A healthy diet and exercise... diet and exercise... diet and exercise! This is the mantra that most healthy people practice and preach daily. As such, it is no wonder that health clubs are very popular. But wait... before you dive in and get a membership subscription from the smooth-talking health club "consultant", take a moment to understand exactly how they were able to convince you.

Many health clubs are employing rather dubious techniques to lure unsuspecting customers into their fold. Do all these marketing tricks really make you save money - or does the opposite happen? Below are some of the classic techniques used by gyms and health clubs to downright fool customers into spending more than they were led to believe.

See Behind those Health Club Marketing Tricks

Get a Free Year - Ever hear those health club gimmicks that allegedly give you 1-year of free membership when you pay for an entire year in advance? You are probably just really paying for two years worth of subscription. Ask around and see other health clubs and you'll see that you're not really getting much of a bargain. Don't forget that gyms and health clubs are high-maintenance businesses. They need a lot of income to ensure optimal service for their clients so throwing in a full year of free health club access may indeed be too good to be true.

Low Monthly Rates - Is there really no catch to those extremely low monthly subscription rates? Well, no - most of the time there is a catch. And this usually comes in the form of very long contracts. These, of course, are not good. What if their service deteriorates a few months since you've started? This effectively puts you in a trap where you would have to pay for the entire duration of the contract regardless if you wish to leave later on.

Win a Free Membership Raffle - Fill a form for a chance to win a free membership to the health club. Few people have ever heard of anybody winning these dubious raffles but plenty have heard from unrepentant sales people over the phone trying to convince you to sign up in their health club! This is of course, thanks to the telephone number you conveniently provided to them by filling out the so-called raffle stub.

Free Training Sessions - Spending time with their exercise or fitness trainers won't provide you with much information, but you'll get plenty of sales talk. If they offer free training sessions, prepare yourself for a lot of hard selling and incessant talk about getting a membership. Let's face it, after being entertained for so long, you'll probably feel guilty not to sign up! You would do better by inspecting the premises instead.

Exaggerated Advertising - Ever see such low rates being advertised by certain health clubs? How about those money back guarantees? Or how about those state of the art gym equipment that promise to make your workouts painless? You would be surprised how far some health clubs go just to make a sale. Yes, many would stoop to lying just to make you get a membership. Always try to validate all their claims. Check the facility. Ask for specifics about the service agreement. Read the entire contract. If there is even a hint that they are lying about any of their services, then exercise (pun intended) your right to refuse their offerings.