in a row. Between the failures of April's 25th, 2016s well intentioned 66-day '#Goodhabitschallenge' and the 100 days, I moved into a brand new gym of my own, The Green Room—which is another fresh start. Another clean slate.

As the days approached January 1st, 2017, optimism was at an all-time high. My social media followers, friends, family, and more all pledged to join in the challenge. My colleagues, my clients, and even my girlfriend at the time were all infected by the allure of a fresh start and new habits. The fresh start was successful; everyone in The Green Room and online was buzzing. Then the novelty wore off. The motivation faded, but in its place were community, accountability, positive reinforcement, and environmental cues.

The community consisted of my clients, colleagues, family, friends, girlfriend, and online participants—we were all doing the challenge. They all kept me accountable. As the creator of the challenge, I was obligated to post evidence of each day’s completion. If I hadn’t posted by a certain time, I would be quizzed by followers online. I had the same demands of others too, and when they fulfilled their duties, I praised them. It worked both ways; I received an overwhelming amount of praise and support for doing what I said I was going to do and doing it to a high standard. I also had several training partners.

On April 10th, 2017, I posted on Instagram: 'Challenge completed ✅ Thank you all for keeping me honest & motivated. You guys are the best, and to those who I haven't mentioned, thank you also.' I sustained some injuries during the #100daysfitnesschallenge, but I persevered. Starting on the 1st day of the new year undoubtedly gave me and everyone else an initial surge in motivation that carried us for weeks, maybe even months. But Ultimately, the community, accountability, positive reinforcement, and environment turned a fresh start into a lasting habit. Some weren’t able to complete the 100 days challenge but still formed a new habit others failed and reverted to type.

Any moment can be your fresh start. Whether it’s a new year, a new month, after your birthday, the new semester, or once you get back from holiday, the potential to begin again is always there. But starting is just that—a start. Long-term adherence to goals requires strategy and support. If you're ready to create lasting habits and embrace a better version of yourself, let us at Kinetic Fitness help you every step of the way. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!