Checking your New Year’s fitness resolution

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when gyms closed for fear of spreading the virus and home fitness was all the rage, I bought a pair of 60-pound dumbbells at a sporting goods store in Mishawaka. At the time, it felt like a coup to land two large dumbbells. During the first weeks of quarantine, there was a mad scramble for exercise equipment as retailers struggled to keep up with consumer demands amid faltering supply chains. If I couldn’t go to the gym, I would make the gym come to me, I thought. New dumbbells, new me. 

Well, for more than five years, those dumbbells stood at the foot of my bed as a rusty monument to my naivete. They were heavy — twice as heavy as my second-heaviest pair of dumbbells — and the only work I did with them was moving them in order to clean the floor underneath. Then, late last year, as I faced down another 30-something birthday, I finally gathered up the courage to do some chest presses. I did one rep on one day. Then another on the next day. And so on. Until, on the eve of 2026, I was doing four sets of about eight reps each. Inspired, I vowed to use my dumbbells twice a week during the new year. I also came up with other fitness-related New Year’s resolutions, like going to the Smith Center once a week and running on the treadmill in the basement of my apartment building. I told myself that a new Oliver was on the way — I had only to keep it going to see results. 

Some people think New Year’s resolutions are bullsh*t. Others, like myself, are believers. Last Tuesday, as temperatures plummeted and snow and harsh winds belted Michiana, I bundled up and walked over to the Smith Center. I wanted to get my weekly workout in, and I also wanted to hear what other people thought about New Year’s fitness goals. Given that February was only a few days away, I was curious to hear how they were feeling.

Despite the winter weather raging outside, the gym was packed. Sean Bocan, a senior studying finance, was heading up to the track on the upper floor when we spoke. His New Year’s resolution, he said, was to run the Holy Half Marathon in March. He had never done more than a 5K, so he was challenging himself by signing up for the Holy Half. So far, he’s been training three to four times a week to get used to the increased mileage. The key, he said, is being forgiving with yourself and taking obstacles in stride.

“If you mess up one day, it’s not like the end of the world,” he said. “It’s putting that foot forward that matters.” 

After talking to Bocan, I ran into Clark Power, a professor emeritus in the Program of Liberal Studies. He had just finished his workout and was getting his stuff from a locker by the treadmills on the first floor. Power was a little more skeptical about New Year’s resolutions. That’s because, over the years, he’s found himself and others making the same resolution “over and over again,” without getting the desired results. At the Smith Center, he runs on the elliptical and lifts weights to keep fit.

“I ask others to hold me accountable,” he said.

Erin Huang, a community member, was resting on the couch by the gym’s entrance after doing a Zumba-inspired fitness class. Her intention this year, she said, is to do something every day. In the past, she would have really serious goals that would fall to the wayside after a few weeks. So, this year, she changed her strategy and made it more about daily consistency rather than specific goals.

“I always have issues keeping New Year’s resolutions,” Huang said. “I want to still be here in December.”

For Noemi Fernandez Labarga, a fifth-year student in the English Ph.D. program, her New Year’s fitness resolution revolves around trying new things. When we spoke, she was feeling extremely sore from doing rock climbing for the first time at Duncan Center’s climbing wall the day before. Recently, she went ice skating at Howard Park in South Bend, also for the first time. Despite miscues in the past, Fernandez Labarga said she is a big believer in what she calls the “psychology” of New Year’s resolutions.

“I always have a fitness goal,” she said. “I usually give up, but I have been really consistent this year. So far, so good.”

Personally, I am not a fan of the type of journalism that gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling by the end of it. But, at the risk of making this another puff piece, I have to admit that this year feels different for me, too. I’ve been consistent with my workouts, and my mood is better than it has been in a long time. I haven’t become brolic by any means. But I do see some noticeable changes from when I first started at the end of November. My arms have thickened, and my posture has straightened. I feel more motivated in nearly every aspect of my life.

Admittedly, my reasons have changed since buying those dumbbells nearly six years ago. For starters, my workouts have become more spiritual. I recognize the body as a gift from God in a way I didn’t before. It’s no longer about reaching some impossible body ideal. My sporting life has fused with my religious outlook and my work routine, and this dynamic has helped power me into the new year. 

So, as we flip the calendar to February, I say stick to your fitness resolutions. This could be the year. OG out.