Starting off the year with a plan to get fit, eat healthy or lose ten kilograms is common, and so is quickly giving those goals up.

But Red City Gym owner Lachlan Learg said he doesn’t see a January spike at his gym due to the application process he has for membership which focuses on building behaviours, not a final product.

“At the end of the day I’m not worried about the bottom line or the number of members we have,” Mr Learg said.

“The question I get people to ask themselves is ‘what are you doing?’, ‘why are you doing it?’, and ‘how are you going to get there?’”

Even after a workout Mr Learg said he liked to ask clients about what they had learnt that day and what they were thankful for.

To keep the goals for longer than a few weeks, Titan Macquarie Mud Run chairman Rod Fardell said the first step was a positive attitude.

“You definitely need to get that mental psyche sorted first, and the only way to do that is by looking at your mental attitude,” he said.

Instead of dreading going to the gym, he said the thought process should be positive, such as how the gym will be fun, there’ll be friends to meet up with, and the workout will be enjoyable.

Mr Fardell also recommended writing down new year goals, rather than saying them out loud, and breaking them into manageable chunks.

“People tend to set themselves up for failure by setting their goals too large. Make smaller goals and hold yourself accountable to those. Or get a friend to hold you accountable,” he said.

“You’re better off looking at the little things you’re doing every day, like your food and your movement. If you do that your body will naturally transform.”

And being healthy was a long-term commitment, Mr Fardell said.

“Good health is a lifestyle, it’s not about one week or six weeks.”

Mr Fardell said 'diets’ didn’t last, whereas the focus should be on well-balanced, nutritional eating.