Planet Fitness Is The Worst Gym In Existence

lachiespior

We have all had bad experiences with gyms and often the people in them, but i continually see Planet Fitness being constantly ridiculed for being extremely judge mental and not caring for their patrons!? I did some research and i found heaps of videos of them even kicking people out of their gym!? I found this article about why PlanetFitness Kills Gains idealtestosterone.com/planet-fitness-mistakes/ and i wanted to know if you guys agree with it? or have your own opinions on the gym? not sure whether to join or not!

nutmegoreo

I think it is probably location dependent and what your personal goals are. That being said, I workout primarily at home. No sharing the cage.

lachiespior

nutmegoreo wrote: »

I think it is probably location dependent and what your personal goals are. That being said, I workout primarily at home. No sharing the cage.

Thanks for your input! Do you workout at home purely to avoid the gym crowds?

CathyTwentyTwo

I was a member there for some time but decided I wanted more from a gym. And I got it - but it cost more. If you only want to spend $10 a month it is not going to be the Taj Mahal. The one I went to wasn't bad, and I got what I paid for.

nutmegoreo

Not purely, but it's certainly a bonus. I am more likely to do the workout when the equipment is staring me in the face. I have a heavy bag in my dining room, and my lifting cage and treadmill in the living room. I do go to the rec centre to swim. But when it's -30C outside, it's hard to talk myself into it. In other words, I'm pretty lazy.

Chef_Barbell

Not a fan of their advertising campaigns.

kgeyser

lachiespior wrote: »

We have all had bad experiences with gyms and often the people in them, but i continually see Planet Fitness being constantly ridiculed for being extremely judge mental and not caring for their patrons!? I did some research and i found heaps of videos of them even kicking people out of their gym!? I found this article about why PlanetFitness Kills Gains idealtestosterone.com/planet-fitness-mistakes/ and i wanted to know if you guys agree with it? or have your own opinions on the gym? not sure whether to join or not!

That article is geared toward people who want to do lifting with a focus on heavy lifting and Olympic-style movements. So yes, Planet Fitness is not going to provide the equipment they need to reach those goals (nor do they pretend that they do). That does not mean that it is not a good option for other people.

It seems to have a low membership cost and there seem to be a decent number of facilities, so if you are someone who would like the option of working out close to work and close to home, it would fit your needs. They have cardio equipment, some free weights, and machines. The majority of their clientele are going to be people who want to get in some exercise, but may not have specific fitness goals which would require a facility with certain equipment.

Apparently, offering pizza to their members once a month is a thing. There is nothing wrong with eating pizza once a month (or any other time), and no one is making you eat the pizza, so it's kind of a ridiculous thing to consider as a negative.

Given the price and availability, it's not a bad place to start if you are looking to get back into exercise and the equipment and schedule meet your needs. How long it meet your needs is going to depend entirely on your goals.

lemurcat12

Chef_Barbell wrote: »

Not a fan of their advertising campaigns.

Same.

Adc7225

Not a Planet Fitness member but I do have a free pass in my purse I have thought about changing but their hours don't work for me at my local locations. I have been a member of 24 Hour Fitness and for the most part I can agree that different locations have different personalities - I rotate 4 locations. If you can get in a workout without being irritated by the other patrons, then I would consider that a good gym.

My general irritants are hearing people talking and/or smelling them (good or bad)

jemhh

I have no strong feelings about PF. I find their advertising less offensive than those disgusting teratoma-like rats that Quiznos used in its commercials several years ago.

leanjogreen18

I will say I went because of their "no judgement" policy. I was obese and had a real fear of what people would think of me at the gym. A couple of my super fit friends have a general disdain for overweight folks having once been overweight themselves, for whatever reason they tend to overlook that I'm obese when they make comments in front of me. I can't understand fully but I think it has more to do with their former self.

Anyhoo, I was doing the c25k at Planet Fitness and I injured myself after 3 weeks. So I only went 3x's a week for 3 weeks. People seemed to just do their thing. I never heard the lunk/lump or whatever alarm go off.

I think it has it's place, maybe for those just starting out. idk

SideSteel

I think Planet Fitness very clearly filled a need and they do that successfully.

While I would never train there myself, I do have at least one client who trains there and it's a great fit for her.

I have zero issue with Planet Fitness even though it would be an awful fit for me.

MrsCoby78

PF member here. I like it fine. Plenty of equipment that suits my needs. Open 24 hours. Nobody bothers me.

dewd2

The biggest issue I have with PF is they do not accept credit cards. I do not want to be caught up in the mess if when they get hacked and my checking account gets drained.

WatchJoshLift

I have love for PF because it was the gym I joined when I started my journey. I lost 120 lbs while going to that gym. I left and joined Anytime Fitness because I wanted to deadlift.

jenilla1

Planet Fitness is the only 24 hour gym near me. At first I was a bit wary of joining, because I had heard so many people on MFP whining about how horrible it is. But it's not horrible at all - at least not mine. It's just a gym. It's clean, it's convenient, the staff leaves me alone, people are just doing their thing like any other gym I've been to. There are even a few people grunting over in the free weights. Nobody cares. I think the "lunk alarm" is just for show, because it never gets used. Not sure if it's even hooked up. Not sure what people are complaining about...

Gallowmere1984

It works fine for what it is: a wad of glorified hamster wheels marketed to those who accept mediocrity as acceptable. Unfortunately, given that they have spread like the plague, there are clearly a lot of people that fit that description.

richplank4

I've been a member of PF for 7 months and happen to love it. The staff is very friendly and greets me by name every day. If you're looking for extreme body building, this isn't your place! They also aren't marketing for that demographic.

jenilla1

Gallowmere1984 wrote: »

It works fine for what it is: a wad of glorified hamster wheels marketed to those who accept mediocrity as acceptable. Unfortunately, given that they have spread like the plague, there are clearly a lot of people that fit that description.

Mediocrity is sitting at home on the couch, like the average slob does. Going to the gym - any gym - and putting in effort is not mediocre. I do most of my running and cycling outdoors on trails, but the weather and my schedule don't always allow for it. Those glorified hamster wheels get the job done. I also use free weights and a few of the machines, because I'm not hardcore. I'm just "mediocre", and that's cool with me. What's there gets the job done for my purposes. I'm sure that if you are a hardcore weight trainer this may NOT be the ideal gym for you. It's OK that we don't all share the same high-level fitness goals, and this particular style of gym serves a basic need for a lot of people and it's super affordable. I would think people would love that there is a place like this. It keeps the plague of mediocrity was spilling over into your gym.

Cappy29

In my estimation, if you want to build muscle Planet Fitness isn't the place to do it. To do that you must lift heavy, which means grunting and dropping weights. I'm not talking about becoming a body builder I'm talking about increasing mass. I avoid that gym because of that. After reading your linked piece, it seems to me PF wants people to join and not come. You know pay for a year without going. The owner of the gym I lift at calls it, "making a donation to the cause." There are other, better gyms. Good luck.

SideSteel

Cappy29 wrote: »

In my estimation, if you want to build muscle Planet Fitness isn't the place to do it. To do that you must lift heavy, which means grunting and dropping weights. I'm not talking about becoming a body builder I'm talking about increasing mass. I avoid that gym because of that. After reading your linked piece, it seems to me PF wants people to join and not come. You know pay for a year without going. The owner of the gym I lift at calls it, "making a donation to the cause." There are other, better gyms. Good luck.

progressive tension overload with adequate volume are the things necessary to signal adaptations responsible for hypertrophy.

Dropping weights and grunting aren't necessary components of that.

SideSteel

Gallowmere1984 wrote: »

It works fine for what it is: a wad of glorified hamster wheels marketed to those who accept mediocrity as acceptable. Unfortunately, given that they have spread like the plague, there are clearly a lot of people that fit that description.

like I said I have clients who train there and they work hard and make progress.


So in that regard I disagree entirely.

SideSteel

In fact I GUARANTEE you I could design a program using only planet fitness equipment and cause hypertrophy in the majority of people.

The limitations would be there on things like powerlifting performance but the notion that you can't build a nice physique using that environment is pretty hilarious.

genpopadopolous

Gallowmere1984 wrote: »

It works fine for what it is: a wad of glorified hamster wheels marketed to those who accept mediocrity as acceptable. Unfortunately, given that they have spread like the plague, there are clearly a lot of people that fit that description.

Not everyone can be exceptional, because it would then cease to be the exception. Not a damn thing wrong with being average, especially not if you are trying.

My goals are not to be the best anything in fitness. Its there to aide my weightloss and show my kids a healthy example about choices and hard work- but my real goals in life have nothing to do with my body.

I would think condescension and disdain towards others to be a much bigger plague, but that's just my opinion.

singingflutelady

genpopadopolous wrote: »

Gallowmere1984 wrote: »

It works fine for what it is: a wad of glorified hamster wheels marketed to those who accept mediocrity as acceptable. Unfortunately, given that they have spread like the plague, there are clearly a lot of people that fit that description.

Not everyone can be exceptional, because it would then cease to be the exception. Not a damn thing wrong with being average, especially not if you are trying.

My goals are not to be the best anything in fitness. Its there to aide my weightloss and show my kids a healthy example about choices and hard work- but my real goals in life have nothing to do with my body.

I would think condescension and disdain towards others to be a much bigger plague, but that's just my opinion.

But PF promotes looking down on people who have different goals. Look at their advertising and the signs, etc they put up in their gym if you don't think they do. I refuse to go to a place where they actively discriminate and perpetrate stereotypes of people who are different from them.

Michael190lbs

I went there 60 lb dumbbells was the highest weight killed it for me. Powerhouse gym I currently belong to has 190 lbs dumbbells I use 110 for several lifts so it just made sense. Money $235 a year vs $120 a year its worth it to be in an atmosphere of heavy lifters rather than offending a Planet Fitness member.. The planet fitness "Judgement free" commercials are a JOKE..

huntersvonnegut

I've been a PF member since around the middle of last summer. That was after about 4 years at a gym called Club Metro. I would still be a member there except they closed the one I joined and transferred my membership to another location. That was fine until the end of 2015 we, (my daughter had joined too) were notified that they "had" to raise the dues from $19.95/month to $39.95/month. Oh, but we would get so many added perks! Too bad none of them were worth double the money. To us, anyway. It's like a car dealer telling me that for an extra $20 a month, they could install a bidet in my trunk. Well isn't that wonderful but I'm never gonna use it. Anyway, my daughter wound up going to PF and decided to sign up. She opted for the Black membership so she would have access to other clubs (a waste of money in my opinion). I decided to go for the base membership. $10/month on a month to month basis. As others have said, depending on your goals, this gym might not be for you but for the price, what is available and the hours, it's been fine. Just my 2¢.

BTW, before joining, I did research PF. Yes, there are horror stories out there but as someone else mentioned here, I think a lot has to do with individual locations. Someone else mentioned they didn't care for the fact that PF won't accept credit cards. From my research, I was expecting the same thing but the franchise I joined was happy to accept my credit card. Another example of how the location may be the issue, from the horror stories I'd read on line, I was really prepared for a battle when we cancelled our memberships at Club Metro. Maybe these other people who complained of problems really were dealing with unscrupulous swine or maybe they just couldn't follow directions but we never had an issue.

JoRocka

it serves a purpose.
It is good for people who want to check a box- or who have no need to do big movements.
It's also a SPLENDID cheap 2nd gym. I've considered getting a 10$ pass to the local gym myself- because 10$ and free pizza- I cannot even order pizza that cheap. so if I get 1 whole pizza out of it a month- it's paid for itself and I"ve eaten- WIN! free food = mustacian savings- and I'm all about that life.

I HATE their hypocritical advertising- because they are the judgiest gym alive. Plain and simple. I get that it's marketing- but it's hypocrisy at it's finest.

Otherwise- meh- I don't bother.

It's not a gym for me regularly- I'd gladly use it as a second gym- but otherwise it suits people fine- I think people are delusional that it's a safe space- or it's not judgmental- but whatever that's 100% not my problem.

We posts like this all the time- and I'm quite frankly not sure why you posted it other than to stir the proverbial pot.

Gallowmere1984

I think some missed my point. I wasn't speaking to the results being mediocre. Hell, you can go to a riverbed and move rocks around and build muscle. I was talking specifically about the mindset of the people whom their advertising appeals to. The kind of person who is less likely to be going to the gym to improve themselves, than to shut up a spouse, a doctor, whatever. The "I'm trying" but not really trying crowd.

callsitlikeiseeit

i used it pretty much every day for 2 years. for cardio, its great. for weight lifting, not so much. if they opened one close to where i live or work, i would rejoin.

if you dont like it, dont go. not a difficult concept, there.

JaxxieKat

I think it is very much location dependent. Mine is amazing. The staff is cool, the rules aren't really strict, and in the six months I've been going, I've never heard the "Lunk Alarm" go off. I'm pretty sure the one at our location isn't even hooked up to the front desk. My PF has a very diverse range of people who go there. I have seen men and women with very impressive physiques, elderly folks, teenagers with their parents, people who are just starting their weight loss journey.With that said, my husband works with people who are members of one the next town over, and they hate it.

I'm still relatively new to strength training, so PF has everything I need. My biggest challenge is being able to get on a cable machine during busy hours. I can, however, see myself growing out of PF once I reach a point where their heaviest barbells are no longer challenging to me and I would probably go join an Anytime Fitness.

Gallowmere1984 wrote: »

I think some missed my point. I wasn't speaking to the results being mediocre. Hell, you can go to a riverbed and move rocks around and build muscle. I was talking specifically about the mindset of the people whom their advertising appeals to. The kind of person who is less likely to be going to the gym to improve themselves, than to shut up a spouse, a doctor, whatever. The "I'm trying" but not really trying crowd.

If it gets them in the gym, then who cares who the ads appeal to? It's quite petty to judge someone's motives behind joining a gym, because most people who haven't been fit and made their body a priority from their youth don't join a gym with the same gusto as, say, a person who is into power lifting. Like anything else in life, if you don't like Planet Fitness, for heaven's sake, don't join one. If you're serious about bodybuilding or power lifting, then obviously that wouldn't be the right gym for you.