If you’re like many of us, you gorged on goodies this month and got too caught up in holiday hustle revelry for much exercise. Now guilt-ridden, you’ve put fitness at the top of your to-do list in 2006.

But have you given any thought to what it’s really going to take for that resolution for better health to have sticking power? Would watching a personal flat-screen TV tuned into your favorite satellite TV station give you the extra incentive to work out? Or would a women’s-only health club that’s a mecca for all things feminine get you to the gym more often?

One thing is for sure. Fitness centers are getting creative in catering to our preferences. If you haven’t shopped around for health clubs lately, you might be surprised by what’s out there.

Sharon Krause used to be a member at a large health club. But she now claims to be “addicted” to a fitness center much different from others she belonged to in the past.

About 20 months ago, Krause joined Team Fitness Training Center in Urbandale, a two-and-a-half-year-old business that focuses on personal and small-group training. At 5:30 a.m. three days a week, Krause exercises at Team Fitness with a small group of about three or four other earlier risers. Her group is a combination of men and women, each at a different fitness level. A personal trainer from the club designs workouts for the small groups and tailors them to each individual’s needs.

Krause said she likes the small-group approach to fitness because it offers “the best of both worlds,” with the attention of a personal trainer and the social benefits of having others to work out with. Working out in a group also motivates her to work harder than she had when she exercised on her own.

“I’m not a competitive person by nature, but when you have a few other people in the room with you, you push yourself harder,” Krause said. “You make sure you get up to get there in the morning, knowing that you might get a little bit of ribbing from the others if you don’t come.”

Team Fitness owner Kristen Gostomski said her studio has been such a hit that she plans to open a second location in West Des Moines early next year.

Another smaller fitness studio, Aspen Active, opened in late November in the West Glen Town Center in West Des Moines. This scaled-down model of Aspen Athletic Clubs’ larger locations has weight-training equipment, free weights and cardio machines. General manager Jason Nekola said use of the club reflects the growing popularity of smaller fitness studios.

“Around the nation, it’s becoming a new trend, these smaller health clubs,” he said. “For 80 percent of people who join a health club, this is the equipment that they use. Even though they think they want to belong somewhere that offers classes and has a pool, this is what they use.”

Aspen Active had been temporarily housed for a year in a building on the other side of Interstate 35 on George Mills Civic Parkway prior to opening at West Glen. Although only about 8,000 square feet in size, Nekola said, it’s by no means a bare-bones operation. It has all new equipment, with 15-inch flat-screen TVs mounted on each of its 50 cardio machines. Each $1,500 TV is hooked up to DirecTV.

“What’s amazing is how consistent our members are with coming more often because they can watch TV while they’re here,” Nekola said.

Aaron Ginder, who operates his own construction company, Griess & Ginder Dry Wall Inc., left the big health club he belonged to for Aspen Active. He said he likes its more personalized setup. He works with a personal trainer and uses the club’s cardio and weight-training equipment a few nights each week.

“It’s a nice atmosphere because it’s small enough that you get to know other people who work out on the same days with you, people who are committed to fitness like I am,” Ginder said. “I like that it’s geared towards adults, and it has all the things I need here.”

Bellissima Fitness Boutique opened Dec. 8 on the northeast side of Ankeny, and like Aspen Active, it is furnished with popular cardio and weight-training equipment. But this club is unmistakably exclusive to women. Its walls are painted in a dark shade of pink, complementing the pads on some of the weight-training machines. The locker room is luxurious, with heated ceramic-tiled flooring, personal vanities, a private shower and a large sauna.

After women are done working out, they can sip smoothies in the refreshment area, treat themselves to relaxation therapy or work on their tans in either a tanning bed or spray-tan machine. Jill Mooberry, a personal trainer who owns Bellissima with friend Laura Limmex, said she wanted the fitness center to be a haven for women who either don’t like working out in a traditional gym or who want more personalized attention.

“My thought was, if I’m a trainer and I feel uncomfortable in the big gyms that tend to be geared toward males, there had to be other women who felt the same,” Mooberry said. “If you’re working out in an environment where you don’t feel comfortable, it’s not fun, and you’re probably not going to go as often as you’d like.”