Anyone go to Planet Fitness

shabaity

Seriously considering a switch since my local is 24 hrs and the golds isn't and I only go for cardio as I hate running but that flat spot up the way is starting to look like a good spot for hiit sprints. I have free weights at home that no gym in my area has.

Fentyman

I go cause 10 dollars.

spartan_d

hamptontom

i actually did some thread archaeology and read a lot of this before it was resurrected (again) before i signed up for a membership (last week).

i'm gonna take a minute to bore you guys with an analogy.

i'm a musician...among other instruments, i play guitar.

now for those of you who also play, you're probably aware that you can spend anywhere from $100 for a starter guitar to upwards of a quarter million dollars for the guitar that Bob Dylan used to "go electric" at the Newport Folk Festival (which happened on the day i was born, incidentally). if you happen to play, you have to come to terms with the need to own one, at some point, which means you'll need to BUY one.

now, if you're a touring musician with a major artist, you'll be justified in spending thousands of dollars for solid, dependable instruments and gear, because it's how you make your living. BUT - if you're not that guy, and you play guitar for the sheer joy or therapy of playing, you have the option of spending considerably less for an instrument that fulfills your needs and makes you happy.

I think your choice of gym might be very, very similar, in terms of the points i'm making here.

I'll never need to wrap my fingers around a hundred pound barbell. it's not on my radar. my goals are pretty simple - i want to lose weight, not feel like excrement when i wake up in the morning, and look my best.

the tools i need to accomplish those goals are perfectly within my reach at PF. they're open all night, the folks at the one I go to have been great so far, and they meet my needs.

if my goals were loftier, maybe no so much...but the price, the equipment, and the hours are perfect for me, so that's where I go.

I understand some of the disdain that some of you might have for it, just as I'd probably feel the same way if I had to get on the bus with a Wal-Mart First Act guitar...but that guitar would be perfect for somebody...just not for me.

ScubaSteve1962

spartan_d wrote: »

hamptontom wrote: »

i actually did some thread archaeology and read a lot of this before it was resurrected (again) before i signed up for a membership (last week).

i'm gonna take a minute to bore you guys with an analogy.

i'm a musician...among other instruments, i play guitar.

now for those of you who also play, you're probably aware that you can spend anywhere from $100 for a starter guitar to upwards of a quarter million dollars for the guitar that Bob Dylan used to "go electric" at the Newport Folk Festival (which happened on the day i was born, incidentally). if you happen to play, you have to come to terms with the need to own one, at some point, which means you'll need to BUY one.

now, if you're a touring musician with a major artist, you'll be justified in spending thousands of dollars for solid, dependable instruments and gear, because it's how you make your living. BUT - if you're not that guy, and you play guitar for the sheer joy or therapy of playing, you have the option of spending considerably less for an instrument that fulfills your needs and makes you happy.

I think your choice of gym might be very, very similar, in terms of the points i'm making here.

I'll never need to wrap my fingers around a hundred pound barbell. it's not on my radar. my goals are pretty simple - i want to lose weight, not feel like excrement when i wake up in the morning, and look my best.

the tools i need to accomplish those goals are perfectly within my reach at PF. they're open all night, the folks at the one I go to have been great so far, and they meet my needs.

if my goals were loftier, maybe no so much...but the price, the equipment, and the hours are perfect for me, so that's where I go.

I understand some of the disdain that some of you might have for it, just as I'd probably feel the same way if I had to get on the bus with a Wal-Mart First Act guitar...but that guitar would be perfect for somebody...just not for me.

Any gym, whether it PF or Muscle World is what YOU make it, not what they advertise it to be.

spartan_d

hamptontom wrote: »

i actually did some thread archaeology and read a lot of this before it was resurrected (again) before i signed up for a membership (last week).

i'm gonna take a minute to bore you guys with an analogy.

i'm a musician...among other instruments, i play guitar.

now for those of you who also play, you're probably aware that you can spend anywhere from $100 for a starter guitar to upwards of a quarter million dollars for the guitar that Bob Dylan used to "go electric" at the Newport Folk Festival (which happened on the day i was born, incidentally). if you happen to play, you have to come to terms with the need to own one, at some point, which means you'll need to BUY one.

now, if you're a touring musician with a major artist, you'll be justified in spending thousands of dollars for solid, dependable instruments and gear, because it's how you make your living. BUT - if you're not that guy, and you play guitar for the sheer joy or therapy of playing, you have the option of spending considerably less for an instrument that fulfills your needs and makes you happy.

I think your choice of gym might be very, very similar, in terms of the points i'm making here.

I'll never need to wrap my fingers around a hundred pound barbell. it's not on my radar. my goals are pretty simple - i want to lose weight, not feel like excrement when i wake up in the morning, and look my best.

the tools i need to accomplish those goals are perfectly within my reach at PF. they're open all night, the folks at the one I go to have been great so far, and they meet my needs.

if my goals were loftier, maybe no so much...but the price, the equipment, and the hours are perfect for me, so that's where I go.

I understand some of the disdain that some of you might have for it, just as I'd probably feel the same way if I had to get on the bus with a Wal-Mart First Act guitar...but that guitar would be perfect for somebody...just not for me.

I think you misunderstand the main problem that people have with Planet Fitness. The problem is not that they're suitable for people who don't have lofty goals. Rather, the problem is that they feed their members a ton of misinformation AND they actively discourage people from pursuing these lofty goals. Hence the horrible "fitness plans" posted earlier, of which lying in a tanning bed is a key component.


Some people will excuse this by saying that a gym is what you make it to be. That's only a half truth, though. It is true that one can still make progress at places like this, despite their low-quality equipment, their campaign of misinformation, and their counter-productive rules. You can also make progress with nothing but a pair of running shoes though, so that's hardly a glowing report.

The bottom line is that PF is dirt cheap, but you get what you pay for -- and for people who are just starting out or who have much catching up to do, this is likely to hinder their progress.

spartan_d

MissingMinnesota wrote: »

One of the owners of a PF explained to me once that the pizza/bagel days is to show that you don't have to give up bad food but you can have it in moderation and still have results.

Pure revisionism. Pure rationalization. Most Americans have a hard enough time consuming in moderation. They don't need any encouragement to cheat when it comes to eating.

Besides, none of this comes from the official PF marketing. That is, their marketing says nothing about trying to promote moderation. Quite the contrary; it's just "Free pizza! Free bagels!"

If they really were all about moderation, they'd offer healthy alternatives as well. Instead, every single food freebie they offer is fattening -- pizza, bagels, candy, and in some locations, donuts and cupcakes, It should be obvious that this is no accident.

ScubaSteve1962

spartan_d wrote: »

MissingMinnesota wrote: »

One of the owners of a PF explained to me once that the pizza/bagel days is to show that you don't have to give up bad food but you can have it in moderation and still have results.

Pure revisionism. Pure rationalization. Most Americans have a hard enough time consuming in moderation. They don't need any encouragement to cheat when it comes to eating.

Besides, none of this comes from the official PF marketing. That is, their marketing says nothing about trying to promote moderation. Quite the contrary; it's just "Free pizza! Free bagels!"

If they really were all about moderation, they'd offer healthy alternatives as well. Instead, every single food freebie they offer is fattening -- pizza, bagels, candy, and in some locations, donuts and cupcakes, It should be obvious that this is no accident.

sounds like most Americans need to put on their big boy pants and have some self restraint. Just because they offer it doesn't mean they have to eat it.

hamptontom

spartan_d wrote: »

I think you misunderstand the main problem that people have with Planet Fitness. The problem is not that they're suitable for people who don't have lofty goals. Rather, the problem is that they feed their members a ton of misinformation AND they actively discourage people from pursuing these lofty goals. Hence the horrible "fitness plans" posted earlier, of which lying in a tanning bed is a key component.

all points well taken, man. i don't personally buy into the "12 minute abs" or "30 minute workout" stuff...in this pursuit, as with just about everything else in life, i try to gather as much information as i can before i commit myself to something. obviously, that puts me in the minority...otherwise the problems you mentioned wouldn't exist.

spartan_d

ScubaSteve1962 wrote: »

spartan_d wrote: »

MissingMinnesota wrote: »

One of the owners of a PF explained to me once that the pizza/bagel days is to show that you don't have to give up bad food but you can have it in moderation and still have results.

Pure revisionism. Pure rationalization. Most Americans have a hard enough time consuming in moderation. They don't need any encouragement to cheat when it comes to eating.

Besides, none of this comes from the official PF marketing. That is, their marketing says nothing about trying to promote moderation. Quite the contrary; it's just "Free pizza! Free bagels!"

If they really were all about moderation, they'd offer healthy alternatives as well. Instead, every single food freebie they offer is fattening -- pizza, bagels, candy, and in some locations, donuts and cupcakes, It should be obvious that this is no accident.

sounds like most Americans need to put on their big boy pants and have some self restraint. Just because they offer it doesn't mean they have to eat it.

I totally agree that they don't have to eat it. That doesn't mean that offering these fattening foods is a good idea, though.

What if a dentist were to provide free sugar cubes to his clients? We'd all agree that this would be a bad idea. And if he were to say, "So what if I'm encouraging you to snack on sugar? You don't have to accept!", most people would think he's being a jerk. When it comes to PF though, a surprising number of people think that such tactics are acceptable... and PF preys on that mentality.

yusaku02

I tried to sign-up but I set off the lunk alarm when I opened the door...

Kexessa

A Planet Fitness just opened by me a few months ago. I considered going to work on my upper body with weights. I have a Horizon treadmill and I rollerblade so I have cardio covered but I know my arms, shoulders and back are being neglected.

There was another thread similar to this one where I read about the free pizza, the candy and bagels and I decided not to join. Regardless of their reasons it's a bit unnecessary. It's like having shots of whiskey and ice cold bottles of Budweiser at AA meetings and saying, "well they should just have the strength to say no". Some people just can't, or have a moment of weakness and their gym shouldn't be the source of the torpedo.

I can't get behind that.

spartan_d

Good for you, Kexessa! It's amazing how so many people fail to grasp that. It's kinda depressing to note that so many people think that saying "You don't have to eat the pizza if you don't want to" is a valid excuse for offering these temptations.

It should be obvious that it's wrong for a gym to actively work against the goals of its clientele. Sadly, not everyone is quick to grasp the obvious.

cwolfman13

texasmom78 wrote: »

Just looking to see if anyone goes to Planet Fitness either on a daily basis or every other day and what kind of workout do you do while there please feel free to add me as a friend

it really depends on what you're looking for in a gym. I belonged to one for a time that I used as my secondary gym to do cardio on cold winter days where I just didn't want to ride outside. I have since found a local community center gym near my office that only charges me $1.50 per visit...since I don't use it that often, it works.

Also, while you can do some lifting there, they don't allow a lot of traditional compound lifts. The one I went to didn't even have a squat rack and did not allow dead lifts...these are pretty standard, traditional lifts. I focus largely on Olympic lifting and those other compound lifts serve as accessory work for me so I could never use a PF as my full time training gym. I personally don't understand the whole concept of "outlawing" basic, traditional, functional lifts that are basically the back bone of most any legit lifting program.

I also don't get the whole pizza thing...I'd understand having a little deli or cafe or something to buy some food afterwards, but free pizza reminds me of my cultish youth group days when the youth group would offer up free pizza to bring in all the little kiddees....

My primary gym is pretty much exclusively geared towards lifting as most of my cardio is done outside on my bike.

DawnEmbers

Honestly, I'm fine with the pizza thing, and I have a mild allergy to dairy. Here is where they lost me, as I took a tour of the local one near the gym I do attend. During the tour, the guy said "We are a judgment free zone, so no heavy lifting or bodybuilding." That should not be a sentence. He later made sure to say they didn't have intense classes like zumba or yoga... Umm, I did zumba in small town wyoming with a bunch of women who were around the age of 70. He should never try Grit Strength then, which there is a guy who is at least 70 who does that class and zumba at my current gym.

My stance is still: people working out is great. The marketing, their judgment and the false assumptions advertised, just no.

hamptontom

DawnEmbers wrote: »

During the tour, the guy said "We are a judgment free zone, so no heavy lifting or bodybuilding."

wow...that's almost - ALMOST - as bad as my grandfathers' assertion that he wasn't racist, he just didn't like (insert a pair of words i refuse to utter here).

Pinnacle_IAO

ndj1979 wrote: »

if it is one of the ones that frowns on deadlifts other compound movements, and/or lifting heavy I would avoid it like the plague...

spartan_d

Maryaly40 wrote: »

If you're going for help with weight loss, or maybe for some cardio health then it's great!!

But, if you're aiming to look like an Olympic god/goddess, then according to popular belief, you'll have to go somewhere else :frown:

See, this is one of those falsehoods that Planet Fitness likes to promote. They like to tell everyone that other gyms are filled with "lunks" who want to look like gods and goddesses. In reality, the vast majority of gyms cater to people of all fitness levels -- including the elderly, the scrawny, and the morbidly obese,

The PF business model, however, centers around creating false, unnecessary fears. Hence their derogatory commercials, in which physically fit people are depicted as hypermuscled simpletons or vapid airheads. Hence their claim that letting out even the slightest grunt (gasp!) is a horrific crime that must be punished through the use of a deafening klaxon and flashing lights. Hence the absymal fitness plans that are unlikely to burn more than a handful of calories, and so forth and so on.

Can you make progress there? Sure... but they certainly stack the deck against you. And frankly, if you're a beginner, just about anything will help you get results.

hoppinglark

dhs45 wrote: »

skip the pizza and just workout Great deal at $10 a month

+1
the PF 30 minute express is a good way to start your day.

They must be doing SOMETHING right, considering there's already a rip-off corporate chain called "YouFit",
that is basically a carbon copy of planet fitness, just replace all the yellow with lime green.

I saw something YouTube once:

"Gyms are just buildings, Weights are just something you hold, YOU are what gets YOU into shape"

IIGuardian

This gym just sounds comical to me. I've never been there, and I would never join, but I think I will try to get a one day pass at the one that just opened in my city. It has to be on free pizza day for sure, and I'll be disappointed if I don't hear the lunk alarm at least once.