“We haven’t had any issue with crazy crowds we’re not able to handle,” Devin Maier, managing director of Balance Gym in the District, said Thursday. “But it’s nice seeing a couple of people that we haven’t seen in awhile show back up.”



(Marvin Joseph/WHome to what retailers describe as a bunch of fitness-minded, income-wielding smart people, the Washington area is hog heaven (reverse fitness pun!) for businesses hawking overpriced yoga pants and for developers launching boutique gyms. ASHINGTON POST)

So, while the “January Gym People” re-enroll and begin their annual de-bloating, there’s no shortage of comment about how to keep up the New Year’s fitness resolution, especially locally. That’s because the Washington area is home to what retailers describe as a bunch of fitness-minded, income-wielding smart people; in other words, it’s a hog heaven (reverse fitness pun!) for businesses hawking overpriced yoga pants and for developers launching boutique gyms.

Since I’m among the horde of people in too-shiny sneakers aggravating the disciplined regulars, I thought I’d compile a list of the worthwhile reading:

• Stephanie Witt Sedgwick tackles healthful eating in this week’s Nourish column. I’ll break this down for you: Eat more vegetables. It’s something many of us have read before, but the twist is that Sedgwick is offering to help reconfigure some of your favorite recipes to make them more resolution-friendly. Send your request to food@washpost.com to participate in her “Nourish Makeover” series. (Sedgwick is live-chatting Thursday at noon, if you can make it.)

• If you need to endure the uphill battle with a sense of humor (recommended), Jason Gay of the Wall Street Journal has crafted a list of hysterical and true rules of conquering the gym. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I’d have to go with: “Everyone sees you secretly racing the old people in the pool.”

• Has anyone else noticed the onslaught of tech-friendly fitness apps and gadgets this time around? Naveen Selvadurai, who co-founded mobile check-in site Foursquare, tweeted Wednesday that Jan. 3 was the biggest day ever for gym check-ins on the site:

There’s Runkeeper, a free app that measures your workouts based on mapping data and spams my Facebook news feed; Big Stretch Reminder, which is pretty self-explanatory; and newbie Gympact, which charges you $5 for missing a workout. (This seems innovative at first, until you remember that there’s already a long-existing app that charges you $50 a month for only working out once a week. It’s called a “gym membership.”)

When it comes to gadgets, many of the new products look overpriced and sort of silly. Save your money for a low-carb night out on the town.

Tell us:

It’s time for a #resolutioncheckin: What’s getting you through the post-New Year’s workout frenzy? Send @PostLocal what you’re reading using the hashtag and I’ll add it to this post.