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Your credit is crunching, your RRSPs are lunging, and investing has suddenly become a marathon event. As the financial world huffs and puffs, Torontonians are following suit and going for the burn.

Part virtuous habit, part penance for those stress-relieving mounds of chips and ice cream, gym membership and usage remains high across the city.

And for the people diligently lacing up their sneakers, membership is anything but a luxury.

“I need it physically, mentally and spiritually,” says Muriel Arandjelovic, a fit and fabulous 53-year-old who trains and volunteers at the newly renovated West End Y on College Street.

Ms. Arandjelovic has pared down her food budget and traded evening film screenings for cheaper matinees, but won't consider missing a workout. “It is a necessity for me. It is part of my life, part of my being.”

She's not alone. Gym managers say they're surprised by the continued loyalty of clients – some of whom are hitting the gym more often than ever.

And while people are making fewer bookings with their personal trainers, enough new clients are signing on that even the priciest end of personal fitness is holding firm.

“If anything, I might have more [clients], I'm just not seeing them as often,” said in-home personal trainer Emily Sparrow, who charges $75 to $90 per session and is also an instructor with Booty Camp Fitness.

When the economy first plunged, personal-training inquiries did too. But within a couple of weeks, Ms. Sparrow said interest was closer to normal.

January was not as busy as it should have been. New Year's resolutions usually inflate membership enquiries and bookings. “There's definitely a worry… In January you expect to be turning people away,” she said.

But Ms. Sparrow remains optimistic about the year ahead. Not only are people still signing up for one-on-one training, boot camps are booked solid.

“If anything, I feel people might be turning to this to make themselves feel better about what's been going on,” she said.

“Working out, you get endorphins. All of a sudden I work out, and there's no economic crisis.”

Toronto's gym aficionados have roundly ignored advice to cut back on gym costs to save money, says Mark Kehr, co-owner of the Yorkville Club.

Some members of the exclusive Hazelton Lanes gym have moved their memberships to the club's cheaper Eglinton Avenue venue, but Mr. Kehr said both sites had record sign-ups in December and January, and he expects membership to keep climbing. Meanwhile, the frequency of gym visits is up about 15 per cent.

“When it comes to your health, and the stress that you're going through if you're losing half the value of your RRSPs and possibly losing your job … people are doing a bit more personal training,” Mr. Kehr said.

“Members are feeling the uncertainty. There's a lot of clients that have lost millions of dollars. Their saving grace is that they can come in here and sweat off the extra stress.”

The personal economy is a series that looks at people in the Toronto region coping with the economic downturn. To share your story, write Tenille Bonoguore at tbonoguore@globeandmail.com