Planet Fitness

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butterflylover527
butterflylover527 Posts: 940 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Anyone go to a Planet Fitness? I'm thinking about joining there but it's about 20 minutes from my home and I want to know what people thought about it before I join.

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  • JudyAngelman
    JudyAngelman Posts: 58 Member
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    I like it because it is cheap and has lots of treadmills, elliptical and cardio machines. I really only go for these but if you are interested in heavy lifting others might give more advice.
  • lindseynyfarmer
    lindseynyfarmer Posts: 34
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    I personally dont like PF. However, It could just be the locations I have in my area. I LOVE kettle bells and medicine balls and they only have maybe 3 medicine balls/no kettle bells. I also think a lot of the equipment is older and not very clean. You get what you pay for.



    Ive also heard they have "pizza fridays"...im not sure why a gym would serve pizza on fridays?!
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,843 Member
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    You are going to get a lot of people who hate the place because:

    No deadlifts
    Free weights only go up to 65 lbs
    No Squat racks, olympic bar
    Lunk alarm
    No "meat heads", "serious lifters" allowed (which is a crock because there are really in shape body builder guys that go to my PF and lift seriously and they don't get thrown out).

    My husband and I go there and it suits our needs. I have never been told I can't dead lift, squat or lift heavy for that matter but some places do have rules like that (they are independently owned so it's up to the person who owns them to enforce the rules or whatever). The price is perfect for us and while my husband would like the free weights to go up higher he's fine with what they have and while I wouldn't mind a squat rack and an olympic bar I'm ok with using the smith machine.

    It's all up to you. People will also tell you it's a good "starter" gym however we went to PF after being at a "real gym" that was super expensive and I had to pay the day pass on the one or two times per week I went with my husband and that was $12. (I had a gym at work that I used). So my husband quit there and went to PF and honestly there are a lot of people who were going to this particular gym my husband belonged to and they now go to PF because the price at the other place is just too much.

    Maybe go there, take a tour and see if you like it. The great thing is that there's no commitment so if you don't like it then just cancel.
  • sandymihalus
    sandymihalus Posts: 3 Member
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    You can't beat the price. I was going to the community fitness center which was 4 times more per month and I didn't use everything offered. It's a great place for those on a budget.
  • seena511
    seena511 Posts: 685 Member
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    from what i've read about the place i'd avoid it like the plague. they make this big deal about their "judgement free zone" but what their website and commercials actually promote is judging other people who lift heavy and who you *think* might be judging you based on the amount of weight they're lifting. i guess if you're not into lifting at all or very much it wouldn't make a difference to you, but i find their whole mission statement a bunch of bull.
  • glahlstedt
    glahlstedt Posts: 308 Member
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    I LOVE IT! 10 bucks a month~you can't beat it! The hours are excellent too! :blushing:
  • justal313
    justal313 Posts: 1,375 Member
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    I personally dont like PF. However, It could just be the locations I have in my area. I LOVE kettle bells and medicine balls and they only have maybe 3 medicine balls/no kettle bells. I also think a lot of the equipment is older and not very clean. You get what you pay for.



    Ive also heard they have "pizza fridays"...im not sure why a gym would serve pizza on fridays?!

    It's actually Pizza mondays, on the first monday of the month, they do have free pizza. Personally, I generally go really late on that day or go running outside. Not because I'm afraid of pizza but the gym is always PACKED full of people I don't see the other 30 days in the month.

    Planet Fitness's are franchises so a given PF is going to be clean, dirty, well maintained, neglected depending on the management and the staff hired.

    Go check out ahead of time the one you are thinking of joining to make sure it's not a ****hole. My PF is open 24/7 they have a fair amount of cardio equipment, cybex machines and free weights and smith machines and the like. But I use the cardio equipment and the cybex machines for my weight training so I cannot comment on the amount and type of anything else.

    It serves my purposes and the fact that I can go when my wife and 15 month old daughter have turned in for the night is a huge benefit.

    I signed up for the 20/month instead of the super cheap 10/month. I get to use the massage chairs, Tan (which I have no desire to) and go to any other PF around which I haven't had to take much advantage of, but it's been a nice option oh and all the sports drinks and the like are 1/2 price because I'm a black card memeber.

    When my year of being a black card member is up, I might go back to the 10/month but we shall see.
  • _Wits_
    _Wits_ Posts: 1,286 Member
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    Every place is different, especially with the "rules" as some other posters have listed. Really it is trial and error...I'm near 3 different ones and they're all perfectly fine, and a great price. I left after so many years because I wanted different/advanced equipment...but I'm sure paying for it out (pockets are empty lol)
  • ajadumas
    ajadumas Posts: 85 Member
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    I go to Planet Fitness and have had no problems. I mainly just go for the treadmill, and have never had to wait for one, even during the after work rush. The facilities at mine are clean, and they're open almost all the time. I have read some complaints online about having to go in and cancel your membership at the end of the 12 months (it doesn't just automatically cancel), but thats easily resolved. I agree with other posters, if you're a hardcore lifter, it may not be the gym for you, but for me it does the job, and the price cannot be beat!
  • cholderer
    cholderer Posts: 45 Member
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    The price is good and the people are really friendly at my Planet Fitness. The machines are always in great shape and there are a lot of cardio machines. Mine doesn't really enforce the no judgement zone (and how can you really enforce that?) But I love it and it fits my college budget needs.
  • lilpoindexter
    lilpoindexter Posts: 1,122 Member
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    The 24 month deal through costco for 24 hour fitness is like $320, or like $13 bucks a month. 24 hour fitness has more good than bad points to me. Look at some of the ridiculous videos of planet fitness on youtube. Planet fitness seems like a place where people get gym memberships, so they can say they have a gym membership...when they have no real desire to change their fitness level.
    But hey, anything is better than nothing.
  • Tracy_03311981
    Tracy_03311981 Posts: 80
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    Like some have posted on here it depends on the Planet Fitness in your area.
    I have belonged to 4 and they have been all different.
    I would check it out first and see what they have to offer.
    The smaller ones don't have as much but the larger ones do, mine has two areas to lift, one I call the boy area and one I call the girl area (smaller dumbbells). I've never had a problem with planet fitness and it meets my needs cause I won't be lifting more than 70 lbs. (dumbells) anytime soon.
  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
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    Do you have a closer gym to you? Because 20 minutes doesn't sound THAT long, but if you plan on going everyday it gets to be a pain in the *kitten*. If you have closer gyms to you that are slightly more money I would go there because it'll even out from what you save in gas, and you'll be more likely to stick to it!
  • vander7679
    vander7679 Posts: 109 Member
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    I have never been told I can't dead lift, squat or lift heavy for that matter but some places do have rules like that (they are independently owned so it's up to the person who owns them to enforce the rules or whatever).

    It depends on the location. I deadlift, squat and such (obviously not a body builder levels but I do as heavy as I can) at my planet fitness and no one has said anything and others do it too. I love it there!
  • alyssamiller77
    alyssamiller77 Posts: 891 Member
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    Personally I LOVE Planet Fitness. However, we have a brand new one here in my neck of the woods (Opened November of 2011), I've been to a lot of them around the country and some can be hit or miss. Every location I've been to has Dumbells up to 75 pounds which is sufficient for me. I don't mind not having free barbells (no squat racks, no preacher benches) as I can still do all I need to with the Smith Machines and Dumbbells.

    Things I Like:
    - No Frills, it's just Cardio and Weight Equipment plus some tanning and red light beds. No basketball courts, pools, or other expensive facilities that I wouldn't use and would just drive up my membership fees.
    - The equipment is generally well kept and up to date. While the conditions vary at some clubs, even in the worst ones that I've been to the equipment was fairly new and definitely well maintained.
    - There are not many hard-core body builders. I have no problems with them but after spending years in the weight cage at Bally's I don't like working out with those folks around. The slamming weights, the constant yelling and the crazy posing for the mirrors gets to be distracting after a while.
    - They have cleaning stations all over the gym with spray bottles and paper towel easily accessible for people to clean the equipment when their done. Believe it or not, most do actually clean up.
    - In general the facilities are great. They all have nice locker rooms with real lockers, showers and lots of space. I've been to Anytime Fitness and Snap Fitness locations where all they had was a "changing room". There's tons of equipment both cardio and strength so it's rare that I have to wait for a piece that I need.

    Things I don't Like:
    - They tend to attract a younger crowd. The low price brings in a lot of high-school or recent grads. Not bad if they're serious about lifting but my experience is a lot of them come to socialize. Also the unlimited tanning with the black card attracts a lot of younger females (which isn't all bad I suppose) since the black card membership is cheaper than 15 days of tanning at any typical salon.
    - As I said, some of their gyms are not as nice as others. While supposedly they have a minimum square footage requirement for their locations I've been in some that were acquired gyms (former Gold's Gyms for instance) that are pretty small and tight and also not the cleanest. The worst one I was at was in a not so nice area on the outskirts of Boston.

    All in all, for $20 a month, I can workout anytime of the day or night (our local gym is 24hr), I can tan if I like, and I can use any of their gyms throughout the nation when I travel (I've used that up quite a bit). I can bring a guest for free every time I visit as well which is something most other gyms don't give you. So my wife or my daughter can come with me or I've even brought colleagues from work once in a while when traveling on business.
  • alyssamiller77
    alyssamiller77 Posts: 891 Member
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    I have never been told I can't dead lift, squat or lift heavy for that matter but some places do have rules like that (they are independently owned so it's up to the person who owns them to enforce the rules or whatever).

    It depends on the location. I deadlift, squat and such (obviously not a body builder levels but I do as heavy as I can) at my planet fitness and no one has said anything and others do it too. I love it there!

    Do you do it on the Smith Machines or is your location one of the ones that was grandfathered in with free barbells? I don't know that any of them have a problem with doing squats and such on the Smiths, it's just most don't have Barbells.
  • Bruckser
    Bruckser Posts: 2 Member
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    Joined the first of December and I love it. Great atmosphere and alot to offer. No classes but free trainer.
  • alyssamiller77
    alyssamiller77 Posts: 891 Member
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    The 24 month deal through costco for 24 hour fitness is like $320, or like $13 bucks a month. 24 hour fitness has more good than bad points to me. Look at some of the ridiculous videos of planet fitness on youtube. Planet fitness seems like a place where people get gym memberships, so they can say they have a gym membership...when they have no real desire to change their fitness level.
    But hey, anything is better than nothing.

    That's an awful wide generalization you're making there. I'm a consistent gym go-er and picked PF because it had what I needed in a gym. There are a lot of serious exercisers at my gym who I see there every day and when I've traveled I've seen the same at gyms from Boston to New York to Denver. I honestly can't understand what PF is the only gym that receives this level of bad-mouthing from folks who've never set foot in there.

    I've been a member at Bally's before (for 3 years before we moved out of the area). I've tried Snap Fitness and Anytime Fitness and didn't care for either one. I've got a lot of years of experience with gyms including one at my former employer. Of all of them I enjoy PF the most. So I'd be careful painting with that broad brush sir.

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