MACON, Ga. — On Wednesday, people across the country are getting started on their new year's resolutions. For many, those goals focus on fitness and nutrition.
Here's how some Central Georgians plan on keeping their fitness resolutions.
Some people are just starting out.
"I'm in college, I'm trying to get a new internship, and you know, be better in the gym," said Jonathan Jokhai.
Others already know what works for them.
"Hard work... hard work and dedications," said Connie Hawkins.
But everyone's story has a beginning.
"I walked into an Air Force recruiter's office at 245 pounds, 5' 9". The Air Force recruiter told me I was too fat to join the military," Kevin Keller said.
So Keller decided to make a change.
"I knew that the military was something I wanted to do, so I just kept pushing, and slowly, and slowly, you start losing weight," he said.
For him, it was a lot of weight. He dropped more than 50 pounds, and accomplished his goal of serving. He was in the Air Force for seven years.
Keller's journey, in many ways, mirrors Lauren Freeman's.
"I had a new child, and I gained a lot of weight," Freeman said.
Now she's moving serious weight by entering lifting competitions, and she has her son, William, cheering her on.
Freeman's making it clear that the weight room is no boy's club.
"Women are always afraid of getting 'too bulky' in a sense, and I say that's not true at all. You just have to get in the weight room and start grinding," she said.
Both Freeman and Keller's advice for people starting fitness journeys of their own is to take it one step at a time and keep showing up.
"Just don't stop," Freeman said.
Try to make it a daily habit, Keller says.
"If you miss the gym two days in a row, don't let days three, four, and five come," Keller said.
Finally, Freeman wants to remind you to hold your own in the gym.
"Don't let anybody get to you. Those are your goals, stick to them," Freeman said.
Another big piece of advice they both had was to start small and be patient.
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