Feeling The Burn: Mass. Has Highest Health Club Attendance In Nation, Survey Finds

Maybe it's the long, icy winters. Or perhaps it's all those injured barefoot runners looking for an alternative.

Whatever the reason, apparently Massachusetts has achieved a new distinction: highest health-club attendance in the nation, according to The Huffington Post. While only 33 states are included here, the Bay State topped them all in 2010, with a gym attendance rate of 25.1 percent of consumers. (Alabama appears to be losing the gym-friendly race, with a participation rate of only 10.2 percent, the report says.)

The new research, released by the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, found that gym membership in 2010 reached an all-time high of 50.2 million members.

Now I'd like to know what percentage of all those health club memberships are actually being used?