I am about to join a fitness club with one of their special promotions - $0.25 to start, $10 a month and an annual charge of $40, but you have to commit to 12 months.

Yeah, the free for life memberships usually require you to renew during a specified time like a specific month or even two week period. You can't renew early and can't renew late. They want to lose those members by attrition. I had one to a gym that was near me and closed; I can't remember if the chain went out of business or just nearby ones but it was fruitless for me to try to renew at that point.