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Late start to resolutions – Metro US

Late start to resolutions

Late start to resolutions
Tracy Lee

Better late than never.

Normally, New Year’s resolutions start on, well, New Year’s, but for many New Yorkers, the Friday holiday pushed the start of their self-imposed suffering back a few days.

An Upper East Side sports bar saw at least one patron delay his self-improvement program so he could enjoy an adult beverage while he watched the Jets vie for (and ultimately lose out on) a playoff spot.

“Well, New Year’s resolutions shouldn’t start till Monday. It’s the last Jets game of the year … the idea starts tomorrow,” joked Jets fan Brad Siebeking, 29, as he watched the game in Doc Watson’s on Second Avenue.

Siebeking, who was at the same bar for New Year’s Eve, said it’s his local watering hole, and that he comes in several times a week.

But, he said, as he cuts down on his intake, drinking less will mean fewer visits to the pub.

His absence will be felt.

“He’s one of our most valuable patrons,” said Shauna Cummins, the bar’s manager.

Charles Smith, 27, a freelance choreographer from Harlem, belongs to Blink Fitness and said he will work to improve his gym routine once the “circus” of New Year’s resolutions leaves town.

“Usually when people do New Year’s resolutions, they go overboard. … That happened to me before, so I give myself a normal goal,” Smith said. “It always goes kaput, otherwise.”

Smith said he avoided the gym over the weekend because it has “become follow the leader” with people trying and failing to meet unrealistic goals.

He said his approach is more moderate and he will start his new routine this week.

“I just gotta make sure to do it, my whole goal is to just go. Most people beat themselves up, I just want to make sure I go and show up,” Smith said.

For some, Sunday also offered a chance to kick-start their goals, albeit a few days late.

At a New York Sports Club in the Upper East Side, 36-year-old Melli Pini says she signed up for a gym membership on Sunday.

“I kept it real. I didn’t do more than a mile and a half, and it was at a slow pace,” Pini said.

She lives across the street from the gym and said it’s been inspiring to see people come in and out of the gym, where, she said, everyone has their own story on why they work out.

“It makes me feel less alone in finding the diligence in getting myself to just do it,” Pini said.

The combination of a breakup and the New Year led Pini to the membership — and she said it will be about consistency and self-efficacy.

She didn’t stay long, but said she was happy to get out of the house and come into the gym.

Brian Sterman, a member at the same gym, said his gym schedule will not change in 2016.

A regular who comes four times a week, Sterman credits those that come to the gym in working to achieve their goals for “trying to do the right thing.”

“But,” he said, trailing off, “whether they last or not …”