Planet Fitness Success Stories?

eringrace95_

So I just cancelled my goodlife membership in favour of the much cheaper planet fitness, anyone else out there with planet fitness? Add me!! I’m very new to this machines and their machines are slightly different than goodlife.

kam26001

I think they use Life Fitness machines. There should be pictures on the machines detailing how to use them.

Here's a demo playlist by Life Fitness: https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLLXKjJqSqtGQWm4DE_jLzJ_QLHeHO7eTD

eringrace95_

Thanks!

Sober_Is_Sexy

I’ve been a member at PF for a long time now. They get a bad rap from some people, but you can’t beat the price and unlimited tanning you get with the black card. I’ve never had a bad experience. They work for me

eringrace95_

Sober_Is_Sexy wrote: »

I’ve been a member at PF for a long time now. They get a bad rap from some people, but you can’t beat the price and unlimited tanning you get with the black card. I’ve never had a bad experience. They work for me

Why exactly do they have a bad rap??

Sober_Is_Sexy

They don’t have squat and bench racks, which makes it kind of difficult for some hardcore lifters to do various workouts. They have an alarm that sounds if someone slams a weight down too hard. They call themselves a “judgment-free zone” which prohibits certain behavior and clothing attire in the gym. It’s just not an ideal gym for those geared more towards serious body building, etc. That being said, it doesn’t bother me, and has everything I need, so they’re not a bad gym in my opinion.

georgebumgarner1989

Mine has bench and squat racks. Granted they aren't conventional, they still work.

takemetosingapore19

Sober_Is_Sexy wrote: »

They don’t have squat and bench racks, which makes it kind of difficult for some hardcore lifters to do various workouts. They have an alarm that sounds if someone slams a weight down too hard. They call themselves a “judgment-free zone” which prohibits certain behavior and clothing attire in the gym. It’s just not an ideal gym for those geared more towards serious body building, etc. That being said, it doesn’t bother me, and has everything I need, so they’re not a bad gym in my opinion.

Is it true you get in trouble there for wearing a wife beater or a sports bra only? Genuinely curious.

eringrace95_

takemetosingapore19 wrote: »

Sober_Is_Sexy wrote: »

They don’t have squat and bench racks, which makes it kind of difficult for some hardcore lifters to do various workouts. They have an alarm that sounds if someone slams a weight down too hard. They call themselves a “judgment-free zone” which prohibits certain behavior and clothing attire in the gym. It’s just not an ideal gym for those geared more towards serious body building, etc. That being said, it doesn’t bother me, and has everything I need, so they’re not a bad gym in my opinion.

Is it true you get in trouble there for wearing a wife beater or a sports bra only? Genuinely curious.

I’m curios too, I guess I should have done more research this is all giving me pretty bad anxiety lol. Not that I feel like I have enough confidence to wear just a sports bra anyways

OldHobo

Not for everybody but it suits me fine. The machines in the one I go to are Cybex. Also, pretty sure the trainer is, or will soon be a franchise owner. That makes a difference and is probably pretty unusual.

Azercord

If you want to powerlift or go really hardcore into bodybuilding you will probably out grow Planet Fitness (although some people have made it work). If not it will probably work for you just fine. It is a good gym that doesn't hype things up very much and if you are looking for a cheap place to knock out a workout it is hard to beat.

While I'm not a member (I have a home gym) Planet Fitness is my go to when on the road and I can't find a close independent gym to hit up. It is clean and consistent and they don't care if I bring my own dip belt.

MarkusDarwath

georgebumgarner1989 wrote: »

Mine has bench and squat racks. Granted they aren't conventional, they still work.

They have Smith machines, which some people insist are dangerous because the strictly linear movement produces bad form, which can lead to injury. I haven't tried them, so don't know on that one.
I will say that their other chest press machine has a rather unnatural feeling movement to it as well. The third bench press option is to use dumbbells, but that is obviously only going to go so far in terms of available weight. So my biggest criticism of PF is they don't have anything to serve as a proper bench press. On the other hand, they're cheap, and the one I belong to has water rowers.

stanmann571

takemetosingapore19 wrote: »

Sober_Is_Sexy wrote: »

They don’t have squat and bench racks, which makes it kind of difficult for some hardcore lifters to do various workouts. They have an alarm that sounds if someone slams a weight down too hard. They call themselves a “judgment-free zone” which prohibits certain behavior and clothing attire in the gym. It’s just not an ideal gym for those geared more towards serious body building, etc. That being said, it doesn’t bother me, and has everything I need, so they’re not a bad gym in my opinion.

Is it true you get in trouble there for wearing a wife beater or a sports bra only? Genuinely curious.

In some franchises, yes. At some, no.

stanmann571

PF is my umbrella/ice/snow plan.

urloved33

pfmember

faythe621

I use PF! Good gym for moderate/beginning. Black card gets you a guest and unlimited tanning. Can't beat it. I just wish they had childcare for my 1 year old but for $20/month it's a good deal.

jaimydude

I've been there for close to two years now and am very happy with it.

Here is a youtube channel that is more specific to Planet Fitness and their machines -

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnA2IGSh8jOPPiz20oamKzA/videos

https://youtu.be/1N0RYgpFsa4

eringrace95_

Thanks guys!!

kshama2001

ErinSot wrote: »

Sober_Is_Sexy wrote: »

I’ve been a member at PF for a long time now. They get a bad rap from some people, but you can’t beat the price and unlimited tanning you get with the black card. I’ve never had a bad experience. They work for me

Why exactly do they have a bad rap??

Some people are offended by the PF marketing strategy demonstrated in this ad. (I think the ad is hilarious.) PF is going after one (large) segment of the gym-going population, and there's nothing wrong with that IMO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOSeOieLh7s

If you look through PF threads in the Fitness forum, you'll get other points of view.

callsitlikeiseeit

i was a member for 3 years. i loved it, would still be there if there were one near me.

all the negative things people talk about, were non existent at the one i went to. no pizza or bagels or buzzers or people getting in trouble for wearing whatever.

just ... a gym.

i loved their shower rooms. and it was the CLEANEST gym ive ever been a member of. and the staff, genuinely friendly.

sportychic87

I was checking out gyms yesterday and walked into a planet fitness to ask about prices. The employee literally said ‘ huh? Like did you look at our website? Like uh, so like you’re like wanting to know how much it is? Like uh, so you don’t like have a membership? So like what do you want? Didn’t you like look at our website?’
I was not impressed with either his vocabulary nor intelligence
Not to mention, it stank ( not bo but stank of chemicals). It looked like a Costco warehouse.
I’m personally not surprised at all the negative things that I hear

kshama2001

sportychic87 wrote: »

I was checking out gyms yesterday and walked into a planet fitness to ask about prices. The employee literally said ‘ huh? Like did you look at our website? Like uh, so like you’re like wanting to know how much it is? Like uh, so you don’t like have a membership? So like what do you want? Didn’t you like look at our website?’
I was not impressed with either his vocabulary nor intelligence
Not to mention, it stank ( not bo but stank of chemicals). It looked like a Costco warehouse.
I’m personally not surprised at all the negative things that I hear

Was it new? I'm waiting for the new PF near me to finish off-gassing. New rubber stinks!

fb47

Sober_Is_Sexy wrote: »

I’ve been a member at PF for a long time now. They get a bad rap from some people, but you can’t beat the price and unlimited tanning you get with the black card. I’ve never had a bad experience. They work for me

The bad rap is I guess from the fact they serve pizza's and *kitten* like that at a place where most people's goals are to lose weight (not that there's anything wrong with pizza, but it can hurt someone's progress especially if they have no clue when it comes to calories), and for men, will it's tough to optimize building muscles in an environment where there is no heavy weight. Not saying men can't build muscles at PF, but they will have a hard time building muscles to their potential. Many high rated exercises are banned at PF too like BB Squats and Deadlifts. With that said, if PF is your only option for lifting, it's still better than nothing. It's not a place however I would recommend for someone who wants to build muscles and strength to the max, but I guess for the everyday Joe and Jane, it can be ok especially if their options are limited.

betty_veronica4

I have belonged to a variety of gyms, and I was a PF member for a while. I loved that there was not a lot of grunting (personal pet peeve...sorry to offend any grunters), I liked the plethora of cardio machines, and I like to do a mix of free weights and weight machines, so it met my needs. The price was right, too. I left when I got pregnant and was on partial bed rest and could not work out as much. When I went back to the gym, I went to a YMCA because of the family membership.

If you are looking for an affordable place to get a mix of cardio and moderate strength training, it can be a great place.

In terms of staff, I think it really depends on the franchise.

sschauer513

I like mine dislike the tootsie rolls, pizza, and bagel days seems counter-productive but keeps people coming back so stay away from that part. I like the pf360 burn classes on synergy360 machine and the 30 minute circuit is decent also. Get what pay for if wanted more free weight options I would suggest looking else where.

MelanieCN77

I don't see anything inherently wrong with them except the odd rules I've heard about (I think ALL my work workout tops are tank tops, and what's wrong with deadlifts?), but if there was one near me and it was $20 a month I'd probably be a member.

JennJ323

I've been going to PF for about a month. Overall I enjoy PF, the price is great for gym & tanning (plus they have the red light bed, massage chairs). I do find that it's pretty busy most of the time, but I got around 8pm and there are plenty of open machines!

The only complaint I have, I signed up online so when I went in the first time none of the employees offered to show me around, or show me how to use the tanning bed (I've tanned before, but wasn't sure if their beds were different.) Now that I'm used to everything I don't care whether or not they're helpful, but I definitely find they are not helpful, unless you ask them. Even when you come in, they usually can't be bothered to stop their personal conversation to say hello. But maybe this is just the way they are at my PF.

JennJ323

callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »

i was a member for 3 years. i loved it, would still be there if there were one near me.

all the negative things people talk about, were non existent at the one i went to. no pizza or bagels or buzzers or people getting in trouble for wearing whatever.

just ... a gym.

i loved their shower rooms. and it was the CLEANEST gym ive ever been a member of. and the staff, genuinely friendly.

Ours has pizza the first Monday of each month and bagels the first Tuesday! Also huge buckets of Tootsie Rolls on the counter. Odd for a gym to have, but I don't see anything wrong with it.

1houndgal

betty_veronica4 wrote: »

I have belonged to a variety of gyms, and I was a PF member for a while. I loved that there was not a lot of grunting (personal pet peeve...sorry to offend any grunters), I liked the plethora of cardio machines, and I like to do a mix of free weights and weight machines, so it met my needs. The price was right, too. I left when I got pregnant and was on partial bed rest and could not work out as much. When I went back to the gym, I went to a YMCA because of the family membership.

If you are looking for an affordable place to get a mix of cardio and moderate strength training, it can be a great place.

In terms of staff, I think it really depends on the franchise.

I love swimming at my YMCA. The staff is great also. Nice precor cardio equipment. And so many different classes. And my YMCA has the best Jacuzzi spa around.

Silentpadna

betty_veronica4 wrote: »

I loved that there was not a lot of grunting (personal pet peeve...sorry to offend any grunters), I liked the plethora of cardio machines, and I like to do a mix of free weights and weight machines, so it met my needs.

While I know there are many (guys especially) who may go overboard with the grunt for show, I've learned that as I started to move heavy weight, it's almost impossible to really grind out a rep or a set at max effort without it. I think the grunt gets a bad rap.

I'll be 55 soon, and I never grunted lifting weights before. I also realized that I never really lifted heavy and grinded through the process before. You won't hear me across the room, but there are certainly lifts, like squats especially, that can pull a grunt out of me.

If PF has rules against that, I can't imagine being a member there. I would, however, visit when traveling if I needed to get a conditioning cardio workout in.

fb47

I hate when someone says `I hate hearing grunts` , someone who says that is someone who hasn't lifted heavy or near failure. I usually grunt when there is 1 or 2 reps left in the tank when I do a big compound exercises like the RDL, BB Squat or BB Bench Press. I don't grunt for showing off, but I will make a little noise simply because it's getting heavy AF and I am grinding to make sure I hit those last 1 or 2 reps that are heavy af.

Granted, there are someone who exagerrate too on grunts especially if they do it on every rep from the first rep to the last or even the isolation exercises.