People in Southeast Missouri resolving to get into shape in 2016 have a variety of options when looking for a gym to join.

From fitness centers with pools to smaller gyms that are open 24 hours, at least one thing remains a constant: an uptick in memberships at the beginning of the new year.

"We see an increase in both new members and utilization from existing members," HealthPoint Fitness operations director Jack Hembree said. "The new year is a good time to kind of restart things. ... It's a good thing, people making an effort to improve their quality of life."

Hembree said the first quarter of the year is important at the facility, which is part of SoutheastHEALTH.

"We try to help people come up with strategies and programs that they'll stick with and get some good benefit from," he said.

Krystal Downs performs a set of dips during her workout Dec. 23 with TNT Health and Fitness trainer and co-owner Travis Blessing. (Glenn Landberg)

Sandy Duncan, Health and Wellness Services manager at Saint Francis Medical Center's Fitness Plus, agreed.

"We have lots of new memberships, but a lot of people who have a membership who maybe kind of fell off the wagon during the year, at some point they just say, 'I'll just wait 'til January 1st,'" Duncan said. "... We all get in a slump at some point, but if it happens to be towards the end of the year, a lot of people just wait 'til January to get back in their routine."

Lori Lambert of Snap Fitness said she always sees an increase in membership come January.

"This is our first year open -- we actually opened Jan. 15 -- but I have been in the fitness business for years, and there's always that shift in people," Lambert said.

Derek Lewis of Anytime Fitness also reported an increase in memberships at the beginning of the year.

"We'll usually notice right after Christmas it definitely goes up quite a bit," Lewis said. "It usually lasts from right after Christmas through February, is when everyone signs up."

Where to go

The Cape Girardeau and Jackson areas have more than 10 fitness facilities from which to choose. Regardless of a person's fitness goals, big and small gyms have their advantages.

HealthPoint and Fitness Plus have swimming pools that give the opportunity not only for individual swim workouts, but for group aquatics classes.

"We've got four different bodies of water, and they're all different temperatures," Duncan said. Having the varying temperatures is key for people who need to work out in warmer water due to joint issues.

Duncan said other advantages of Fitness Plus are its family activities and children's camps, and its professional staff that includes dietitians to help members.

Hembree said HealthPoint's advantages lie in its programming and expertise.

"The diversity of our programming, I think, is one of the big things that we can do by virtue of the fact that we have a wide variety of staff that can provide additional services and direction and expertise in areas that a lot of places can't," Hembree said. "And so I think that's probably one of the biggest. We have programming that appeals to any age group, from literally early teens and little kids on up to the most elderly. ... And then the diversity of our facilities, also. We have complete aquatic areas that you typically don't find in some of the smaller clubs...."

However, Hembree pointed out, there's room for gyms of all sizes in Cape Girardeau.

"But having said that, everybody has their place," Hembree said. "There's certainly enough of a need out there for everyone. If everybody that needed to exercise actually exercised, we would need three times the number of clubs that we currently have."

Those smaller facilities offer their own advantages.

"One is ... once you're a member, you can use us 24 hours a day, seven days a week," said Lewis at Anytime Fitness.

The second thing Lewis said gives Anytime an advantage is members are allowed to use any of the chain's clubs nationwide.

"So like if you're traveling for work or when you're on vacation, you can still work out at no extra charge," he said.

Something Lewis and Lambert said Snap Fitness gives the smaller facilities as an advantage is the more personal connection the staff can make with the members.

"We know everybody's names when they come in, and I get to know all of them and have a really good, a closer relationship with the members," Lambert said.

The smaller facilities' physical size can work to their advantage, as well.

"And the other thing is we're fast and convenient. You're in and out," Lambert said. "... As soon as you come on the lot, within five minutes you're on a piece of equipment, and you're working out."

Those needing a bit more guidance can seek help in the form of a personal trainer.

While many local fitness centers offer personal training to their members for an additional fee, one-on-one workouts are what TNT Health & Fitness is about.

"We do 100 percent accountability with each and every person," TNT owner Tyler Blessing said.

Blessing said often people join a gym without knowing what they need to do to get the best results.

"Say somebody, like a builder, gives you a hammer and nails and a screwdriver or something like that ... and then they tell you to go build a house, but you have no idea what to do," Blessing said. "... We give you the tools and we give you the directions on how to actually do everything."

'A fresh start'

Most area fitness centers offer incentives to get people to join in the new year. The most common incentives come in the form of waived or reduced sign-up fees.

Even without the incentives, the lure of health and fitness improvements as a New Year's resolution is undeniable.

Lewis said he thinks poor diets around Thanksgiving and Christmas, in conjunction with less sunlight when daylight saving time ends, lead to people not feeling well.

"I think that's what kind of clicks with people that with all those changes they want to be healthier and they want to feel better, and they know exercise will do it, so I think that's what triggers it for most people," he said.

Lambert also gave some credit to the holidays.

"I think it's popular because everybody is coming off of the holidays where they've overindulged and celebrated, and the new year is just like a brand-new beginning," she said. "It's kind of like in the fitness world, every Monday at a fitness center is really, really busy. ... And I think it's the same thing with the beginning of the year."

Duncan attributed the health-related resolutions to people's desire for a "fresh start."

"You know, everybody likes to kind of start with a clean slate, and you can set your goals," Duncan said. "I think it just re-energizes everybody."

"I don't think it's just fitness," Hembree said. "I think a lot of people use the new year and the beginning of the year to make commitments in a lot of different areas. I think fitness is one of them and nutrition is one of them, but a lot of times people use that as a jumping-off point to making personal changes that can improve their life in a variety of ways: How they handle their money, how they eat, how they exercise, all kinds of things. I think we all need that from time to time, and it's just too bad it only comes once a year. It'd be nice if we had another one in the middle of the year."

kwebster@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3646

Pertinent address:

2530 William St., Cape Girardeau, MO 63701