Planet Fitness?

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Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited November 2014
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Dave198lbs wrote: »
    Just FYI, Planet Fitness probably won't tolerate throwing/dropping weights and yelling as Crossfitters do. Might wanna read up on policy and stuff.

    no gym should allow that nonsense

    says someone who's probably never done an Oly-lift...ever...

    Not that I'm a CF guy or anything, but I'm an Oly-lifter...and sorry...a heavy snatch is going to get dropped...I don't care if it scares you...I don't want to tear my shoulders up just because you're afraid of some rubber bumper plates being dropped on an Olympic platform. Hmmm....I wonder why they make rubber bumper plates and Oly-platforms...Hmmm????

    Yeah, I don't do snatches because I don't have the flexibility or experience but off hand, I don't see a safe way to catch it on the way down.

    funny you should say that...flexibility was a big concern for me after I took a generic Oly-class last year around this time...I had some issues and it made me sadz because I had a lot of exposure to Oly-lifting early in life and always enjoyed it.

    I'm working with a coach now and he has done some incredible things with my flexibility...I can't believe some of the stuff I'm doing right now at age 40...my coach has me doing things in a month of training that I never thought I'd be able to do again.

    He also wants me to lean out a bit...which kind of sucks because winter beer season and all...but oh well...sacrifices, sacrifices.

  • goddessofawesome
    goddessofawesome Posts: 563 Member
    dbmata wrote: »
    Some times they pull it on people they know just to be dinks.
    So they judge people and then harass them with it.

    Nice.

    Really? I think I'd crack up if I were friends with someone at the front desk and they pulled it on my as a joke.

    But then again I have a sense of humor. ;)
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
    dbmata wrote: »
    Some times they pull it on people they know just to be dinks.
    So they judge people and then harass them with it.

    Nice.

    Really? I think I'd crack up if I were friends with someone at the front desk and they pulled it on my as a joke.

    But then again I have a sense of humor. ;)

    So are you saying he doesn't because he doesn't like the idea of a loud siren going off on hi m in the middle of his workout?

    I have a great sense of humor. I work out a lot. I'm still self-conscious sometimes. If someone set a siren off on me I would be mortified to tears.
  • PwrLftr82
    PwrLftr82 Posts: 945 Member
    PwrLftr82 wrote: »
    PRMinx wrote: »
    PRMinx wrote: »
    PRMinx wrote: »
    As long as the PF had basic equipment, you could do most of the CF stuff. Just have to be quiet about putting the weights down. I can't just drop the weight after a powerclean but fortunately I can only powerclean about 185. So that's still something I can handle putting down fairly gently

    You can lift, yes, but just can't do it with any kind of intensity. And your stuck with straight lifting or cardio machines. No box jumps, kettlebells, wall balls, etc. Is there even space for burpees? So, no, you can't do the vast majority of CrossFit stuff at a PF gym. Which is fine, but it's no where near the setup available at a CF gym.

    Probably not exactly like CF ie... like to done one of the WOD but not bad?
    GymPics2%20070_full.jpeg

    Not terrible space wise. I wonder if they would lunk you if you did burpees in between sets or something. Like a WOD after a lifting session.

    I can't see if there is a cage or not. But my idea would be to take one of the bench bars for deads, cleans, ohp etc... but just try to be quiet on the way down. I'm sure you could do burpees. for box jumps, use one of the benches. Not optimal but not bad

    True.But I'm about 99.9% sure that if you jumped on the benches you would get lunked.

    I see people do that all the time at the PF I go to. No alarm is pulled. They hardly ever pull the alarm at the one I go to.

    "Hardly ever," so, it does get pulled. For what reasons has it been pulled at your PF?

    Why does a lunk alarm sound like a flag? :wink:

    I'm pretty sure, yeah.
  • JeffseekingV
    JeffseekingV Posts: 3,165 Member
    dbmata wrote: »
    Some times they pull it on people they know just to be dinks.
    So they judge people and then harass them with it.

    Nice.

    I'm at the Y so it's more a family thing. But our weight room is decently equipped. When I do the 85lb dumbells on the bench, there is no good/safe way to put them down gently. I put them to my chest then drop them to the floor. Makes a thud but there's no other way. I've seen kids with 30lb dumbells on the incline bench actually just drop them like a rapper dropping his mic after his set. I mean there's no reason for that. He easily handles the weight and it's not heavy for him. Unnecessary
  • dym123
    dym123 Posts: 1,670 Member
    edited November 2014
    kk1084 wrote: »
    I go to Planet Fitness and I LOVE it. Mostly, I love the $10/mo, BUT I only do cardio, so I'm sure it's very different than the lifting piece. I've been extremely happy with my experience there :) Buuuut ...not sure if that helps.
    94c7ztjk8ms3.jpg

  • VincitQuiSeVincit
    VincitQuiSeVincit Posts: 285 Member
    PRMinx wrote: »
    PRMinx wrote: »
    As long as the PF had basic equipment, you could do most of the CF stuff. Just have to be quiet about putting the weights down. I can't just drop the weight after a powerclean but fortunately I can only powerclean about 185. So that's still something I can handle putting down fairly gently

    You can lift, yes, but just can't do it with any kind of intensity. And your stuck with straight lifting or cardio machines. No box jumps, kettlebells, wall balls, etc. Is there even space for burpees? So, no, you can't do the vast majority of CrossFit stuff at a PF gym. Which is fine, but it's no where near the setup available at a CF gym.

    Probably not exactly like CF ie... like to done one of the WOD but not bad?
    GymPics2%20070_full.jpeg

    Not terrible space wise. I wonder if they would lunk you if you did burpees in between sets or something. Like a WOD after a lifting session.

    I don't really intend to try to Crossfit at PF. I just want to build strength and muscle. I am ok working at 75%, 85% of max- I don't know if I'll ever go back to CF or not, but I just want weights and to lift them, not try to fake CF outside of the box
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
    I got a membership at PF back when I was new to working out. I got the black card membership (which forces a 2 year contract on you) so that I could bring a buddy with me whenever. I went 2-3x a week consistently for about 4 months before I "outgrew" the maximum weight load on their machines. The lunk alarm went off consistently about 2-3x over the hour or so I was there. They had a smith machine but it was more or less just for show because they sounded the lunk alarm if they caught you trying to use it for squats or deadlifts. There were no free weights except for a selection of dumbbells that maxed out at 60 lbs. There was no squat rack.

    Yeah, I steer clear of that place.
  • fitfatty88
    fitfatty88 Posts: 273 Member
    I think your experience will depend on the PF and management at that location. The one by my house...they have kettlebells, they have battle ropes, and people are allowed to wear cut off tanks and stuff.

    The lunk alarm is annoying, but the commercials that play periodically are worse as it booms throughout the whole facility. Plus, sometimes people crowd over by the weights and have no idea what they're doing...particularly during peak times. There's also this guy who "trains" girls on site (not a PF trainer) and he has no idea what he's doing.

    I wish there was a squat rack and people would get the f@*k of their phones between sets. I can't tell you how irritating it is seeing someone texting for ten minutes then remember they should be lifting weights. Plus the smell of pizza once a month is nauseating. But it has more equipment than the gym I used to be at for 1/4 of the price.
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
    PRMinx wrote: »
    PRMinx wrote: »
    As long as the PF had basic equipment, you could do most of the CF stuff. Just have to be quiet about putting the weights down. I can't just drop the weight after a powerclean but fortunately I can only powerclean about 185. So that's still something I can handle putting down fairly gently

    You can lift, yes, but just can't do it with any kind of intensity. And your stuck with straight lifting or cardio machines. No box jumps, kettlebells, wall balls, etc. Is there even space for burpees? So, no, you can't do the vast majority of CrossFit stuff at a PF gym. Which is fine, but it's no where near the setup available at a CF gym.

    Probably not exactly like CF ie... like to done one of the WOD but not bad?
    GymPics2%20070_full.jpeg

    Not terrible space wise. I wonder if they would lunk you if you did burpees in between sets or something. Like a WOD after a lifting session.

    I don't really intend to try to Crossfit at PF. I just want to build strength and muscle. I am ok working at 75%, 85% of max- I don't know if I'll ever go back to CF or not, but I just want weights and to lift them, not try to fake CF outside of the box

    I'm not saying that's what you were going to try to do - we were just having a general conversation about what's allowed and what isn't.
  • hmrambling
    hmrambling Posts: 321 Member
    edited November 2014
    Due to financial reasons, I've recently had to quit Crossfit, which was my preferred fitness method.
    Luckily, my office has a gym on site that I can (and do!) use every day. However, it is very small and only has cardio machines and dumbbells, meaning I really can't lift heavy as I would like to, and has just taken a lot of the joy of training from me.
    There is a Planet Fitness opening on my block! But of course, I've heard HORROR stories galore! Is it as bad as they say? Has anyone had a positive experience with them? I am not a beginner who is going to sit on the hip abduction machine with a slice of pizza, but I am concerned that they are going to give me a hard time about heavy lifts and things like that.

    If you are planning to lift heavy, then Planet Fitness might not be the best bet. They have dumb bells and machines. Period. Dead lifts are banned. You will not find an Olympic barbell or squat rack there. They have preset barbells. When I started lifting I had to go elsewhere.

    no-dl-sign.jpg



  • JeffseekingV
    JeffseekingV Posts: 3,165 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Dave198lbs wrote: »
    Just FYI, Planet Fitness probably won't tolerate throwing/dropping weights and yelling as Crossfitters do. Might wanna read up on policy and stuff.

    no gym should allow that nonsense

    says someone who's probably never done an Oly-lift...ever...

    Not that I'm a CF guy or anything, but I'm an Oly-lifter...and sorry...a heavy snatch is going to get dropped...I don't care if it scares you...I don't want to tear my shoulders up just because you're afraid of some rubber bumper plates being dropped on an Olympic platform. Hmmm....I wonder why they make rubber bumper plates and Oly-platforms...Hmmm????

    Yeah, I don't do snatches because I don't have the flexibility or experience but off hand, I don't see a safe way to catch it on the way down.

    funny you should say that...flexibility was a big concern for me after I took a generic Oly-class last year around this time...I had some issues and it made me sadz because I had a lot of exposure to Oly-lifting early in life and always enjoyed it.

    I'm working with a coach now and he has done some incredible things with my flexibility...I can't believe some of the stuff I'm doing right now at age 40...my coach has me doing things in a month of training that I never thought I'd be able to do again.

    He also wants me to lean out a bit...which kind of sucks because winter beer season and all...but oh well...sacrifices, sacrifices.

    Yeah, probably the fastest way to get flexibility is to get with a trainer. I'm too lazy though
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    PRMinx wrote: »
    dbmata wrote: »
    Some times they pull it on people they know just to be dinks.
    So they judge people and then harass them with it.

    Nice.

    Really? I think I'd crack up if I were friends with someone at the front desk and they pulled it on my as a joke.

    But then again I have a sense of humor. ;)

    So are you saying he doesn't because he doesn't like the idea of a loud siren going off on hi m in the middle of his workout?

    I have a great sense of humor. I work out a lot. I'm still self-conscious sometimes. If someone set a siren off on me I would be mortified to tears.
    Girl, I love a good joke.

    Tell you what though... if one of goddessofawesome's friends lunk alarmed me for lulz, and I dropped the weight or anything because of it.

    Well, I'm ghetto, and I like hitting people. It wouldn't end well for any party involved.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    dbmata wrote: »
    Some times they pull it on people they know just to be dinks.
    So they judge people and then harass them with it.

    Nice.

    I'm at the Y so it's more a family thing. But our weight room is decently equipped. When I do the 85lb dumbells on the bench, there is no good/safe way to put them down gently. I put them to my chest then drop them to the floor. Makes a thud but there's no other way. I've seen kids with 30lb dumbells on the incline bench actually just drop them like a rapper dropping his mic after his set. I mean there's no reason for that. He easily handles the weight and it's not heavy for him. Unnecessary

    I'm going to do that with a power clean/ hi-pull. Just drop it and walk out. lol.

    I work out at the Y too. I can chalk up. I don't get disapproving looks when I might grunt a little with a 4 plate deadlift. They're not asshats. I'm amazed at the quality of the Ys in the state.
  • JeffseekingV
    JeffseekingV Posts: 3,165 Member
    Our Y allows chalk but we don't push it. If it gets on the floor or plates, I/we try to clean it up. We don't to get chalk banned. Most of the Ys in the greater seattle area brand new or have been updated. Really nice facilities.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    PRMinx wrote: »
    PRMinx wrote: »
    As long as the PF had basic equipment, you could do most of the CF stuff. Just have to be quiet about putting the weights down. I can't just drop the weight after a powerclean but fortunately I can only powerclean about 185. So that's still something I can handle putting down fairly gently

    You can lift, yes, but just can't do it with any kind of intensity. And your stuck with straight lifting or cardio machines. No box jumps, kettlebells, wall balls, etc. Is there even space for burpees? So, no, you can't do the vast majority of CrossFit stuff at a PF gym. Which is fine, but it's no where near the setup available at a CF gym.

    Probably not exactly like CF ie... like to done one of the WOD but not bad?
    GymPics2%20070_full.jpeg

    Not terrible space wise. I wonder if they would lunk you if you did burpees in between sets or something. Like a WOD after a lifting session.

    I don't really intend to try to Crossfit at PF. I just want to build strength and muscle. I am ok working at 75%, 85% of max- I don't know if I'll ever go back to CF or not, but I just want weights and to lift them, not try to fake CF outside of the box

    If you want to do Oly-lifts at all, forget about it. Some PF's will allow dead lifting, but most do not. The PF I went to a couple of years ago had a squat rack, but it was only good to like 500 Lbs....

    I have nothing against PF...it has it's place...and it would be worth checking out since it's cheap and will be close to you...but really, it's a decent place to get in some very general fitness...it is not a place to do proper strength/power/Oly type programs....it's just not set up for that.

  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    Our Y allows chalk but we don't push it. If it gets on the floor or plates, I/we try to clean it up. We don't to get chalk banned. Most of the Ys in the greater seattle area brand new or have been updated. Really nice facilities.
    When I lived in Ma, you'd look at the Ys and you could smell where people died.

    The ones here are so completely different. There's even a huge one in Idaho...the Ray Kroc Y... apparently he gave them a huge amount of money.
  • JeffseekingV
    JeffseekingV Posts: 3,165 Member
    Where is "here"?
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    WA and northern ID.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    edited November 2014
    dbmata wrote: »
    PRMinx wrote: »
    dbmata wrote: »
    Some times they pull it on people they know just to be dinks.
    So they judge people and then harass them with it.

    Nice.

    Really? I think I'd crack up if I were friends with someone at the front desk and they pulled it on my as a joke.

    But then again I have a sense of humor. ;)

    So are you saying he doesn't because he doesn't like the idea of a loud siren going off on hi m in the middle of his workout?

    I have a great sense of humor. I work out a lot. I'm still self-conscious sometimes. If someone set a siren off on me I would be mortified to tears.
    Girl, I love a good joke.

    Tell you what though... if one of goddessofawesome's friends lunk alarmed me for lulz, and I dropped the weight or anything because of it.

    Well, I'm ghetto, and I like hitting people. It wouldn't end well for any party involved.

    hptxp7c3ogl2.gif

    This could be interesting.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    dbmata wrote: »
    dbmata wrote: »
    Some times they pull it on people they know just to be dinks.
    So they judge people and then harass them with it.

    Nice.

    I'm at the Y so it's more a family thing. But our weight room is decently equipped. When I do the 85lb dumbells on the bench, there is no good/safe way to put them down gently. I put them to my chest then drop them to the floor. Makes a thud but there's no other way. I've seen kids with 30lb dumbells on the incline bench actually just drop them like a rapper dropping his mic after his set. I mean there's no reason for that. He easily handles the weight and it's not heavy for him. Unnecessary

    I'm going to do that with a power clean/ hi-pull. Just drop it and walk out. lol.

    I work out at the Y too. I can chalk up. I don't get disapproving looks when I might grunt a little with a 4 plate deadlift. They're not asshats. I'm amazed at the quality of the Ys in the state.

    The Y near me has an amazing Olympic Lifting area and a ton of cages and benches for powerlifting. I love that place but it's a little further than I want to travel but every now and then I go there for some OL fun.
  • giggitygoo
    giggitygoo Posts: 1,978 Member
    hmrambling wrote: »
    Due to financial reasons, I've recently had to quit Crossfit, which was my preferred fitness method.
    Luckily, my office has a gym on site that I can (and do!) use every day. However, it is very small and only has cardio machines and dumbbells, meaning I really can't lift heavy as I would like to, and has just taken a lot of the joy of training from me.
    There is a Planet Fitness opening on my block! But of course, I've heard HORROR stories galore! Is it as bad as they say? Has anyone had a positive experience with them? I am not a beginner who is going to sit on the hip abduction machine with a slice of pizza, but I am concerned that they are going to give me a hard time about heavy lifts and things like that.

    If you are planning to lift heavy, then Planet Fitness might not be the best bet. They have dumb bells and machines. Period. Dead lifts are banned. You will not find an Olympic barbell or squat rack there. They have preset barbells. When I started lifting I had to go elsewhere.

    no-dl-sign.jpg



    If anything it's a solid way to get out of your contract. :sunglasses:

  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    Seriously.

    From what I've read, it takes an act of congress to get out of the contracts from PF. All you gotta do is pull your way to freedom.

    brave_4.jpg
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    dbmata wrote: »
    Seriously.

    From what I've read, it takes an act of congress to get out of the contracts from PF. All you gotta do is pull your way to freedom.

    brave_4.jpg

    the $10 a month deal with PF is a NO contract deal. It's ok that PF is not for you but dont make up stuff to bolster your argument.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    Dave198lbs wrote: »
    dbmata wrote: »
    Seriously.

    From what I've read, it takes an act of congress to get out of the contracts from PF. All you gotta do is pull your way to freedom.

    brave_4.jpg

    the $10 a month deal with PF is a NO contract deal. It's ok that PF is not for you but dont make up stuff to bolster your argument.

    No one is making stuff up, go lift at PF, no one cares. It's like Curves with training wheels.

    Purple is a stupid color too.
    1375412089525255848.jpg


  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    and what's even worse... the absolute worst part.

    Nothing to look at there.
    Nothing.
    Not.
    A.
    ThInG.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    edited November 2014
    I joined because it was close to my house. If there had been a Y or (please, God) a Lifetime Fitness nearby, I'd have gone there.

    PF is a hellhole with few staff and the ones they have don't seem to have any interest in actually helping anyone.

    And it smells odd.

    The alarm has gone off twice when I've been there. Once for something in the weight room (no clue what.). Another time because a guy was running on the treadmill and I guess he was pounding too hard or something with his feet. I could see the guy (who was genuinely surprised he'd caused a problem!) from where I was and hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary, but had the iPod thingies in my ears and couldn't hear.

    It's kind of hard to run fast on a treadmill and be quiet as a mouse, IMO.

    Everyone wears sleeveless shirts in the summer here (it's hot as hell in the summer), so if they tried to enforce that rule, nobody would go. They're very picky about shorts and pants, though, and wouldn't let me in once because my cotton shorts had pockets and they said they looked too much like denim.

    When my contract is up, I'm done. I can buy a treadmill for the summers.
  • ereck44
    ereck44 Posts: 1,170 Member
    Yeah, I have never even walked into a PF but have experience changing gyms and looking at gyms. One, it should be close to your work or your home. If it is far away or in an inconvenient location, you probably won't go there and even it it is only $10 per month, waste of money. Two, if you feed off of the energy of other people, and the folks there don't appear to be serious, I.E. on their phones or loitering around equipment that you can't get to, then you might be frustrated and not want to go there. Three, would you need different equipment than what is offered there, i.e., heavy weights, cables, benches, and how easy is it to access this equipment. Is a clean facility? How stable is the corporation? I have been a member of a gym and the doors of it closed the next day--a big sign on the door, stating "out of business" (thanks, Cardinal Fitness). Most gyms offer a free trial where you can try the gym for a week or two. Does Planet Fitness? I am not sure. I am a member of LA fitness--there are about 5 or 6 in the city, and I can go to any one and work out--they honor my membership. I love the flexibility of it and it serves my needs.
    Regarding PF, I have a problem with them having pizza there--a place that is promoting health and wellness. I once walked out on a gym where the person behind the cash register seemed disinterested and was smoking a cigarette I didn't even utilize the trial.
  • MsHarryWinston
    MsHarryWinston Posts: 1,027 Member
    I'm really torn on the whole PF thing, but I've never been to one. I hate their commercials. I hate the lunk alarm thing. But $10 is awesome.
    I hear that they don't like people to lift heavy but what's considered heavy to everyone?
    When my dad is in the States (we live in Canada) he goes to the gym down the way from my Gramps' house. And my dad presses 190lb. So that seems pretty heavy to me. And he's never said that they don't have what he needs to lift heavier than that there, all I know is that he currently presses 190lb and that he's able to do it at this Planet Fitness location.

    * Also can I just say that my dad is pressing 190 POST heart attack! Yeah, just throwin that out there cause I think that's pretty awesome.
  • cincysweetheart
    cincysweetheart Posts: 892 Member
    The equipment and atmosphere (and what they will allow) at Planet Fitness will vary from location to location and based on local management/staff. I love the one I'm at. They have kettle bells, box jumps, battle ropes, TRX, etc. And yes, there is space to do burpees… I've seen plenty of people do them! I'm still a newbie at weights, so I don't even know the terms for what all they have. I know it's more than just cable weights though!

    OP: if that is your options… try out a $10- no contract membership. If you hate it or it doesn't work for you… you're not out much. But you may find out it will work just fine for you.
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