When I joined the gym two years ago Frank warned me that the gym becomes crowded right after the New Year. Whether it be the gluttony of the holidays or new resolutions, people tend to show up for about a month after January 1st.

This year I decided to pay particular attention to new members, to see if this prediction as true. Since Thanksgiving I have noticed a steady increasing stream of sign-ups. (If you are wondering how I know about new sign-ups, I work out at the prime time after work and hit the treadmill nearest to the sign-up desk.) Over the course of 45 minutes I noticed about 3-4 new sign ups each day.

I went to the gym for the first time in ‘06 last night and, as predicted, the place was booming. But I seemed to recognize that most were the same people who are always there. They were all just there at the same time.

I happened to notice that many were fidgeting with new gadgets. Whether it be a new iPod, a fancy new heart monitoring watch, or some new fitness outfit, many people seemed to have come to the gym to give their new dodads a trial run. People were walking into each other as they pushed, plugged, and turned on their gizmos.

It seems the gifts of gizmos has driven this years influx of gym rats. I’ll let you know if they’re still around in February.