Unlike many businesses, fitness clubs do not need a special license to operate. Furthermore, although the American College of Sports Medicine and other groups publish guidelines for the industry, they don't have the teeth of the law. "In most cases, (the gym) is not a safe place to go because there is little standardization," says Marc Rabinoff, a forensic expert and professor of human performance and sport at the Metropolitan State College of Denver. Take equipment maintenance, for example. Although manufacturers must include instructions with exercise machines, nothing forces gyms to follow them, Rabinoff says. Injuries can result from poorly or improperly maintained equipment, says Cedric Bryant, the chief science officer for the American Council on Exercise. Harold Leon Bostick knows that all too well. Because of a design defect in a machine he was using, a stack of weights came crashing down while the law student was doing squats at a California gym in 2001, severing his spinal cord. Bryant recommends asking to see maintenance and cleaning logs - - hallmarks of a good club. Gold's Gym, for one, says it follows manufacturers' maintenance guidance to the letter and replaces equipment every five to seven years. Avoid machines that stick or don't move smoothly.