When you join a fitness club, try to get a per-month rate instead of getting pressured into signing up for a year. If you end up having to move or want to get out of your agreement before your time's up, you'll probably find that the club won't be very responsive to your needs.

Don't set up your fitness club membership so that the club can automatically take its fees out of your account. This makes it very hard to cut them off if you need to move, or even when your membership works out; it's common practice by some very well-known clubs to keep drawing anyway. Pay by check instead.

A fitness club of any type should always be clean, well-lighted, and comfortable. While hole-in-the-wall fitness clubs exist and may be cheap, you should be wary of them; fitness clubs have enough problems with contamination and maintenance without adding more.