Planet Fitness?

alexistexas33

Well, I went to the docs and didn't like the number on the scale.

I went up to the rec center today for the first time and began walking. Everyone says to not over do it but I walked at a pace of 3.0 for 40 minutes and could have kept going.

There is a planet fitness by my house and I was thinking of doing that 10$ a month thing, that means that after work or on days I am off I could go up there and walk and get on with my day.

Anyone have success with planet fitness or success with walking in general?

obscuremusicreference

For weight loss, it is all about the calories. It is much easier to shave calories in the kitchen than it is to burn them off in the gym. Don't let me put you off joining--you need exercise for fitness, and because it gives you more of a deficit.

Don't listen to "everybody" telling you not to overdo it if you are a generally healthy 21-year-old who is capable of walking for 40 minutes or more.

AllanMisner

If all you’re going to do is walk, why pay $10 a month?

And I agree with obscure, fat loss comes from managing what you eat, not exercise.

carolbrunett

I am using sworkit an app that works with mfp it has easy or hard exercises and you can do 5-60 min. It calculates calories burned and synchs to mfp best two dollars I spent in a long te

rejectuf

If you just want to do cardio, I really would reconsider a gym membership.

If you want to eventually do some strength training (which you really should!) you'll find planet fitness is... often inadequate for good, effective strength work.

It's better than nothing, but there are better options that will give you more room to grow.

dafad123

I jioned planet fitness and i enjoy it.i can do treadmill or eliptical or weights.its good choice for only 10 dollars

llUndecidedll

I only joined the gym to do cardio. When talking specifically about walking for cardio, I feel like it's better to do it on a treadmill than do it outside because you can boost up the incline and burn way more calories than you would walking outside. Boosting that incline up to 9% or 10% for 30 minutes will burn way more calories than walking outside.... unless you have a decent hill nearby that will take you about 30 minutes to walk up.


I have lost 75 lbs from mostly doing inclined walking and keeping up with my calorie intake. I just made sure my net calories were where they needed to be by counting calories eaten and burning calories through walking.

starz272

I have a planet fitness membership and I mainly use it for the treadmill/elliptical. What is great is that you can definitely change the incline of the machine to make it harder/strengthen the leg muscles. As someone else mentioned, food is large portion of weight loss. However, I find that when I do some form of exercise, I get the boost of endorphins that make me feel better about myself which makes me want to eat better as well. Good luck!!

jsecret

PF is not as bad as people make it out to be. I've dropped 30+ lbs at my gym. There is plenty of cardio equipment if that's what you're interested in. And for light weight lifting there is plenty to do. At $10 a month if it gets you motivated then why not!

kbare85

I go to PF as well and I love it. I mainly use the elliptical and arc trainer for my cardio. Also the circuit training area is pretty good.

willywonka

there are many that do not like PF, I LOVE it. It has everything that I need, for only 10 bucks a month. xoxox

Sabine_Stroehm

Good for you for wanting to be healthier. PF has treadmills etc. if you want to use them to walk to improve your health more power to you. You may find you "outgrow" PF. If you can do the $10 plan without committing, do that. You never know.

enterdanger

I too have a planet fatness membership. I've lost 36lbs over the past year and I do the arc trainer, the treadmill, and the circuit at PF. Unless you want to get into heavy lifting, PF will suffice. Just stay away on the pizza, bagel, cupcake day.

Plus, I would pay the $10 a month solely for the people watching I do there. You see some *kitten* at PlanetFatness.

path2abetterme

I'm a member at my local YMCA and I love it - they offer a variety of classes, strength training equipment and many opportunities to form social relationships with other members and the Y's staff. I say "go for it"!

csch79

I think Planet Fitness is great for what it is. For $10 per month I get 24 hour access during the week and decent hours during the weekend. I was a member at Gold's for a long time and I do like Gold's better but it was hard to get there with my schedule. I miss having spin classes but I definitely get my $10 worth per month.

dbmata

PF is a great place.

silentKayak

For $10/mo you can't go wrong. What's the worst that can happen?

You could try walking outside first if you enjoy it, but I personally prefer to do cardio at the gym. I pay $50/mo at my community center gym, so PF sounds like a bargain to me.

Definitely go a few times and see if you like it before you sign a contract. The most important thing about a gym is "getting there". I've quit gyms before for reasons like "no parking" and "loud obnoxious music I hate" and just simply "too far away".

None of those seems like a big deal, but they were enough to keep me from going regularly. The one I'm at now really suits me: it's quiet, clean, not too crowded most of the time, and (most importantly) it's between home and work, like I literally have to pass it to get home. You should look forward to going, not feel like it's a chore.

mccindy72

Sabine_Stroehm

mccindy72 wrote: »

Which relates to the OP's wish to walk on a treadmill, how?

PRMinx

dbmata wrote: »

PF is a great place.

LOL that this got flagged. Just, LOL.

auddii

zarckon wrote: »

For $10/mo you can't go wrong. What's the worst that can happen?

You could try walking outside first if you enjoy it, but I personally prefer to do cardio at the gym. I pay $50/mo at my community center gym, so PF sounds like a bargain to me.

Definitely go a few times and see if you like it before you sign a contract. The most important thing about a gym is "getting there". I've quit gyms before for reasons like "no parking" and "loud obnoxious music I hate" and just simply "too far away".

None of those seems like a big deal, but they were enough to keep me from going regularly. The one I'm at now really suits me: it's quiet, clean, not too crowded most of the time, and (most importantly) it's between home and work, like I literally have to pass it to get home. You should look forward to going, not feel like it's a chore.

Agreed. PF wouldn't work for my goals because I lift a lot of weights. But for cardio, it's a super cheap gym, and my guess is they would have all the equipment you need, so I agree with the above. Ask to take a tour and see if you can have a trial first if they're going to make you sign a contract (month to month would be best, but I know a lot of gyms don't offer that).

DawnEmbers

It can be a good deal (minus start up fee and yearly membership maintenance that was listed on the paperwork I got from touring the one here). And I think it's great people are using any gym to work towards their goals. I saw people doing cardio there and that was the best part of the tour. Plus, bouncing a medicine ball off a mini trampoline does sound kinda fun.

However, I do think maybe they should reconsider the spiel/approach just a little. Maybe discuss the no judgement at the start and later on, when showing the dumbbells (and yes, you can show the little girl dumbbells, it's okay) mention that the location isn't geared towards heavy lifting or body building. Saying No Judgement and no body builders or heavy weight lifting in almost the same sentence, that doesn't work with how it's being worded. Need a rolled up newspaper to tap someone with over that cause it makes the first claim false.

But according to the commercials and what not, I guess quiet, obese little me is a lunk. *shrugs* I considered the gym for cardio as I'm slowly losing weight and hoping to jog a 5k in summer but the start up fee is too much anyways and I'm enjoying lifting and fitness classes at the other big gym that has everyone from college kids to senior citizens. To each their own.

JayRuby84

Planet Fitness is an okay gym with options. If you don't have kids it is very convenient. I used that gym for a good two years before signing up with a bigger gym for more options and daycare. When the weather is crummy I prefer to lift weights and cardio indoors. Best wishes with your new workout regime.

SnuggleSmacks

There's nothing at all wrong with going to Planet Fitness to start out, especially if it's cold in your area. Just make sure that

A. you're not going to miss that $10 a month.
B. it's close enough that it's not an inconvenience to go. That inconvenience could eventually be fuel for an excuse, and then you're just wasting the $10 a month.
C. you mainly want to do cardio and perhaps move into some light dumbbell work, as that's what is available at PF. They do have weight machines as well, and those are fine to an extent, but you will not ever get the same workout using those machines. You'll be missing all the stabilizer and core muscles, so free weights are just a better option.

If you ever decide to do a serious lifting program, you will definitely want to switch gyms, but $10 a month to do your cardio in comfort is not a bad price to pay. I'm considering renewing mine just til spring.

drdwngfan

I just started going back to the gym so I joined a new PF near my house, since then I have often hit a couple other PF in my area and have had a great time at all of them. I do cardio for 30-45 min then switch over to some weight machines for 30 min and finish off with a water massage before heading home. Certain times it can be crowded but other times it is dead empty. Well worth the 20 bucks a month I spend. Dropped 19 lbs so far too. Love MFP, C25K and PF.

FenTiger89

I second my friend drdwngfan's comment.

PF opened a facility in my town last summer. It's about an eight minute drive (five if I catch the lights just right) from my house. I have consistently gone 4-5 times per week since July and lost 20+ pounds in the process. Like any gym/fitness facility, you get out of it what you put into it. I'm not training for the Olympics or to run marathons. It's clean, it's convenient, there's a great assortment of cardio & weight machines as well as a circuit training area. And my membership for three people is less than half what I spent for family membership at the Y.

coreyreichle

I like PF. Was a member a few years back, and got another one this past December.

I guess the "No deadlifts" thing is gym specific, because the two "home" locations I've had memberships at, there was no problem doing deadlifts, and I've seen people doing them.

Dumb bells at my current location go up to 80lbs. Free weights are plentiful, and I believe I've seen some bars racked up to 300lbs.

The cardio machines out-number the weight equipment by 2:1. PF is definitely a gym that leans towards cardio.

Is it worth it if you're just walking? I'd say yes, at $10/month. Having a membership allows you to still walk/run/cycle even if the weather is crappy out (Like here in Western NY in December). And, being big into cycling (I love cycling), and since it's my primary exercise, I tend to put on lots o'weight during the cold months.

A PF membership gets you 24 hour a day access to the gym, so it's easy to fit into your schedule.

However, apparently, people really into strength training feel it's inadequate after getting past the "beginner stage", so a PF membership might be worthwhile until you grow out of it, or just pick a gym better suited to strength training from the get go so you get used to it. If you're really into running/walking/cycling, any gym membership is great, but PF is probably the better choice (Unless you can locate a closer gym, or one costing the same).

cheshirecatastrophe

Question: Does PF have or enforce time limits on the cardio machines?

I have free gym access through work, but for the next two months (of bad weather) I need someplace that is not going to yell at me for hogging a treadmill for 2-3 hrs.

snowflake930

llUndecidedll wrote: »

I only joined the gym to do cardio. When talking specifically about walking for cardio, I feel like it's better to do it on a treadmill than do it outside because you can boost up the incline and burn way more calories than you would walking outside. Boosting that incline up to 9% or 10% for 30 minutes will burn way more calories than walking outside.... unless you have a decent hill nearby that will take you about 30 minutes to walk up.


I have lost 75 lbs from mostly doing inclined walking and keeping up with my calorie intake. I just made sure my net calories were where they needed to be by counting calories eaten and burning calories through walking.

I lost 90 pounds before I even began to walk more, no exercise at all, just eating at a calorie deficit. (I have bad knees, getting off some of the excess weight made walking more of an option). I live in the country on 10 acres, most of which is steep, rolling hills. As I got more conditioned to walking, I began walking the trails through our woods. An hour walk gives me 3.5 miles and the equivalent of 33-35 staircases on my fit bit. I take my walks mostly on weekends during the winter, as it is dark when I leave for work and dark when I get home. I live in Minnesota, so there is snow to contend with in the winter, but DH keeps the trails open for me to walk by driving the four wheeler on the trails. I used the gym at work M-F until about a week ago when I joined a gym.

I have to say that losing the weight for me, was definitely eating less calories than I burned, but I have to admit, that since I have been exercising, I feel much better.

kbare85

cheshirecatastrophe wrote: »

Question: Does PF have or enforce time limits on the cardio machines?

I have free gym access through work, but for the next two months (of bad weather) I need someplace that is not going to yell at me for hogging a treadmill for 2-3 hrs.

I've never seen a time limit enforced at my PF. Even during the peak times, there is rarely a wait to use any of the cardio equipment. Not sure about other PF locations though.

colingilbert13

I wouldn't work out at planet fitness even if they payed me to. Just my .02