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6. "Be sure to read the fine print on our
contract."
The devil is in the details, and it's never truer than when it
comes to fitness-club contracts. Fast-talking reps may offer you a
deal you can't refuse, but often that's exactly what you should
do.
"Sometimes you end up with salespeople trying to make quotas that
engage in pressure," says Helen Durkin, the head of public policy
at IHRSA, the health-club association.
Occasionally, this can lead to a glossing over of details. One
Bally offer that has elicited complaints on Consumer Affairs' Web
site is a 30-day trial membership with a catch: You must visit the
club a minimum of 12 times during the first month to cancel without
penalty; otherwise, you're locked into a multiyear membership. Some
consumers complain that they did attend the required number of
times but that when they decided to cancel, the club had no record
of the visits. A Bally spokesperson says the company's policy is to
check all members entering the club and record their usage.
Your best defense: Read every word of the contract. Never rely on a
suave salesperson's "word" no matter what authority they profess,
and don't let anyone pressure you into signing before you're ready.
Take the contract home and read it overnight.
7. "Our equipment can be downright
dangerous."
Unlike many businesses, fitness clubs do not need a special license
to operate. Furthermore, although the American College of Sports
Medicine and other groups publish guidelines for the industry, they
don't have the teeth of the law.
"In most cases, (the gym) is not a safe place to go because there
is little standardization," says Marc Rabinoff, a forensic expert
and professor of human performance and sport at the Metropolitan
State College of Denver.
Take equipment maintenance, for example. Although manufacturers
must include instructions with exercise machines, nothing forces
gyms to follow them, Rabinoff says. Injuries can result from poorly
or improperly maintained equipment, says Cedric Bryant, the chief
science officer for the American Council on Exercise. Harold Leon
Bostick knows that all too well. Because of a design defect in a
machine he was using, a stack of weights came crashing down while
the law student was doing squats at a California gym in 2001,
severing his spinal cord.
Bryant recommends asking to see maintenance and cleaning logs --
hallmarks of a good club. Gold's Gym, for one, says it follows
manufacturers' maintenance guidance to the letter and replaces
equipment every five to seven years. Avoid machines that stick or
don't move smoothly.
8. "Everything is negotiable."
Balloons and freebies often signal promotion time at your local gym
-- most frequently before the holidays and at the start of summer.
(See "Cut-weight deals at your gym.")
Already a member? Jot down these specials and ask for one of them
when it comes time to renew your membership. Some gyms will honor
the rate months after the posters come down, says Mark, of the
Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta.
If you're looking into a new membership, remember that the cheapest
deals will likely be those that lock you in for a long time. For
example, Bally's flexible plans, including month-to-month
memberships, typically cost $5 to $10 a month more than its popular
long-term plan. As for trainers, you might be able to get a break
if you decide to share sessions with a friend or two, says Carol
Espel, Equinox's national group-fitness director.
9. "If your wallet gets lifted, it's not our
problem."
In 2003, the FBI put out a bulletin about a group of burglars
stealing credit cards from lockers of health-club members on the
East Coast. Since then, there's been no similar FBI bulletin, but
that doesn't mean your valuables are safe at the gym. You never
know who's lurking around the locker room while you're sweating
away on the elliptical machine.
"For so many people, the health club is like a community," says
IHRSA spokesperson Brooke Correia. "You feel very comfortable, but
there are situations where potential thieves will break into the
club and take advantage of that safe atmosphere."
Ben Osbun tried to end 2004 on a healthy note by working out at his
local YMCA on New Year's Eve. But the day quickly soured. When the
Chicago real estate agent returned to his locker, he found that the
padlock had been cut and his cell phone, keys and wallet were
missing. Only his jacket was left behind; the thieves showed him
some mercy since it was December, Osbun says. He adds that the gym
staff wasn't particularly surprised by the incident because petty
theft is common in health clubs. Osbun learned his lesson; he now
brings very little with him to the gym.
If you do intend to store items in a locker while you're working
out, IHRSA recommends using a padlock with a key, which is harder
to pick than a combination lock. That wouldn't have helped Osbun
any, of course.
10. "Go ahead and sue; you'll never win."
Fitness clubs know how to watch their backs, legally speaking. It's
nearly impossible to visit a fitness center without signing a
waiver that absolves the club of liability -- involving everything
from malfunctioning machines that cause injury to improper
instruction by staff members.
In Michael Stokes' case, it was a defect in the basketball court's
floor at his Kent, Wash., gym that caused ruptured tendons in his
knee and shoulder. Though a judge found that Stokes may not have
known what he was signing, a subsequent appellate-court ruling
upheld the waiver and dismissed the case, says Mark Davis, a lawyer
who represented Stokes.
That's how it usually goes because the majority of states' courts
tend to side with the gyms on the matter of liability waivers,
while only a handful, including those in New York and Virginia, are
likely to rule against them. Occasionally, a judge will rule in
behalf of plaintiffs in instances of gross negligence, but that bar
is set pretty high in some states, such as Washington, Davis
says.
Bottom line: Understand that you're taking your health in your own
hands when you go to the gym, so you need to watch your own back --
literally.
This article was reported and
written by Reshma Kapadia for SmartMoney.
