I got to the YMCA in Vancouver, which is a huge and very crowded gym. January is a complete gong show. If you go at peak times (which, unfortunately for some of us, is the only option), you often cannot even get a locker, let alone a machine. Given how busy the gym is on a regular basis, and that I would think gyms have fairly low fixed operating costs (ie: they rarely purchase new equipment), I find it very hard to believe that these newbies are really subsidizing those of us who use it year-round. Perhaps this is something perpetuated by gym owners so the rest of us aren't quite so annoyed by the January onslaught.