PENNY-WISE PUMP UP : SMART HEALTH CLUB PATRONS SCOUT OUT NEW YEAR DEALS.

Byline: Bruce Felton The New York Times

Q. I'm determined to join a health club and get in shape in the new year. But is there a way to do it without making a long-term financial commitment?

A. When the holiday bingeing season officially ends today, listen closely and you'll hear a great sucking sound, as countless Americans rush from their La-Z-Boys to health clubs and fitness spas.

To capitalize on the seasonal impulse toward self-improvement, clubs often give discounts to those who join before the end of the year. The New York Health and Racquet Club, for example, had cut the price of a one-year membership, normally $1,175, to $925 through Dec. 31. But even that may seem like a lot to wager on a resolution that could fizzle by spring.

True, you may stay with the program and make exercise a regular part of your life. But to paraphrase the cliche from law-school orientation, look at the people dangling from the Gravitrons on either side of you: Chances are that only one of you will still be at it a year from now.

One way to feel more secure about your investment is to do a trial workout - clubs will generally provide free passes, good for a day or so, to prospective members. The passes offer an easy way to find out if a club is overcrowded, underequipped, hard to get to or otherwise not to your liking.

Even after you sign up, state law usually requires a ``cooling-off'' period of at least three days, during which time you can back out and demand a full refund.

You may also be able to pay membership dues by the month and not have to commit to a club for a long period. At American Fitness in New York, for example, you can buy a single month's membership for $149.

That works out to $1,788 a year - more than double the club's normal annual rate of $749. But the reduced risk may offset the added cost, at least for a month or two, if you are not sure you plan to stick with the club.

Keep in mind that a pay-as-you-go plan is different from a much more common type of contract, which offers monthly payments but requires you to make those payments until the contract expires. Should you bail out of a club, say, in the third month of a one-year contract, in most cases you would still be liable for the last nine payments.

If you choose to pay a yearly membership fee in monthly installments, you will probably be asked to authorize the club to make automatic withdrawals from your bank or charge-card account. Plastic is preferable: If the debits continue after you quit, it will generally be easier to recover your money this way than if the money comes from your checking account.

Laws in most states require clubs to release you from your contract or refund the unused portion of your membership dues if you have to quit for medical reasons or if you move from the area. Some clubs will grant refunds regardless of the reason. But they probably won't volunteer this information, and if you want your money back, you will have to ask for it.

Transferring your membership can provide another way out if you fall off the fitness wagon. Many clubs let members resell their memberships to others; before you sign up, check the club's policy. Those that allow transfers usually charge a fee of $35 to $100, normally paid by the transferee.

But just as banks sell mortgages on the secondary market, health clubs often sell some of their contracts to finance companies. So if you want to cancel your membership or transfer it, you may have to deal with a finance company, not the health club.

``It's important to know before you join who actually will own the contract,'' said Cathy McNeil, a spokeswoman for the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, based in Boston. Dealing with a faceless finance company on contract problems will probably be more frustrating than dealing with a local health club.

Before you sign a contract, read it carefully. It's a good idea to take it with you and read it at your leisure, to make sure the contract matches what you have been told.

``If the language is murky, or the club seems unwilling to resolve any discrepancies or to allow you to take the contract home, go elsewhere,'' said Scott Borders, a consumer protection lawyer with Clark, Charlton & Martino in Tampa, Fla. And never pay a lot up front to a club that has not yet opened or whose financial footing seems shaky.

To be sure, abuses are far less common than they were a decade ago, when many clubs collected big fees for lifetime memberships and then went out of business, or aggressively dunned members who had moved to other parts of the country.

One case involved Bally's Health and Tennis Corp., which was the target of complaints accusing it of unfair billing and debt-collection practices. After being sued by the Federal Trade Commission in 1994, the company, now called Bally Total Fitness, admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to pay $120,000 in civil penalties and refund membership fees to more than 1,000 customers.

Today, laws in many states prohibit clubs from selling lifetime memberships or dipping into members' checking accounts without written permission. And to reimburse members if a club goes belly up, at least 32 states require health clubs to be sufficiently bonded.

Of course you don't need to join a health club to shed winter flab and strengthen your heart. Walking, jogging and skipping rope are all effective and less expensive cardiovascular conditioners.

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Photo

Photo: Sara Beaudry works on her upper body strength under the guide of trainer Vivian Samson at the New York Health and Racquet Club.

The New York Times