Ditch the Gym Resolution and Move Outside Instead

Every New Year, it happens the same way. Someone declares, “This is the year. I’m going to get fit.” A gym membership gets purchased, new shoes arrive in the mail, and calendars fill with ambitious workout plans. Then, typically less than three months later, the habit quietly slips away. Not because anyone failed, but because the whole thing is built around pressure and perfection.

For years, we’ve been told that health is something you can engineer through sheer willpower and discipline, as if a “new you” can be assembled on command. That mindset ignores the reality most people live in. Building a habit is hard when you’re balancing work, raising a family, or simply trying to get through a day that already demands more than it gives back. Many of those priorities are the right ones — and most of us don’t have the luxury of treating fitness like a full‑time job.

The system sets people up to feel behind before they even begin. 

What I’ve learned from temporarily living in Paris, France, and Montreal, Canada, is that the simplest things — like walking —  will beat any gym membership and turn into small daily wins. Especially Montreal: walk a few blocks uphill in winter, and you’ve accomplished plenty. Moving through your city on foot makes movement automatic instead of another task on a to-do list. Once you start walking, it naturally becomes part of your routine — especially if you live somewhere like New York or Paris. 

Of course, not all locations are built for strolling to bakeries and corner stores. It’s one of the reasons I moved to Venice, California, instead of anywhere else in Los Angeles: I love to walk, bike, and spend time outdoors. I understand that in many places you have to drive even just for those basics, never mind the local gym.  It would be wonderful to see more cities and towns encourage outdoor movement as a normal part of daily life, not just a recreational activity.

That being said, here’s a different kind of New Year’s resolution: don’t “get fit.” Just go outside every day.

Sometimes that looks like choosing to walk to the store, the library, or a friend’s house instead of automatically getting in the car. Sometimes it means a twenty-minute loop around your block. If it’s too cold where you live, there may be underground paths or mall-walking groups. Yes, the demographic may skew older — but the stories you’ll hear are incredible. If that’s not your speed, nature walks and birding are peaceful, low-pressure ways to move your body, notice the world around you, and maybe even get really into birding — like Detective Cordelia Cupp from the TV show The Residence.

If you prefer a bit more structure, you’ll find running groups that don’t hibernate when the year turns cold. Outdoor gyms have been popping up everywhere, too — free equipment in parks that looks like the monkey bars we used as kids, but work surprisingly well. If you prefer something totally different, try a playful meetup — live-action role-playing (LARPing) with foam swords in the park, or even disc golf, which people play all year long. I’ve even signed up myself.

You don’t need ideal weather or endless motivation. You don’t need to transform your body or your life by February. You only need one small promise: step outside, move for twenty minutes, and see how you feel afterward.

Most resolutions arrive with a bang in January and quietly disappear by March. This one is quiet, repeatable, and forgiving. Go outside. Walk when you can. Play when it’s possible. Let the outdoors do what rows of treadmills rarely do — make movement feel like living instead of a chore.

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