Feel The Burn

Ever since man invented leisure, we've had the fitness club. And ever since we've had the fitness club, we've had fitness clubs going bankrupt because man is lazy at heart.

Total Fitness Leisure Clubs fall into the failed category.

That means there is a group of people who joined up with an intention of maintaining good cardio health and have now been burned.

Total Fitness says it's due to high rents being charged at its Irish locations, but the property owner disputes that contention. The real problem is one of income, which clearly proved to be insufficient.

Not enough people joined up and stayed on board to make the fitness clubs viable. Maintenance, machines, and a suitable supply of towels do not come cheap and when the economy melts down, the potential clients become increasingly stingy.

The clubs have closed their doors, and 11,500 members are out the cost of their membership, with nothing to show for it. Total Fitness has gone belly up, and there simply is no cash on hand to reimburse the members.

To say that the ex-members are irate would be an understatement. At a meeting between the company directors and furious clients, the exchange was heated and there were few answers forthcoming.

No matter how much weight a man can bench-press, he can't squeeze blood out of a turnip and Total Fitness is as dry as the average turnip these days. Following liquidation, whatever capital can be generated will go to pay off secured creditors, and it's doubtful that there'd be anything left in the kitty to reimburse membership dues.

The members did get quite a workout at the meeting. They're all feeling the burn, but it's not in their muscles.