Planet Fitness

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  • cnbbnc
    cnbbnc Posts: 1,267 Member
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    spartan_d wrote: »
    The problem isn't pizza per se. Rather, the problem is providing temptation in an environment where healthy eating should be encouraged.

    Some people don't grasp this distinction. "What's wrong with pizza just once a month?" they say. That would be fine... but do you honestly think that this is the only time its patrons indulge in pizza? Your typical American doesn't need any encouragement to eat unhealthily, so why should a gym promote these kinds of dietary habits?

    Consider this... a little bit of sugar now and then is okay, right? If a dentist were to hand out sugar cubes though, it would send a completely wrong message to his or her patients.

    As a dental hygienist, I love the analogy.
  • jmule24
    jmule24 Posts: 1,404 Member
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    6b6bf7737a5345d9b147b9d733565bf6.jpg
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Was I the only one who got lollipops from the dentist as a kid? Also, my friend who is a pediatric dentist gives out candy for halloween; when asked about it, he says it's generating business... :laugh:

    And OP, ignore all the arguing going on. If nothing else, it's cheap give it a try, and use it to learn. If you outgrow the weights or it becomes "not enough" gym/equipment for you, you can always move on to a different gym at that point. And you'll save some money in the meantime.
  • cnbbnc
    cnbbnc Posts: 1,267 Member
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    spartan_d wrote: »
    cnbbnc wrote: »
    And one more thing. What's with bashing the pizza night? Doesn't everyone on mfp talk of how one can eat what they want as long as they stay within their calories?

    No one here ever eats a piece of pizza?
    The problem isn't pizza per se. Rather, the problem is providing temptation in an environment where healthy eating should be encouraged.

    Some people don't grasp this distinction. "What's wrong with pizza just once a month?" they say. That would be fine... but do you honestly think that this is the only time its patrons indulge in pizza? Your typical American doesn't need any encouragement to eat unhealthily, so why should a gym promote these kinds of dietary habits?

    Heck, if you look at their website and promotional materials, they don't even encourage moderate consumption. It's just "Free pizza! Come have some!" Not a good message for people who need to get fit.

    Consider this... a little bit of sugar now and then is okay, right? If a dentist were to hand out sugar cubes though, it would send a completely wrong message to his or her patients. The same thing is true of a gym wherein all of the freebies are fattening foods -- pizza, sugary candies, donuts, bagels, and cupcakes, depending on one's location.

    My post disappeared...

    What I was going to say is, you'll agree with me that ultimately healthy living is on each and every one of us individually. If someone eats an entire pizza in the gym, that's on them. A huge part of this journey is learning self control. Moderation.

    As far as sugar and the dentist, I tell everyone....you can have it (most will anyway) but you don't do it all day every day and you get if off your teeth when you're done. If they heed my advice that's great. If not, they're making choices.

    I don't think the gym needs to resort to....no one gets pizza because they'll end up bingeing. It's up to the clientele to know when to stop.
  • Char231023
    Char231023 Posts: 702 Member
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    My problem with PF is that they demonize any gym that caters to the bodybuilding demographic. Grunting, tank top and gallon water jugs don't make you a "lunk". I get that some people are intimidated by fit people at the gym. I can't agree with a place that that promotes that kind stereotype. I see women in yoga pants and tank tops at the grocery store, should I be intimated, and not go grocery shopping. Their Idea of a judgement free zone is a joke. With the mere fact that they are judging anybody who is fit and lifts heavy.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
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    jmule24 wrote: »
    6b6bf7737a5345d9b147b9d733565bf6.jpg

    This was my one experience with them and the only one I plan to ever have (even if other locations are different).
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    annaskiski wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »

    what specifically do they lie about?

    They don't offer nutritional advice, and I don't believe any gym should offer nutritional advice unless they are actual nutritionists.

    The biggest lie that I hear on these threads is that people who go to PF are out of shape, and discouraged from being in shape.

    That's total bu*&##t! My PF has a lot of in-shape people, and yes, people trying to get there.
    PF is basically a no-frills gym. (It's $10 a month) There are no classes.
    You get what you put into it, and a lot of people get in great shape going there. (me included).

    RE: pizza. I've never seen the pizza/bagels there. They serve it one night a week?/month? for a few hours.
    Seriously, if the possibility sabotages your weight loss efforts, you have bigger problems. Go to another gym, but don't trash a $10/month gym that suits many people just fine.

    I believe the article is pointing out that if they are going to offer free pizza, bagels, and candy that they should at least post the nutritional information contained in said foods, so that people realize how many extra calories they are consuming. Other gyms don't post nutritional information because they don't give out free pizza, bagels, etc.

    So you're saying that a gym who serves smoothies on the premise of their being healthy doesn't have to actually show how many calories are in them because the people who drink those are some how smarter than those who eat pizza? They magically know that there's additional calories in the drinks?

    I didn't write that article, so I am not saying anything. You are fee to email the author of the article and ask that question.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    newmeadow wrote: »
    I like the 24 hour thing the best. Not having to wait to use most of the equipment is good too. There are lots of free weights too with plenty of muscle heads using them, so I don't know what the flame wars about PF not having this is all about. Staff is friendly. Changing rooms with hair dryers, curtained changing areas and very very clean. Everyone minds their own business. I've never seen any eyerolls or heard any snarky comments. All types, all ages go there.

    I don't care for all the TV sets, but that would be the same at a lot of gyms.

    The price is right, that's for sure. It's definitely worth trying out.

    and how is the bolded part any different from a non PF gym????
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    jmule24 wrote: »
    6b6bf7737a5345d9b147b9d733565bf6.jpg

    so basically hit the treadmill and work those five pound dumbbells to death ….
  • Diana_GettingFit
    Diana_GettingFit Posts: 458 Member
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    annaskiski wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »

    what specifically do they lie about?

    They don't offer nutritional advice, and I don't believe any gym should offer nutritional advice unless they are actual nutritionists.

    The biggest lie that I hear on these threads is that people who go to PF are out of shape, and discouraged from being in shape.

    That's total bu*&##t! My PF has a lot of in-shape people, and yes, people trying to get there.
    PF is basically a no-frills gym. (It's $10 a month) There are no classes.
    You get what you put into it, and a lot of people get in great shape going there. (me included).

    RE: pizza. I've never seen the pizza/bagels there. They serve it one night a week?/month? for a few hours.
    Seriously, if the possibility sabotages your weight loss efforts, you have bigger problems. Go to another gym, but don't trash a $10/month gym that suits many people just fine.

    This.

    My local PF has a free weights area, it also has an area for stretching. I don't know how heavy the heaviest weights are but they look heavy enough. It has a squat rack. I've heard people grunting from effort of lifting weights so they must be pretty heavy. I've also seen a lot of very fit people there of all ages. I've never heard the "lunk alarm" go off. They have pizza and bagels but I've never been there at those times and it's not like anybody is going to force you to eat them. I guess all this varies from location to location but the people who work at my PF seem pretty relaxed about the crazier rules. You can't beat the price they charge. I can't speak for every PF location but the one I go to is pretty good.

    is it a smith machine or an actual squat rack???

    It's an actual squat rack. It's all fully adjustable. I haven't used it yet but I've watched people use it. That area is always the busiest.

  • spartan_d
    spartan_d Posts: 727 Member
    edited September 2015
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    jemhh wrote: »
    spartan_d wrote: »
    cnbbnc wrote: »
    And one more thing. What's with bashing the pizza night? Doesn't everyone on mfp talk of how one can eat what they want as long as they stay within their calories?

    No one here ever eats a piece of pizza?
    The problem isn't pizza per se. Rather, the problem is providing temptation in an environment where healthy eating should be encouraged.

    Some people don't grasp this distinction. "What's wrong with pizza just once a month?" they say. That would be fine... but do you honestly think that this is the only time its patrons indulge in pizza? Your typical American doesn't need any encouragement to eat unhealthily, so why should a gym promote these kinds of dietary habits?

    Heck, if you look at their website and promotional materials, they don't even encourage moderate consumption. It's just "Free pizza! Come have some!" Not a good message for people who need to get fit.

    Consider this... a little bit of sugar now and then is okay, right? If a dentist were to hand out sugar cubes though, it would send a completely wrong message to his or her patients. The same thing is true of a gym wherein all of the freebies are fattening foods -- pizza, sugary candies, donuts, bagels, and cupcakes, depending on one's location.

    What's so unhealthy about pizza that eating it needs to be referred to as "these kinds of dietary habits"? It's bread, tomato sauce, dairy, and probably meat and/or veggies, not crack cocaine.
    Seriously? Pizza tends to be VERY fattening. This is largely due to the refined carbs and the cheese, which you omitted from your list of ingredients. As this article says, "pizza is indeed one of the most fattening foods created in the planet."

    You are correct in saying that it's not as bad as crack cocaine. Frankly though, that's damning with faint praise.

    When consumed in moderation, that's okay. The problem is that your typical American doesn't consume fattening foods in moderation. That's why it's foolish to defend this practice by saying "Pizza just once a month isn't bad!" Do we honestly think that your typical American would only consume pizza when it's offered at the gym?
  • spartan_d
    spartan_d Posts: 727 Member
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    newmeadow wrote: »
    I like the 24 hour thing the best. Not having to wait to use most of the equipment is good too. There are lots of free weights too with plenty of muscle heads using them, so I don't know what the flame wars about PF not having this is all about. Staff is friendly. Changing rooms with hair dryers, curtained changing areas and very very clean. Everyone minds their own business. I've never seen any eyerolls or heard any snarky comments. All types, all ages go there.

    I don't care for all the TV sets, but that would be the same at a lot of gyms.

    The price is right, that's for sure. It's definitely worth trying out.

    and how is the bolded part any different from a non PF gym????

    It isn't. Planet Fitness wants people to believe that other gyms are filled with horrible miscreants who will sneer at the average Joe. The reality is that most gyms are filled with average people who want to be less average.

    That's why I disagree with the sentiment that "As long as they have the equipment you need, that's all that matters." If a gym feeds misinformation to its clientele, that matters as well.
  • MsJulesRenee
    MsJulesRenee Posts: 1,180 Member
    edited September 2015
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    jmule24 wrote: »
    6b6bf7737a5345d9b147b9d733565bf6.jpg

    I've never seen these signs at my PF.


    Nor do they have a pizza night that I have seen. Never had the lunk alarm go off when I've been there. People mind their own business, I don't have random guys hitting on me or staring at me. No one is throwing weights around and grunting. There are tons of people who break the dress code, no one is chasing after them and kicking them out.

    I go there because it's close to my house and only $10/mon. Plus, it's super clean, there are always employees in the locker room cleaning the showers and bathrooms, cleaning the machines late at night after the rush. I've have a membership to really nice gym and then PF- there's no difference except the price.
  • richln
    richln Posts: 809 Member
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    cnbbnc wrote: »
    And one more thing. What's with bashing the pizza night? Doesn't everyone on mfp talk of how one can eat what they want as long as they stay within their calories?

    No one here ever eats a piece of pizza?

    If they were around when I was a young lad doing a bulk, I would have joined just to go and eat food there.
  • spartan_d
    spartan_d Posts: 727 Member
    edited September 2015
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    annaskiski wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »

    what specifically do they lie about?

    They don't offer nutritional advice, and I don't believe any gym should offer nutritional advice unless they are actual nutritionists.
    So people shouldn't even say "Eat five servings of fruits and veggies a day" unless they have a degree in nutrition? Methinks that's an unreasonably high requirement. So much for the notion that your average person can learn how to eat right!
    The biggest lie that I hear on these threads is that people who go to PF are out of shape, and discouraged from being in shape.

    That's total bu*&##t! My PF has a lot of in-shape people, and yes, people trying to get there.
    Of course you're going to have some people who are in fit, and you're going to have some who are sincerely trying. Are they typical of their clientele though? Not according to NPR's podcast on this topic, in which a PF employee admitted that the vast majority of their members never show up.

    The fact is that Planet Fitness policies actively hinder people from working out hard, Even PF's own CEO admits that their rules can hinder a person's fitness program. I daresay it's no accident that he himself works out in his basement rather than at Planet Fitness.
  • cnbbnc
    cnbbnc Posts: 1,267 Member
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    spartan_d wrote: »
    annaskiski wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »

    what specifically do they lie about?

    They don't offer nutritional advice, and I don't believe any gym should offer nutritional advice unless they are actual nutritionists.
    So people shouldn't even say "Eat five servings of fruits and veggies a day" unless they have a degree in nutrition? Methinks that's an unreasonably high requirement. So much for the notion that your average person can learn how to eat right!
    The biggest lie that I hear on these threads is that people who go to PF are out of shape, and discouraged from being in shape.

    That's total bu*&##t! My PF has a lot of in-shape people, and yes, people trying to get there.
    Of course you're going to have some people who are in fit, and you're going to have some who are sincerely trying. Are they typical of their clientele though? Not according to NPR's podcast on this topic, in which a PF employee admitted that the vast majority of their members never show up.

    The fact is that Planet Fitness policies actively hinder people from working out hard, Even PF's own CEO admits that their rules can hinder a person's fitness program. I daresay it's no accident that he himself works out in his basement rather than at Planet Fitness.

    It isn't up to them to be giving out dietary/nutritional advice. They aren't nutritionists or dietitians, nor are the doctors. You're trying to "cookie cutter" that for people straight across the board but you can't. What about people with specific dietary restrictions? People on certain meds who can not consume some foods? People who could have a potential illness that alters their diet? You expect the gym staff to sort all that? All they have to do once is advise someone to eat something specific, and if something happens....guess who it comes back to bite in the butt. The gym. It's liability.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    kami3006 wrote: »
    jmule24 wrote: »
    6b6bf7737a5345d9b147b9d733565bf6.jpg

    This was my one experience with them and the only one I plan to ever have (even if other locations are different).

    LOL!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    spartan_d wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    spartan_d wrote: »
    cnbbnc wrote: »
    And one more thing. What's with bashing the pizza night? Doesn't everyone on mfp talk of how one can eat what they want as long as they stay within their calories?

    No one here ever eats a piece of pizza?
    The problem isn't pizza per se. Rather, the problem is providing temptation in an environment where healthy eating should be encouraged.

    Some people don't grasp this distinction. "What's wrong with pizza just once a month?" they say. That would be fine... but do you honestly think that this is the only time its patrons indulge in pizza? Your typical American doesn't need any encouragement to eat unhealthily, so why should a gym promote these kinds of dietary habits?

    Heck, if you look at their website and promotional materials, they don't even encourage moderate consumption. It's just "Free pizza! Come have some!" Not a good message for people who need to get fit.

    Consider this... a little bit of sugar now and then is okay, right? If a dentist were to hand out sugar cubes though, it would send a completely wrong message to his or her patients. The same thing is true of a gym wherein all of the freebies are fattening foods -- pizza, sugary candies, donuts, bagels, and cupcakes, depending on one's location.

    What's so unhealthy about pizza that eating it needs to be referred to as "these kinds of dietary habits"? It's bread, tomato sauce, dairy, and probably meat and/or veggies, not crack cocaine.
    Seriously? Pizza tends to be VERY fattening. This is largely due to the refined carbs and the cheese, which you omitted from your list of ingredients. As this article says, "pizza is indeed one of the most fattening foods created in the planet."

    You are correct in saying that it's not as bad as crack cocaine. Frankly though, that's damning with faint praise.

    When consumed in moderation, that's okay. The problem is that your typical American doesn't consume fattening foods in moderation. That's why it's foolish to defend this practice by saying "Pizza just once a month isn't bad!" Do we honestly think that your typical American would only consume pizza when it's offered at the gym?

    there is nothing inherently wrong with pizza, it is carbs, fat, and proteins. If one has a diet of pizza that is 50% every day then yes, it is going to be hard to get other micronutrients and macros in, and stay within calorie goals. But lets not get all crazy here.

  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    cnbbnc wrote: »
    And one more thing. What's with bashing the pizza night? Doesn't everyone on mfp talk of how one can eat what they want as long as they stay within their calories?

    No one here ever eats a piece of pizza?

    I don't see any issue with saying pizza is fine in moderation, but should not be offered at a gym where people are just starting off on their lifestyle change and probably have not learned to properly moderate their intake of calorie dense foods.

  • annaskiski
    annaskiski Posts: 1,212 Member
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    spartan_d wrote: »
    cnbbnc wrote: »
    And one more thing. What's with bashing the pizza night? Doesn't everyone on mfp talk of how one can eat what they want as long as they stay within their calories?

    No one here ever eats a piece of pizza?
    The problem isn't pizza per se. Rather, the problem is providing temptation in an environment where healthy eating should be encouraged.

    Some people don't grasp this distinction. "What's wrong with pizza just once a month?" they say. That would be fine... but do you honestly think that this is the only time its patrons indulge in pizza? Your typical American doesn't need any encouragement to eat unhealthily, so why should a gym promote these kinds of dietary habits?

    Heck, if you look at their website and promotional materials, they don't even encourage moderate consumption. It's just "Free pizza! Come have some!" Not a good message for people who need to get fit.

    Consider this... a little bit of sugar now and then is okay, right? If a dentist were to hand out sugar cubes though, it would send a completely wrong message to his or her patients. The same thing is true of a gym wherein all of the freebies are fattening foods -- pizza, sugary candies, donuts, bagels, and cupcakes, depending on one's location.

    Classifying pizza as "bad" food is a sign of an eating disorder.