Commit or quit: New Year's resolutions at the SAC

With the new year comes new resolutions that for many prove too difficult to achieve, especially when it comes to fitness.

Grass Lake sophomore Nick Waskiewicz and Dearborn Heights junior Miguel Olivera have been going to the Student Activity Center's fitness center on a regular basis since coming to CMU.

Yet, when they went on the first school day of the year on Monday, they were more than a little surprised by how many people were there.

"Usually it's never this full," Waskiewicz said. " We were kind of shocked when we walked in here. This place is packed today."

Olivera said the same thing.

"This place is 10 times as full as usual," he said.

Olivera and Waskiewicz have used the new year to try a new workout. They are two of many people who see the new year as a time to increase commitment to physical health.

Director of University Recreation Jeff Calhoun said the hike in activity this January is not unexpected. The SAC is projected to see between 3,000 and 4,000 students visit this month, and it is projected to have 125 to 150 memberships purchased from off-campus participants, the most since last August.

Joey Cantrell, a Liviona junior, said he observes the burst of activity every year, but he expects the gym to clear out again soon.

"For two weeks, everyone is going to come in here and go hard at the gym. They're going to go hard for 45 minutes to an hour, when they probably only need to do half of that, and, within two weeks, they'll be wiped out and they'll quit," Cantrell said. "People don't know how to pace themselves. I see it every year."

Canton sophomore Andrew McConnell said a lot of people just don't have the work ethic to uphold their New Year's resolutions.

"Sooner or later, some people get sore, and then they get tired, and they just don't know how to push through it," McConnell said.

However, McConnell said he finds it easy to get past the barrier most people come up against.

"I just like to work out," he said.

Munger doctoral student Kayla Vandenboom, who also regularly excercises at the SAC, said she notices people who do uphold their resolutions every year, despite the challenges.

"Just because a lot of people don't persevere doesn't mean that everybody doesn't," Vandenboom said. "I think the important thing is just that you're in here"