Apple Watch users have been keeping their fitness New Year's Resolutions, data shows (AAPL)

pulse

February 14, 2017 6:06 PM

Those that started running and walking programs on January 1 are still at it, Cardiogram shows, even though most people have quit by February.

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Every year millions of Americans make a New Year's Resolution to start exercising regularly. Three-quarters of them will keep it up for the first week and then every week, more and more give up.

Research shows that only about 9% of people will really stick with their resolutions (whether for fitness or anything else) all year and beyond.

But one set of people more likely to succeed with fitness resolutions could be Apple Watch users, according to the early data analyzed by Brandon Ballinger, co-founder of Apple Watch heart rate monitoring app, Cardiogram.

Cardiogram analyzed the results of 34,369 New Year's fitness resolutions. Of the 66,317 people who had been using the app on a Watch prior to January 1, 34,369 (52%) increased their workout routines in January, mostly by increasing their walking, cycling, running, strength training, or using the elliptical.

And the percentage of people who stuck with those increased workouts has held steady so far through the end of January. Runners, strength trainers, elliptical users, and even walkers "have shown similar consistency," says. Research shows that about 80% of people who make resolutions have given up by the second week in February. So the one-month of data is a good sign.

This points to a couple of things.

If you measure it, you can track it and that encourages you to stick with it.

A $170+ investment in a piece of technology to support the fitness habit helps provide motivation.

There's still plenty of time left in 2017 to achieve the habit of exercise and fitness, even if you're among the 80% that have stopped working out. You can, perhaps, call that time off a break, treat yourself to a fitness device and try, try again.

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