Planet Fitness??

I've heard their latest radio ad, $99 for a year membership, good until December 31st - then I Googled Planet Fitness and read a TON of bad reviews - so I'm not signing up.

I belong and like it just fine for the price. It is a great place for me to run away from the elements.

I agree.
I think a lot depends on the location---they're all individually owned franchises.

The one I belong to is pretty laid-back. I use the treadmill when it is too hot to run outside. I've been known to stay on for 90 minutes if no one's waiting, and no one ever says anything to me.

It's great for a beginner.

From my experience, the overall atmosphere at Planet Fitness isn't conducive to health and weight loss. The place smells dirty, there's a ton of lazy people not actually working out, and the gym gives out free pizza on Friday's which isn't exactly supporting good food choices. At the Planet Fitness in my city, homeless people buy memberships just to use the showers.

I think if you're going to invest in a gym, you should do a few trial memberships and find a place you look forward to going to - a place where the people you're surrounded by are motivating you and a place that feels nice, clean and enriching. If I don't look forward to going to the gym, I tend to waste the membership and not ever go..

As someone else has mentioned....there really does seem to be alot of differences with locations. I love my Planet Fitness and there are some serious, fitness minded men and women at my location. I have never heard the lunk alarm go off and neither have any of my friends. It is a no frills kind of place but my location has free weights that go up to 75 lbs, several cable stations and Smith machines, in addition to all the cardio and ab machines. I'm not looking for anything else. The staff and clientele are great and the place is spotless. I would check out your local PF before joining....as some here have been less than impressed. Good luck!!

I've been a Planet Fitness member since April. I love it, it's everything I need. As some have already said, it depends on where you go as they're all independently owned and operated. The one I go to is pretty laid-back, the staff is amazing, the members are awesome. There are guys who go there and bulk, some get away with doing power lifts (again, depends on who's working at the time).

You see all types there: bulky guys, older folks walking from machine to machine with the help of a cane, high school kids, people who are overweight. I've never felt judged there, which is what I needed to get started and how I got to where I am now.

I started on the 30 minute circuit and now use the free weights and cable and smith machines. They have the materials, it's up to you to seek out the means to learn how to use them. That's why it's amazing that they have a trainer on staff for members

I have the black card and I like it because of all the different locations. I have one near my house and one near my job so it is easy to drive to. It is great if you just want the machines but there are no classes like la fitness so thats kind of a downfall.

I'm a planet fitness member and I love it. I'm a beginner and was a little self-conscious to work out at a gym but at PF I feel comfortable.

I am currently looking at joining Planet Fitness and wanted to get my MFP buddies feedback. Are you a member and if so, what do you think??

I LOVE Plant Fitness, the rates are amazing, the staff of the one i went to rocked, and if someone even stares at you they can get thrown out. I moved out of state and they dont have one here, im so sad. But yea, def go!

I'm a member and so is my hubs. It does what I need it to do--- I go M-F for 30 minutes. It's cheap, and I have one minutes from my house.


I supplement my workouts elsewhere with group fitness classes.

Many people will complain that they don't have free weights. I believe it depends on the location, since I have benches and a squat rack at mine. They have plenty of weight machines too.

No deadlifts allowed at PF, but I can't deadlift anyway-- so it's a moot point to me.

Don't like the place. They created a lunk alarm so you can't drop weights, grunt, etc. Says it is judge-free zone and it isn't as you can tell from their commercials. If you want somewhere cheap just to do treadmills and cardios, I'd suggest there. But if you want to build muscle and be able to go up in weight go to a better gym like Gold's Gym.

Pretty much the lunk alarm is a way to not let you move up in weights because you'll never know how high you can go because you're so worried about the lunk alarm going off. Sometimes I can put up 8 times with a 85lb dumbbell on incline and then sometimes my arm just goes limp and i end up dropping it, they can't expect us to know that will happen.

Planet Fitness is not for performance athletes, bodybuilders, power lifters or hard core training.
It's a place for normal folks to go, enjoy and work to reach their fitness goals.
Planet fitness is a good match for some...horrible for others.

Each and every one is different. Where I live, the Planet Fitness is brand new. It's always super clean, never smells bad, the staff is friendly and helpful and all the equipment is awesome. I think that you need to specifically check out the one where you live to make your own judgements about it. Yes, they do have an alarm they sound when people grunt too loudly or drop weights, but they do this for a purpose. The gym that I used to belong to was not very friendly to bigger people. It became quite intimidating at times to have to sit there and feel like you're being judged. Not only that, but it's bothersome to me while I'm working out to have to listen to people grunt and try to draw attention to themselves and show off for others. I love the 30 minute circuit as well. it's a wonderful way to get a quick workout in and use all the muscles in your body. Plus, the starting memberships were only $10 a month for 5 years! Plus a $1 start up fee. I would recommend Planet Fitness to anyone. Just depends on what you like and don't like. Go in and ask for a tour and see how you feel about it.

Don't like the place. They created a lunk alarm so you can't drop weights, grunt, etc. Says it is judge-free zone and it isn't as you can tell from their commercials. If you want somewhere cheap just to do treadmills and cardios, I'd suggest there. But if you want to build muscle and be able to go up in weight go to a better gym like Gold's Gym.

Pretty much the lunk alarm is a way to not let you move up in weights because you'll never know how high you can go because you're so worried about the lunk alarm going off. Sometimes I can put up 8 times with a 85lb dumbbell on incline and then sometimes my arm just goes limp and i end up dropping it, they can't expect us to know that will happen.

Planet Fitness is not for performance athletes, bodybuilders, power lifters or hard core training.
It's a place for normal folks to go, enjoy and work to reach their fitness goals.
Planet fitness is a good match for some...horrible for others.

Exactly, that's why I wrote that if you're going there for cardio I would suggest going there, if you're going to workout and gain muscle and strength I would suggest another gym.

I was at PF for about a year and then switched to anytime fitness. Planet fitness is ok if you know what you are doing or you don't mind all the people, but I love my current gym. It's small, and everyone is friendly.