I'VE HEARD the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. I'm ready to admit I may have a problem.

This week, I joined a gym. That's not so bad, right? What if I told you that it brings my gym membership tally to three.

It's been a gradual process, much like I assume other over-the-top habits are. Surely Imelda Marcos didn't buy a dozen pairs of shoes on her first shopping spree.

Gym members have always been a part of my family. As a kid, I watched my dad pack up his gym bag every night. He left long before I woke up, and I usually watched him return from swimming, racquetball or a cardio workout as I scarfed down my cereal before school. When I got old enough to join him as a guest, I'd tag along and try to figure my way around the equipment. Mostly, I went because at the end of the workout, I'd be treated to a smoothie at the gym's juice bar.

These days, the gyms I belong to — yes, plural — aren't fancy enough for juice bars or other amenities. But each has its own little something that draws me in and makes it hard for me to quit.

My old stand-by is a large, franchised, somewhat barebones operation. I've been a member since it was just a hometown place gaining traction more than 15 years ago. My super-low membership number, which I reluctantly had to give up when I changed my “home” location recently, was proof of my longevity. It was like a badge of honor, one that often confused the check-in staff when I rattled off a short four-digit number.

This gym is like the big-box outfit of gyms. It just gives you what you need — lots of equipment, lots of locations, no contracts, low membership fees. And, just like those big-box stores, even when I consider dropping my membership, the low prices and convenience (heck — they're open 24 hours!) pulls me back in. I like to have that option in my gym arsenal, you know, in case I ever get the urge to hit the treadmill at 3 a.m.

If Gym No. 1 is the Wal-Mart of gyms, Gym No. 2 is a friendly Main Street shop. It's not too flashy — not a boutique — but always has what you need. It's the kind of store that's been downtown forever, that your parents shopped at and that all the locals know. It's the kind of place you go because it carries specialty items you can't always get at a big box. In this case, those specialties would be group classes.

Group classes are what drew me to this place a few years ago, when a friend of mine introduced me to spinning as a way to cross train and keep up my bike riding muscles over the winters. I quickly made the classes a priority, despite the the after-work mad-dash to make it to class on time.

Over the years, I've ventured into a few other classes, most recently boot camp. I've been lucky (is that the right word?) enough to try out a few different boot camp classes, each with a different format and instructor, and each giving its own sweat-inducing, muscle-exhausting workout.

While I love the classes and variety Gym No. 2 offers, its location, parking and even its daytime-heavy class schedule isn't ideal for us working folks. Plus, it's roughly three times the price of Gym No. 1's membership. I've held on, but it's been on the budget chopping block a number of times.

So why in the world, when I've already considered dropping one gym, would I add another to the roster?

I don't know, but that's exactly what I did when I dropped off my application for the in-work fitness center offered by my new employer. The convenience factor certainly rated high. I mean, it's literally just around the corner from my desk. The facility is clean (the locker rooms win the cleanliness award out of the three gyms), the equipment is new and the staff is friendly. They have classes — spin, boot camp, yoga and more — on certain days before and after work hours and during lunch times. Plus, I'll earn points toward discounts on my insurance premiums for every time I check in.

It all sounded pretty good to me. And it got me hook, line and sinker.

I'm hoping my latest find will be just right — not too big, not too small. The membership rate is right in the middle of the other two and, because it's an internal spot, I'm guessing a familiar, friendly feel.

Time will tell. In the meantime, I'll be a three-gym gal and a once-closeted-now-outed gym membership addict.

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Teresa Robinson's NH Runner column appears every other week in the New Hampshire Sunday News. She can be reached at NHRunner123@gmail.com. Twitter: @teresakrobinson