The start of a new year has long been associated with health. As 2013 began, a nationwide survey found that fitness goals topped the list for many Americans, while crowded gyms and short-lived motivation continued to frustrate existing members.
This CouponCabin survey captured a familiar pattern: people started the year with strong intentions, but those intentions did not always hold up once cost, convenience, and routine got in the way.
Fitness Resolutions Were Widespread
According to the survey, 65% of U.S. adults planned to make fitness-related New Year's resolutions for 2013.
The most common goals included:
- eating healthier
- getting in better shape
- losing weight
Other popular resolutions included exercising more at home or outdoors, cutting certain foods out of diets, and going to the gym more often.
That mix matters because it shows Americans were not just thinking about appearance. They were thinking about routine change, and routine change is usually where resolutions become hardest to sustain.
Gym Crowds Were a Real Frustration
The survey also showed that New Year's gym culture came with immediate friction.
Among current U.S. gym members:
- 56% said they at least somewhat dreaded the return of the New Year's resolution crowd
- 15% said they completely dreaded it
Packed facilities, limited access to equipment, and longer wait times were the biggest complaints. That matters because a crowded gym does not just make workouts less convenient. It can also make regular members less motivated to stick with their own routine.
Many Gym Memberships Did Not Last
Strong intentions at the start of the year did not always turn into long-term commitment.
According to the survey, 11% of U.S. adults said they had signed up for a gym membership as a New Year's resolution and quit before the year ended. That was up from 7% the year before.
Women were more likely than men to quit within a year:
- 14% of women
- 8% of men
Among those who quit:
- 80% did so within 5 months
- 4% quit in January
- 14% quit in February
That is the real warning sign in the data. The drop-off happened early, which suggests the biggest challenge was not making the resolution. It was keeping the routine alive once the initial motivation faded.
Fitness Spending Added Up
Cost also played a role in how people thought about fitness.
More than half of respondents said they spent over $26 per month on fitness-related expenses in the previous year. Looking ahead to 2013:
- 73% planned to spend about the same
- 16% expected to spend more
- 26% planned to spend less
That tension still feels familiar. Even when people want to improve their health, the money side of fitness can create friction quickly, especially if a gym membership or class package stops matching real usage.
What Changed by 2026
The underlying behavior in this survey still feels current, but the fitness market looks very different now.
In 2013, the gym was still the default answer for many people trying to get healthier. By 2026, the fitness landscape is much more fragmented. Wearable technology, mobile exercise apps, and digital training tools now sit much closer to the center of the market. That shift helps explain why crowding is no longer the only major friction point. Today, the bigger challenge is often subscription overload, inconsistent usage, and spending money across multiple platforms instead of one gym membership.
Why This Survey Still Matters
The most important takeaway from this survey is not just that Americans cared about fitness in 2013. It is that intentions were already colliding with familiar obstacles: crowded gyms, fading motivation, and recurring costs.
Those same tensions still shape fitness behavior today. The tools have changed, but the core pattern has not. People still want to get healthier. The harder part is building a routine that survives past the first wave of motivation.
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of CouponCabin from December 17 to December 19, 2012, among 2,309 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. The 2011 survey was conducted online from December 15 to December 19, 2011, among 2,646 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. This online survey was not based on a probability sample, so no estimate of theoretical sampling error could be calculated.
If you are joining a gym, trying a fitness app, or comparing prices on workout gear and healthy meal options, always check CouponCabin first so eligible offers can help reduce the cost of staying active.
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