Planning To Get In Better Shape For 2012?

Shaping up and slimming down remains a popular New Year resolution with more than half of both men and women listing dropping a few pounds as their goals for the new year in a recent Huffington Post poll.

And fitness centers and gyms in West Ashley concur saying January is usually their busiest month of the year.

"We're expecting a big increase," Manager Andy Quick said. "Last January we signed up 800 new members."

With about 6,000 current members Quick said the fitness center located in the Citadel Mall expects to have more than 6,500 members by the end of the month.

"We were slammed today," St. Andrews Family Fitness Center General Manager Melissa Kubu said Monday. "Compared to a normal month January is usually double."

With all the potential new customers this time of year many gyms offer special rates and discounts. St. Andrews is running a January special that offers members a $100 gift card when they pay for a 1-year or 2-year membership in full, or if a customer signs up using a debit plan to pay each month their first month is free and the enrollment charge is waived.

Planet Fitness does things a little different. Gym members there pay a monthly fee to use the facility without any set term contract. Through Jan. 11, Planet Fitness is offering two plans; a basic plan for $10 a month and a deluxe plan, called the PF Black Card, for $19.99 a month.

However those pumped up membership numbers usually don't last all year, as many people give up on their resolutions at some point during the year.

"It falls off a lot in March when spring break rolls around," Tres` Bennett said.

Bennett is owner of Tres` Nutrition Shop at 1964 Ashley River Road. A veteran of the fitness business who has worked as a trainer in the past, Bennett now runs his own nutrition supplement business.

"A lot of people think right at Jan. 1 people hit the gym, but it really picks up when the kids go back to school and into the middle of January," Bennett said.

Kubu said St. Andrews sees a similar decline in members using the facility in March.

"We call them Marchers because they are going to be out by March," Kubu said.

In order to combat the burn-out factor, both Kubu at St. Andrews and Quick at Planet Fitness said trainers and staff work closely with new members to set realistic goals and workout plans.

"What we do is give free fitness training to all of our members because a lot of them are first time gym users, so the trainers show them how to use all the machines," Quick said. "We like to get them off on the right foot."

"We give members three free instructional sessions on the equipment so they aren't walking in blind," Kubu said. 

Those instructional sessions can be used at any time, so if a St. Andrews Family Fitness member is getting bored with their workout routine they can get some help changing it up to keep it interesting, Kubu said.

Both gyms also offer various fitness classes led by instructors. In fact St. Andrews offers more than 60 classes.

And St. Andrews is more than just a gym. The facility includes a Junior Olympic size pool, basketball courts and several raquetball courts. The center also plays host to some sport leagues like the , and partners with St. Andrews Parks and Playgrounds on youth basketball, Kubu said.