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This year, I'm going to start working out. I spent my December 31st scrolling through Pinterest and Instagram, saving pictures for my 2026 vision board, images of aesthetic gym outfits, sunrise yoga poses, and aesthetically arranged salad bowls and protein shakes. This is it, I told myself. 2026 is the year I finally save money, eat healthy, and get fit. The trifecta of adulting that I've been promising myself since, well, 2024.
I've been eyeing that gym around the corner, the one with the glass windows where you can see people running on treadmills like hamsters who've finally found purpose. I've also been thinking about joining a badminton coaching. Or maybe I'll just start with morning walks? The options are endless, and so is my confusion.
It's January 5th, and I still haven't signed up for anything. There's a nagging voice in my head whispering that if I don't decide soon, this confusion will stretch into February. And we all know what February means for New Year's resolutions, the slow, quiet death of good intentions. The ‘New Year, New Me’ momentum that feels so powerful on January 1st has a shelf life shorter than most of our attention spans.
The January window
Turns out, I'm not alone in this anxiety. Health and fitness brands are equally worried about people like me, the enthusiastic-but-confused, the motivated-but-procrastinating, the resolution-makers who might forget their goals before they even begin. For these brands, the first week of January isn't just another week. It's a ticking clock.
If brands don't capture people's attention and convert that initial enthusiasm into action during this window, they risk losing them. By February, the gyms are emptier, the workout apps are forgotten, and those expensive protein tubs might be gathering dust in kitchen cabinets.
This understanding has shaped how fitness brands approach their New Year campaigns. It's no longer just about selling products or memberships. It's about creating a sense of urgency wrapped in motivation, making the first step seem less daunting, and crucially, timing their message to catch people in that sweet spot between resolution and resignation.
HRX, the fitness brand, has taken an interesting angle this year. Instead of the typical ‘new year, new you’ rhetoric, they're emphasising rebuilding. The message is clear: the new year is a chance to restart your journey toward goals you left unmet last year, to give yourself another shot at building better habits.
Rather than treating fitness as a fresh start that requires wiping the slate clean, this brand positions it as picking up where you left off, minus the guilt of having stopped in the first place.
BoldFit has pushed this idea even further with its 2026 campaign. Their message resonates with a different kind of honesty: “Maybe 2026 isn't about new goals, it's about going back to the version of ourselves that we once quit.”
BoldFit is looking backward, asking people to remember who they once were, perhaps when they played sports regularly, when they walked to college, when movement was just a natural part of their day rather than a scheduled obligation.
This nostalgia-driven approach aims to tap into something deeper than motivation. It suggests that you're not starting from zero. You're reclaiming what was already yours.
The brand has also expanded its strategy by collaborating with stand-up comedian Samay Raina, a move that aims to signal their understanding of exactly who they're trying to reach, people like me, the not-so-gym-enthusiasts, the confused scrollers. By partnering with Raina, who is not known for his athletic prowess, the brand is promoting gym outfits and accessories to an audience that might feel intimidated by traditional fitness influencers.
The message is subtle but clear: you don't need to already be a gym person to start. Even your favourite comedian is getting in on it. The strategy taps into relatability rather than aspiration.
Making it easier to begin
Beyond the motivational messaging, several brands have also adjusted their strategies to reduce barriers to entry.
The idea is simple: make the first step as easy as possible. Lower the barrier, reduce the intimidation, and hope that once people start, momentum will carry them forward.
It's a recognition that the biggest hurdle isn't maintaining a fitness routine, it's starting one. And that hurdle is highest in the first few weeks of January.
Not all brands are focusing on abs and treadmills, though. Dabur has taken a different route, steering away from physical fitness. Instead, their messaging centers on inner health, happiness, and prosperity, a reminder that wellness isn't just about how many kilometers you can run, it's about being healthy from within, finding joy, and cultivating prosperity in all its forms.
The approaches to capturing January's enthusiasm vary wildly across brands. Thyrocare, a diagnostics company, has waded into the vision board trend itself, encouraging people to add "good health" to their Pinterest-perfect collections.
Gymholics, a fitness app, has taken a different approach. Its New Year posts feature memes that exaggerate the enthusiasm people have about joining gyms in January and their over-the-top excitement.
It has also shed light on how the New Year's resolutions fade away as January comes to an end.
Meanwhile, Moderate is taking a different route, focusing less on workouts and more on what goes into your body. Their messaging emphasises conscious eating habits, cutting sugar and carbs, and making mindful food choices.
While fitness brands sell motivation and wellness brands sell peace of mind, health insurance companies have entered the New Year conversation with a more pragmatic pitch. Their angle is simple: resolutions aren't just about becoming better, they're also about protecting yourself while you're at it.
Star Health carried its campaign saying: We hope you never need us, but we're here if you do.
New India Assurance framed their message around early preparation, suggesting that health, travel, and vehicle safety are things better sorted at the start of the year rather than scrambled for during emergencies.
ICICI Lombard joined the chorus, encouraging people to add health insurance to their 2026 priorities.
The February fear factor
As I write this, still undecided about my own fitness journey, I understand what these brands are really fighting against. It's not just competition from other companies. It's the February fade, that moment when the enthusiasm wanes, when missing one workout becomes missing a week, when ‘I'll start tomorrow’ becomes ‘maybe next month’, and that next month does not seem to come any soon.
Fitness brands have about three more weeks to convert the curious into the committed, to turn resolution-makers into habit-builders. Their campaigns might be polished and their messaging strategic, but ultimately, they're addressing a very human struggle: the gap between who we want to be and the effort it takes to get there.
As for me? I'm still deciding between the gym and badminton. But at least now I understand why my inbox is flooded with motivational emails. These brands aren't just selling fitness. They're racing against the calendar, trying to catch me before February does.
The question is: will they succeed before my confusion turns into another abandoned resolution? Only time, and probably how convincing their next email is, will tell.