With a sizeable portion of the population in danger of being clinically diagnosed as overweight, health clubs are all the rage nowadays. But why is it that so many people fail to achieve the promise of enduring fitness when they do join a health club or gym? Why is it that many people complain about the level of service these clubs provide?

The fitness industry is one that is filled with a lot of false promises. It is essentially an industry that provides people with plenty of hope but little useful advice. What happens after you sign the contract and pay the membership fee can sometimes be... surprising.

How the Trickery Works

It's funny how the successes of many fitness centers rely on the failure of its very members. This is not always the case, especially when it comes to the more expensive health clubs. Let's face it - because they are already making a lot of money from the membership fees, there really is no incentive to play dirty games. However, for lower-end gyms and health clubs - it's quite a different story. Because of the low membership fees, these clubs need a lot of members in order to be profitable. And many clubs, as you would have guessed, will stoop low enough to fool people out of their money.

From false advertising to hidden charges, many health clubs will employ every conceivable technique to simply get your money. These types of clubs, unfortunately, have set up a trap from which there is little chance to escape. Customers in these establishments rarely become content with the service and end up leaving them soon. Moreover, because these health clubs advertise in the budget category - the clients they attract have historically been the most hard to maintain. The result is an endless cycle where new members come in as fast as existing ones leave.

The most tired strategy in signing up new members is with ambiguous advertisement. Promises of discounts, freebies and privileges that don't exist also come in handy. The trick is to corner you at the first meeting and force you to sign the contract at that very moment. Other dubious sales strategies also come into play. Be very careful about what you sign. Most of the time, these are cunningly crafted documents designed to confuse the hell out of you. Hidden inside these documents could be expensive cancellation charges, hidden fees or two year-long terms that cannot be canceled.

Further, do not think that you will get peace once you have signed up for a health club membership. Oh no, a week or so after your membership you will get a FREE sampling of this or that service, and this or that product... ALL guaranteed to help you lose weight of course. And after the free sampling, rest assured you will receive endless encouragement to sign up and buy those additional products and services, which just so happen to be on discount... this week only.

So how do you find a good and reliable health club? Does that mean you have to sign up for those expensive clubs? Not necessarily and not all expensive clubs are free from the same shady operations, anyway. All one has to do is inspect, check and verify an establishment for its authenticity. Advertisements, especially those that focus on savings, should be a red flag for anyone. This is because successful gyms don't really need to advertise much. By doing a little research, you can save yourself a lot of headaches.