THE last 10 years have been amazing and transformative for me. I’ve journeyed from competitive bikini athlete to a bodybuilder, won countless comps on the UK circuit and branched out (and won) on the European scene too. I have judged, participated in a multitude of shows, clubs and agencies both professionally and for fun. I’ve modelled, filmed and networked into longstanding reputable federations/agencies all while navigating the challenges of motherhood, relationships, my career and, at times, tremendous personal difficulties.
But it seems 2025 is the start of yet another personal achievement; writing a column for a site I love and endorse on a personal level. I guess my key message here: continuous personal development ultimately begins with throwing yourself into the unknown.
And what better way to begin than as we enter the new year. That new year, new me crowd will soon flood the nations gyms – or for many of us, our beloved place of peace and safety. Our safe spaces, our therapy, our havens, our homes… and for some, where we spend most of our free time.
As we edge closer to 2025, I find myself thinking of the rapid progress of ‘newbie gains’ and longing to replicate this. That rapid succession I felt as a beginner all those years ago.
For us hardened (and regular gym goers), most of us will never experience this speedy muscle growth again. But it’s important for us not to lose sight of the reasons why.
It’s a phase that can rarely be repeated. Especially those of us that never compete, so therefore never reach low enough body fat percentages to experience the golden anabolic window of muscle growth that comes directly after the cutting phase. It’s the phase that usually separates new gym goers transforming into long-term regulars from short-term hopefuls.
So many people who start the new year with positive attitudes seem to quit after only a few weeks or months. It’s easy for the seasoned regular to lose sight of what makes these people stop short of that truly transformable stage. But why do they just lose interest/give up?
About 50 per cent of new year gym sign-ups will quit after the first six months, according to futurefit.co.uk. The majority of those drop off after just three months.
So why do so many people give up? How does the post-Christmas desire to get in shape turn into lethargy and a return to bad habits?
In my experience, there are a few reasons, ranging from money, time and logistical issues. But the reasons I find the most interesting and easily avoided are a lot more to do with the culture of the gym.
I can vividly remember when I first ventured into the big, bad and scary main gym. I'd been a member of my local gym for a while and I was mad on the gym classes. I loved nothing more than to do four Body Pump sessions in a week. In among the pump sessions, I would liberally sprinkle in other classes, such as Spinning, Legs Bums & Tums and anything else I found interesting at the time. I basically did any class I thought would be hard and would leave me feeling exhausted and literally dripping in sweat. Marvellous!
But that wasn’t enough and I knew I needed to push my limits if I wanted to achieve the body I desired. But I also knew the only way I was ever going to get there was to enter the weight section.
I can remember following the plan that a Personal Trainer had written for me. My first encounter with weights and all I could think about was if the guys (and girls) I saw training there would look at me. If they would judge me, or even worse, laugh at me.
Now bear in mind I was not a gym newbie. I wasn’t unfit or out of shape. But I was pretty horrified at the thought of a pack of pumped-up teenage boys laughing at me. I thought I'd look stupid and judged by everyone because I wasn’t lifting what I considered to be heavy enough weights.
Sixteen years on and I still haven’t worked out what “heavy enough” is. I’ve decided that “heavy enough” doesn’t exist. The most important thing for all of us is when we reach “happy enough”.
I can fully understand the trepidation and fear someone must feel if it’s a totally new environment. And multiply that by one hundred if you’ve never been in a gym, or haven’t in a long time.
Fast forward 16-odd years and now we are in a position where our gyms will soon be a lot busier. I know there will be people out there who are really frustrated with this but let me play mum here. Humour me…
We were ALL gym newbies once upon a time. How many of us would have carried on training and working to be a better version of ourselves if we were even aware of the hostility that a fair few meat heads/gym bunnies out there feel towards the new members? And what is this hostility even about? Having to wait a bit longer to get on a piece of kit? The car park being more busy?
You want to know my opinion? If you have a problem with gym newbies, then you need to remember how YOU felt as a gym newbie. Try to make the gym a friendlier environment for all the new members.
From my perspective, new memberships mean more money for the gym (new year’s membership sign-ups are where most gyms make most of their annual profits). So this can mean we get to enjoy lower monthly fees, newer and more varied equipment. Also, more people on the gym floor training means a better atmosphere. It is an opportunity to make friends/connections and the chance to help and inspire so many people. Those gym newbies will look up to the established members, but may be too terrified to ask for help. I know I was all those years ago. And like I mentioned before, I wasn’t a total newbie to the gym environment.
So before you get the hump with the gym newbies because you can’t whip around your session as fast as usual , try having a bit of patience and empathy. Mix your training routine up a bit, do the exercises out of order. Or failing that, do something different. You will certainly have been training long enough to be able to improvise if the piece of kit you wanted is occupied. Maybe strike up a conversation with these people. They might even be looking for a coach; someone to help them when March comes and the novelty has begun to wear off.
Let’s big up the gym newbies. They are doing something so positive and are potentially changing the rest of their lives for the better.
Just don’t get too jealous of those Newbie Gains…
READ LOUISE PLUMB'S JOURNEY TO HER IFBB PRO CARD
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