More than seven million people already belonged to gyms in the UK at the beginning of the year, but a few months in and the number is bound to be much higher as the clubs battle to lock us in while we are still taking our New Year resolutions seriously.
But those thinking of signing up should beware. Membership of a fitness club might be good for your health, but it could be bad for your wealth. Holmes Place, for example, waives its joining fee, usually between £29 and £59, for anyone who signs up early in the year.
This sounds generous, but you are then committed to a 12-month contract that can be cancelled only in exceptional circumstances – if you break your leg, for instance. A monthly gym subscription can cost anything from £40 to £120, so if you find you don’t like going much (as most people do), you could end up paying nearly £1,500 anyway.
This kind of lock-in costs us about £200m a year in wasted subscriptions, according to Sainsbury’s Bank. Citizens Advice claims many gyms do not clearly explain the terms of membership, including how to cancel, says Sarah Modlock on Yahoo! Finance. “Gym credit deals often overstep the mark,” says Teresa Perchard of Citizens Advice. “People mistakenly think they are setting up a direct debit to pay their fees as they go. It is only when they try to end the contract that they realise they have signed a credit agreement.”
Holmes Place argues that it guarantees to give members their money back after 12 weeks, but this is only the case if they have met stringent conditions, such as attending an induction within seven days of joining and making at least 24 visits in the first 12 weeks.
Other clubs are kinder, says Kathryn Cooper in The Sunday Times, offering shorter contracts, for instance, although this tends to mean higher charges. LA Fitness, for example, might charge £55 a month for a six-month contract, but only £40 a month if you sign up for a full year.
Another thing to keep an eye out for is rolling membership agreements with no fixed minimum period. These require notice to cancel, but some clubs automatically renew your membership without your permission, or ask you to renew it long before your current membership expires.
You can cut the cost of joining a gym by taking out private medical insurance, says Cooper. Pru Health offers membership of Cannons and Holmes Place for just £25 a month if you take out its private medical cover.
But do you really need private medical insurance? If not, this will prove yet another false economy. Otherwise, you could go to a local authority gym instead. They are better than they used to be and great value for money. But are they really where you want to spend your evenings? Perhaps the best solution is not to go to the gym at all – but to walk to work instead.