What's wrong with Planet Fitness?

nuttyfamily

I love ours. And we have plenty of free weights, etc. and have many body building bulky folks who are there every time I am.

Ours is pretty relaxed on their rules compared to the complaints I have read on other locations. It just depends on how that owner chooses to run theirs.

I do weights and cardio and it works great for me.

contingencyplan

I love ours. And we have plenty of free weights, etc. and have many body building bulky folks who are there every time I am.

Ours is pretty relaxed on their rules compared to the complaints I have read on other locations. It just depends on how that owner chooses to run theirs.

I do weights and cardio and it works great for me.

From what I understand the "corporate policy" is more of a guideline that the franchise owner can choose whether or not they want to adhere to. That being said, official PF corporate policy does prohibit the type of workouts/exercises that necessitate use of a squat rack, which is why many locations don't even have one.

IMO most chain gyms are all the same, just PF is worse about them in most regards.

Stage14

I love ours. And we have plenty of free weights, etc. and have many body building bulky folks who are there every time I am.

Ours is pretty relaxed on their rules compared to the complaints I have read on other locations. It just depends on how that owner chooses to run theirs.

I do weights and cardio and it works great for me.

From what I understand the "corporate policy" is more of a guideline that the franchise owner can choose whether or not they want to adhere to. That being said, official PF corporate policy does prohibit the type of workouts/exercises that necessitate use of a squat rack, which is why many locations don't even have one.

IMO most chain gyms are all the same, just PF is worse about them in most regards.

I disagree. Sure, all chain gyms likely have something that you could complain about, but that doesn't make them all equal. Heck, even all gyms within a certain franchise or chain aren't equal.

I have an Anytime Fitness membership, and while it's far from perfect, I have good access to a set of free weights (the one by my office even purchased a separate rack for those who want to bench/curl/whatever and an extra olympic bar for deadlifts, so that there is a dedicated squat rack). I can wear sleeveless clothing, which is really important to me, and while I don't every purposefully sling or drop weights, I'm free to challenge myself knowing that if I get into a safety situation where I HAVE to ditch the weight I'm lifting, I don't have to worry about being publicly humiliated for it.

I'm sure Planet Fitness is fine for a lot of people, but I agree that their entire schtick of Judgement Free is BS, since the entire marketing campaign judges heavy lifters and attractive people.

MinimalistShoeAddict

I would not say anything is "wrong" with it. It really depends on your goals. It does not work for me because I prefer to use an Olympic Bar and plates instead of Smith Machines and DBs. I also occasionally drop weights during deadlifts, etc. For others it may be a great fit! Here are some pros and cons:

pros:

cheap monthly price
lots of elliptical machines and treadmills
fairly new and well maintained equipment
many locations
free bagels and pizza (monthly) and tootsie rolls (daily)
tanning is available depending on your membership type

cons:

"judgement free zone" does not apply to those who drop weights or make grunting sounds
Smith Machines, and DBs instead of Olympic Bars and plates.
Olympic lifts such as the snatch and the clean and jerk cannot be performed.
no pool, track or racquetball court
no group fitness classes (pilates, yoga, spin, etc)

Cait_Sidhe

I once set off the lunk alarm when I dropped my cell phone while on the treadmill.

MinimalistShoeAddict

I once set off the lunk alarm when I dropped my cell phone while on the treadmill.

Next time have someone record that and put it on YouTube. It might be funny!

In all seriousness it is a good gym for some and not for others. Clearly they have a target market in mind and don't plan on catering to everyone.

Cait_Sidhe

I once set off the lunk alarm when I dropped my cell phone while on the treadmill.

Next time have someone record that and put it on YouTube. It might be funny!

In all seriousness it is a good gym for some and not for others. Clearly they have a target market in mind and don't plan on catering to everyone.

I would if I still went there. But I don't cause it's not for me. It's great for those who only want machines though.

justal313

I once set off the lunk alarm when I dropped my cell phone while on the treadmill.

I was running on the treadmill. Brady threw an interception and I let a CLUSTER F-BOMB fly. The only time I've ever seen the lunk alarm go off at my particular PF.

contingencyplan

I once set off the lunk alarm when I dropped my cell phone while on the treadmill.

I was running on the treadmill. Brady threw an interception and I let a CLUSTER F-BOMB fly. The only time I've ever seen the lunk alarm go off at my particular PF.

The lunk alarm at mine would typically go off 2-3x over the course of the hour and a half I was there, without fail. I only ever set it off once myself, when I attempted to do squats on the Smith machine and a staff member told me that was prohibidabido.

medgirl50

Absolutely nothing.....it is a very nice , clean and a peaceful gym. They have everything you would want except a walking track. A plus for me is the fact that a trainer is available and you get to design the workout that you are comfortable with.

missyfitt

I've had HORRIBLE customer service at one location and SUPERB management service at another one. Outside of that I like the "no lunk" attitude. There were two girls who came into the 30 minute workout area and sat on the stations to text. One was sitting on my next station and I asked if she could use her cell phone in the lobby. She said she wasn't on her phone and that she was texting. Brilliant!! Needless to say, I had to explain that was the rule. She didn't like that response, and I told her she was on my station. She said she had a right to take a break from her "workout". So I told the management and they handled it. It's nice to hold them to the no lunk/punk attitude. I appreciated that.

JoRocka

I would not say anything is "wrong" with it.

the fact that they are the most judgmental people in the "fitness" industry and their entire marketing is set up to be a "judge free zone" doesn't strike you as wrong- hypocritical and unpalatable?

KayBallin

Used to go to PF. Hated it. They made me take my bandana off my head. Like, WTF?

ValGogo

NOTHING! It's a gym. Use it to your advantage. You have nothing to lose, it's $10.00 a month, and if it's a brand new PF, then it will be really nice for a while.

Do what you think is right. If you want to join planet fitness, then join, you can always get out of it. They don't hold you hostage like other health clubs. I'm finishing out my last month there becaseu I joined another gym closer to where I live and because it has more weights and squat cages. But that's the only reason I switched. PF doesn't have lots of barbells but that's the only reason.

I have to say, that the new gym has lunks. My first time there some big ti&&ied chick dropped the dumbbells like a cafone (that's how you spell it; it's not "gavone") and it annoyed me. what if I placed my foot down at that second and it fell on me? But, I digress....everyone else seemed nice even if they were lunks.

However, it's no skin off my nose. She's a lunk, I'm not, who cares.

47Jacqueline

I only went once, to one my sister-in-law belongs to in Massachusetts. I didn't like that if you put your real age in the treadmill, they would slowly reduce the heart rate to lower than mine beats at a resting weight. I am 67 and in great shape. I resented the imposition.

Unknown

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s_yeatts

My planet fitness is awesome! I think it just depends on where you live. The lunk alarm is kinda annoying though

charaxid

Crap? Pizza is not crap, far from it. (well, unless it's Pizza Hut or Little Caesar's) It sounds perfect for a single person. Head to the gym, get your cardio in, grab your dinner, then head home.

OK - so you go to the gym an burn 300 calorie and then grab a slice that is about 200 calories...you just destroyed about 75% of your workout...brilliant!
I like pizza..but it is not exactly a post workout low cal option for someone that is just starting out or is trying to change their eating habits...

Actually, that's 66.666667%... 2/3 < 3/4

And I sincerely hope your dinner is at lease 500 calories. Even on a starvation mode diet -- 200 calories breakfast, 100 calories snack, 300 calories lunch, 100 calories snack, 500 calories dinner = 1,200 calories a day (and hard to stay within)

charaxid

In any case, I am thinking of joining one in later summer... I currently have a membership to the local university Recreation Center (has everything you could want, including a rock climbing wall & high ropes course). BUT, it's only open from 6:30am until 10pm M-F & noon-8 or so on the weekends while school is in session. It's completely closed between semesters. It has strictly limited hours on holidays while school is open (President's Day, Labor Day, etc...) and the summer semester even has limited hours (7am-7pm M-F and pretty much closed on the weekends).

I work in public accounting, so for 4 1/2 months out of the year, I need to be at work by 6:30 or 7am and I don't leave until around 7pm in the evenings. Having the option to do some high-rep/average weight strength training and some cardio would be a life saver... Right now (it's summer) I don't have that option. During this past busy season, I didn't have that option. They are completely closed the first 3 weeks of August (between summer & fall semesters); they are completely closed the last 2-3 weeks of December (between fall & spring semesters); they are completely closed for 2 weeks in mid-May (between spring & summer semesters). For more than half of the year, I can't use the $350 membership.

The Black Membership: including the new-member fee, the annual membership fee, the monthly recurring fee, and sales tax on all of the fees --- it comes out to $320 the first year & $300 each year thereafter
And that has bonuses (that I probably won't use often, but they're available) --- such as guests, using other centers if I'm traveling somewhere with a PF (such as Boston next summer --- with a university Rec membership, I'm limited to ONLY that location), tanning booths, red light booth (whatever that does, probably nothing), hydro-massage (which I loved when I tried it previously), and other random stuff I'm sure to not care about much.

It'll save me $30-50 a year, payments can be relatively evenly spaced out (unlike the single-purchase option for the University Rec Center)... Sure I lose the track that's 6 laps to a mile, sure I lose the lap pool that's reserved for the swim teams 2/3 of the operating season, sure I lose the hot tub & sauna that old professors sit in pretty much constantly... But I really think the additional hours of availability will help.

I follow the workouts on the Tone It Up plan (Karena & Katrina --- youtube them!). They use either body weight or light dumbbells for most weight exercises. They send out cardio workouts for different machines (like a treadmill or elliptical).

When I get around to touring a place, provided it's clean and they have some dumbbells and a shower/locker room, I think I'll end up joining.

Realistically? I could walk/jog outdoors if there's nice weather. I could also use my small weights at home (I have dumbbells up to 10 lbs).
But with the temptation of my boyfriend and dog just sitting in the living room, who REALLY wants to go to a partially finished basement to work out?! Or worse for morning cardio: who really wants to get out of bed for a half hour walk/jog just to return to the bedroom to get ready for work & still see your boyfriend snuggly sleeping in a warm bed?

I need to go somewhere, or else my weight-loss journey goes nowhere... I've only lost 2 lbs --- that is proof!

CoolDad67

My wife and I both recently joined Planet Fitness. It's perfect for our current needs and is much cheaper than the other options for a fitness center in our area. We were just talking, last night, about it and agreed that the extra cost of the other fitness centers in our area would only be us subsidizing stuff we wouldn't use at this time.

We both joined with the Black Card membership ($20 per month). One of the nice things for us about this membership is the guest privileges. We can each bring 1 guest a day; so, that means our kids, 17 yo son & 13 yo daughter, can join us for workouts and don't have to have their own memberships. The other Black Card benefits will probably not be used by us very much at least for a while.

Our local Planet Fitness is very clean and well maintained. I agree that if you are into heavy weights / power lifting then it's probably not for you. If, like us, you are there primarily for cardio (treadmill, elliptical, arc trainer, bikes) and plan to do some toning and basic strength training with weights, then it would be fine.

I've had a treadmill, elliptical, and bike at home at different times and they generally sat as dust collectors. I get great benefit and extra motivation with having a gym membership which gives me a place to go that is for fitness. I think it's kinda like studying in your bedroom vs a library. It's too tempting to lounge around at home vs the gym.

john1668

I joined PF about 6 months ago and think it's a great gym. The one near my home has ample weights (including an "old school" leg press machine), squat racks, 2-free standing "multisytems" (which you can use simultaneously as in cable crossovers), and a wider range of back/pec machines than was at the YMCA ($65/month and increasing). Plus, it's as cheap as a 24-hour strip mall gym but is staffed 24-hrs which is important to me for safety at 5 am. I have worked out at the more hard core gyms and got tired of the lunks that took over the weight room and dropped weights that were obviously beyond their capacity to control--get a spotter or go lighter. My only complaint about PF is that the music is sometimes too loud (and not very good) for my personal taste.

carolineat111

I have two houses and go back and forth. The Planet Fitness is Virginia where I originally joined is AWESOME. The one in Louisiana...not so much. I think it's specific to the actual gym versus the gym "brand."