About 4.3 million Canadians held a fitness club membership at some point in 2005. (CBC)

Glad the holiday season is over? So are the people who own and operate fitness centres across the continent.

A study by the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association estimates that the fitness industry is a business worth $1.6 billion US annually in Canada. About 4.3 million Canadians held a fitness club membership at some point in 2005.

Retail sales may peak in December, but for the fitness industry, January is the year's busiest month. Losing weight and getting into shape consistently rate as the top New Year's resolutions.

According to IHRSA figures, 12.4 per cent of new members join gyms and fitness clubs in January. The second-busiest month is February, when 9.5 per cent of a facility's new members will sign up.

Trouble is, by June most of those new members will stop showing up, having failed to transform a body shaped by years of inactivity into a perfectly toned machine.

Steven Bentley, a former professional triathlete and personal performance coach based in Mississauga, Ont., says the key to sticking to that New Year's resolution to get fit is to pick an activity you enjoy and set short-term, measurable goals.

"You won't notice the benefits of working out right away. To lose weight, you have to work out and eat better."

Steven Bentley's exercise tips

• Pick an activity you enjoy.
• Don't do too much too quickly.
• Set short-term, measurable goals.
• Don't worry if you gain weight initially: you're converting fat into muscle. A kilogram of muscle takes up less space than a kilogram of fat.
• If you get a scale, make sure it's one that measures body fat. Focus more on losing body fat than losing weight.
• It takes 21 days for any activity you start to become a habit.
• Be conscious of what you eat: avoid sugar.
• Eat something every 2 ½ hours if you have increased your activity. Your body will become accustomed to a constant source of fuel and burn it more efficiently.

But Bentley says even after a week of working out, "there are wonderful things happening inside your body. Your metabolism is speeding up and your cardiovascular fitness may be increasing as well."

Don't try to do too much too quickly

One of the biggest dangers, Bentley cautions, is trying to do too much too quickly. You could wind up hurting yourself and getting discouraged.

One way to stay on track could be to invest some of your fitness resolution money into a personal trainer. A 2004 study by McMaster University’s department of kinesiology found that people who are new to an exercise activity perform better when their goals are set by a fitness professional rather than by themselves.

Exercisers were asked to perform a grip-strength task. After their first attempt, half of the participants set their own goal for the second exercise. The other half was assigned the goal of squeezing three more pounds. Exercisers who were assigned a goal reported greater confidence in their abilities than members of the group who set their own goals.

Personal trainers have become a big part of the fitness industry. But there are no regulations, common registry or national standards. More than 200 groups offer certification — some based only on a weekend workshop.

"There is a potential for danger and that's why you should ask all the right questions when you walk into a fitness centre," says Aaron Tubman, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Calgary.

He advises fitness centre customers looking to hire a personal trainer to make sure to ask questions about the trainer's experience and qualifications. You should feel comfortable with the trainer's approach.

In turn, trainers should be asking you about your medical conditions and goals before designing a program to meet those objectives safely.

Consumer wariness

"A good trainer will be able to keep their people motivated and keep them wanting to come back because they're going to be seeing the results that they're paying for," says Leanne Telford, a personal trainer co-ordinator in Calgary.

If you hire a personal trainer, expect to pay between $35 and $100 for each one-hour session.

Still, some may be wary of even joining a fitness club. Issues with fitness clubs consistently register in the Top 10 list of consumer complaints with the Ontario government.

Most provinces have rules governing the contracts you may be asked to sign with a fitness club. Depending on where you live, they may include provisions like:

• A cooling off period: you may have up to 10 days to change your mind after signing a contract to join a fitness club.
• No lifetime memberships.
• The option to pay your fees monthly.

Other things to consider when deciding on a fitness club are:

• Location: If it's close to your home or job, you will be more likely to go.
• Facilities: If you want to swim and there's no pool, you'll be wasting your money.
• Programs: Does the centre offer fitness classes as well as weight and cardio machines?
• Equipment: Are the machines clean, modern and in good working order?
• Maintenance: Is the facility clean? Is there enough space between machines?
• Track record: Has the club been in business for a long time?

Still, even if everything's right, getting out and working out are ultimately up to you.

"Initially, the pain of getting out of bed to do your workout will be greater than the pain of not doing your workout," Steven Bentley says. "Eventually you'll get to a point where you'll derive enough pleasure out of working out that you won't want to miss it."

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