10 things your gym won't tell you

Not all health clubs are
problem-plagued, but don't be surprised if yours is filled with
illness-causing bacteria, employs a poorly trained staff and makes it
expensive to quit.

1. "If you're still here in April, it'll be a miracle."

The
fitness craze is going gangbusters, with gym attendance up 23% since
2001, to 41.3 million, according to the International Health, Racquet
& Sportsclub Association (IHRSA).

Most new recruits sign up
in January, the busiest month for fitness clubs. That's when
well-intentioned souls trying to stick to their New Year's resolutions
flood their local gyms, often resulting in long lines at the
treadmills, overtaxed gym staffs and towel shortages in the locker
rooms.

But it's not long before the throngs thin; most people
who make those resolutions trip up in the first 90 days, says Alan
Marlatt, the director of the Addictive Behaviors Research Center at the
University of Washington. Indeed, that's what clubs expect. "They bet
on it," says Meg Jordan, the editor of American Fitness magazine,
adding that most gyms count on a 20% to 30% dropout