why do people seem to not like planet fitness?
Replies
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... and an act of Congress to cancel your membership.
:laugh::laugh:0 -
Well now that I've read about it, I'm thinking pizza grease on the treadmills might be a hazard worth avoiding.0
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Find what works for you and do it. Most importantly, don't worry about what other people think. I do belong to a PF, I don't eat the pizza or the bagels, the people are very helpful and friendly, and the gym has up to date equipment. As long as you are active and happy it doesn't matter where you work out as long as you work out.0
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I belong - they just opened one within 12 blocks of my house. It's cheap, it's clean, the people are nice and it serves my purposes and that is all that matters.
I hate when people on here say "join a real gym" If it works for you - then you do it. If not - then find somewhere else.
I can't afford to join a "big" gym right now - that $49 month plus initiation fee is out of my league - and I'm not ready for all the Heavy weights yet anyway.
I can meet with a trainer for FREE as part of my $10 a month. By paying that $10 a month and using their facility, I actually am working out - which is more than I could say about what I was accomplishing at home.
Yes there are tootsie rolls on the counter - and I have yet to eat one. I just call out my number as I walk by the counter and keep going. I carry a water bottle with me - everyone does - just not a gallon jug! LOL I've seen tank tops, etc. Still haven't seen Pizza - but if it's there it apparently isn't while I am.
Now if I wanted to lift heavy - I don't know that they have what I exactly need - not sure, cause I don't go over to the free weight section much yet. Still learning my way around. However, I get in my cardio - 20 minutes on the elliptical and I do the ab circuit or the 30 minute express circuit or wander around the weight machines and do my own thing. Yesterday I finally made it over to the rack/machine that I can do squats on. Thursday I meet with the trainer and I'll learn how to use some of the other stuff. (oh and a few of the guys I've seen there - definitely lift some heavy stuff and are built like 'lunks' - but they are super nice and have helped me out)
Different locations have different equipment I am learning - some are older, some newer. It is what it is - for $10 a month - what do you want. No one place is perfect for everyone. Make the best out of your situation - and do what is best for you. I promise not to knock you for it.0 -
If you like it then Great!!
Ppl will hate, but PF keeps making $$$ regardless.0 -
My health insurance company reimburses my gym costs, but only at the YMCA and Planet Fitness. The YMCA is crowded and small and not open 24 hours, so we chose Planet Fitness. Eventually I'm planning on moving away from the gym and getting my own power rack and barbells, but until we're legally allowed to kick out the children, we don't have the space. :laugh:0
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I belong - they just opened one within 12 blocks of my house. It's cheap, it's clean, the people are nice and it serves my purposes and that is all that matters.
I hate when people on here say "join a real gym" If it works for you - then you do it. If not - then find somewhere else.
I can't afford to join a "big" gym right now - that $49 month plus initiation fee is out of my league - and I'm not ready for all the Heavy weights yet anyway.
I can meet with a trainer for FREE as part of my $10 a month. By paying that $10 a month and using their facility, I actually am working out - which is more than I could say about what I was accomplishing at home.
Yes there are tootsie rolls on the counter - and I have yet to eat one. I just call out my number as I walk by the counter and keep going. I carry a water bottle with me - everyone does - just not a gallon jug! LOL I've seen tank tops, etc. Still haven't seen Pizza - but if it's there it apparently isn't while I am.
Now if I wanted to lift heavy - I don't know that they have what I exactly need - not sure, cause I don't go over to the free weight section much yet. Still learning my way around. However, I get in my cardio - 20 minutes on the elliptical and I do the ab circuit or the 30 minute express circuit or wander around the weight machines and do my own thing. Yesterday I finally made it over to the rack/machine that I can do squats on. Thursday I meet with the trainer and I'll learn how to use some of the other stuff. (oh and a few of the guys I've seen there - definitely lift some heavy stuff and are built like 'lunks' - but they are super nice and have helped me out)
Different locations have different equipment I am learning - some are older, some newer. It is what it is - for $10 a month - what do you want. No one place is perfect for everyone. Make the best out of your situation - and do what is best for you. I promise not to knock you for it.
I see very few that say "join a real gym", if it works for you, great!. But, I'm going to leave this here again...
Per the usual response....
If they didn't caracaturize fitness enthusiasts and call them a dull or stupid person; blockhead; an awkward, heavy, or stupid person (lunk) all while advertising a judgement free zone, they'd catch far less hell here, but from what I can tell that's what they want.
Telling people they don't belong so they join their "judgement free" zone when in all actuality they are probably the most judgmental gym around.
EDIT: The bolded portion isn't exclusive to PF. The dumb stupid looking guys at most gyms are super nice an will always look to help if you ask.0 -
I see very few that say "join a real gym", if it works for you, great!. But, I'm going to leave this here again...
Per the usual response....
If they didn't caracaturize fitness enthusiasts and call them a dull or stupid person; blockhead; an awkward, heavy, or stupid
Actually - I've seen that response more than once when someone has asked for advice and mentions that is where they go. Like that is a helpful response. Sometimes you have to work with what you've got.0 -
I go to Planet Fitness and can actually understand some people's frustration. My boyfriend doesn't like going there at all. But it works well for me, the weights are within my range, they have a lot of cardio machines and I just avoid the days with pizza and bagels.0
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Planet Fitness had a good marketing strategy to begin with: a gym for people who don't want to feel like they need to get in shape before they ever work out. They want people to feel comfortable coming in and working out, not demoralized by gym rats who have 'unattainable' bodies.
Planet Fitness took a wrong turn by shaming people who are in excellent shape. Another wrong turn is serving pizza and bagels. The latter seems to be a way to make lifelong customers.0 -
I see very few that say "join a real gym", if it works for you, great!. But, I'm going to leave this here again...
Per the usual response....
If they didn't caracaturize fitness enthusiasts and call them a dull or stupid person; blockhead; an awkward, heavy, or stupid
Actually - I've seen that response more than once when someone has asked for advice and mentions that is where they go. Like that is a helpful response. Sometimes you have to work with what you've got.
Like I said.....very few. Those people would probably say the same thing about curves, etc....
If they didn't have the marketing strategy they currently use, in this forum, they'd be another 24/7.0 -
because this is MFP and someone will always have something bad to say about anything - honestly
MFP?
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LOL loved this!!!0 -
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I like lifting heavy weights and sometimes I have to yell when I bench.
I wouldn't be welcome at PF and I am not a "bodybuilder" or a swole-bro "lunkhead" or whatever they call it in their non-judgmental atmosphere.0 -
Not only do they not allow heavy lifting but they actively discourage it through name calling and loud annoying alarms.
I would not like it.
i'm as big a hater as the next guy, but there is no one preventing you from lifting above a certain weight.
some lifts can't be done for a number of reasons, but of the lifts available you can lift as much as you can.
unless your talking about dumbbells...
I'm talking about dead lifting and squats. They dont have the equipment I need for my heavy lifting abilities. But I'm just a lunkhead (their words, not mine).0 -
I go there.
I like it.
There are fit people there. There are guys that are pretty darn big and buff there. There are out of shape people there. But there are those same exact people at any gym.
The way it is run and the rules they enforce is dependent upon who owns that particular franchise location. The PF in Providence RI has squat racks and olympic bars. My planet fitness does not.
Also, I wear tank tops, spaghetti strapped tops, short shorts, and I'm fit and have never been told to leave or cover up because my body is "intimidating". This is something that I wear regularly to the gym. I have 4 pairs of shorts like these and I wear similar tank tops:
Again, never have been told to leave or cover up.
The lunk alarm -- I've only heard it go off a handful of times. Most recently was yesterday because the guy was SCREAMING while he's attempting to lift more than he could handle on the smith machine (truth be told I don't even know WTF exercise he was doing but that's not the point). I have grunted, my husband has grunted, I've heard other people grunt but there is no need to scream as you're lifting or yell so loud you can hear it a block away. I get it. You're lifting heavy. Yay you but you don't have to scream. Also there is absolutely NO need to slam down the weight plates after every. single. repetition.
As for pizza and bagels yeah. They have them but you don't have to partake. I'm there on the bagel day because, well I go to the gym in the am and I partake in the coffee because it's free. And sometimes I'll take home a bagel for my lunch but you're not forced to partake.
PF suits my needs. If it's not your cup of tea then that's fine.0 -
I hate when people on here say "join a real gym" If it works for you - then you do it. If not - then find somewhere else.
I can't afford to join a "big" gym right now - that $49 month plus initiation fee is out of my league - and I'm not ready for all the Heavy weights yet anyway.
This. I don't feel like I have anything to prove to anyone by how much money I spend on my gym membership. I go there with my fiance and I am in way better shape than I was before I started going. I like that there's a diverse group of people. There are guys that are bigger, people who are somewhere in the middle, people who are first starting out...and everyone just pays attention to themselves and their workout. No one is staring you down.
The pizza thing is pretty ridiculous, I agree. But I just don't partake in pizza or bagels and go about my day.
They are all franchise owned and it depends on which one you go to as far as the dress code is concerned. I see girls in the racerback tank tops and bike shorts doing their thing and no one bats an eye. Only time I heard the lunk alarm go off was when there was a car on fire in the parking lot (no joke).
Overall, go wherever you need to go to get in shape and don't worry what other people say. As long as your gym is working for you, then there's no reason to be ashamed.0 -
There are so many people missing the forest for the trees here......
It's not really the gym, if it works for you, fits what you want, your wallet, etc....Awesome!
it's the marketing that people don't like, but hey, apparently people like gyms/businesses that like to make fun of, point fingers at, and exclude a certain demographic....
(I thought that was the mainstream gyms that did that and were all judgyjudgerton....who knew).0 -
I have seen so much in the way of insults toward the gym of which I am proudly a part. I am a member of Planet Fitness for many reasons. For those of you saying they discourage achievement and the like, I have news for you, they don't. The PF I go to has had many fantastic trainers. If you're using the machines wrong, you'll be told about it and shown how to, if not by an employee, then by another member. If you take the pizza/bagels to the exercise area, you'll be asked to go back to the lobby where they serve it. The tootsie roll thing is awesome for me because I usually work out so intensely that I have to have that little bit of carb to assist with the worn out feeling of my body. I've heard the lunk alarm go off because they wanted to push it when a kid came in and asked them to do it. As for grunting, they don't really enforce that. I even grunt a little while lifting. I personally am glad that I don't work at a place that has yelling and dropping/slamming weights because that would make me feel uncomfortable.
Along the lines of the trainers that they have to PF, my dad is overweight and over sixty. They've done everything for him to make sure that he has the right tools to lose weight and feel great. He's been going there for 3 years and is more muscular than he has been in my entire 26 years of life. He's never changed his diet (which is what we're working on now) so he's not lost the weight, but we have just made him a specialized diet plan and he's losing weight too. My dad outdoes most of the 20 year olds at the gym when it comes to ab workouts, and that, to me, brings a tear to my eye. He started at PF not being able to do 3 minutes on the elliptical and now he does an hour without thinking twice. He does the arc machine for an hour. He started out not being able to do ab workouts almost at all, but through the dedication of the PF trainers, he can.
Who can forget the 30 minute circuit there? Now I know, those of you who have been there have seen it used incorrectly a myriad of times and it not being enforced that this is the circuit equipment only, but if you see me in the circuit, people who aren't using it right tend to get out of my way. Maybe it's the intensity that they see when I'm doing my cardio. Maybe it's the high kicks, roundhouse kicks, side kicks (did I mention I do a lot of kicks on those steps) and the pushups between cardio and strength. I don't know why people get out of my way when they're doing the circuit incorrectly and using one machine for 20 minutes or something, but they do. That mini session of the only thing I don't like about the circuit aside, I love that circuit! Burning no less than 350 calories when I do it and just getting that full body workout is so fantastic. I know people who do it twice (making a 60 minute circuit) and I'll probably be one of those people someday. If you do it all right (do the full minute of strength and not just 12 reps, which this is right in my eyes, don't question!
), you're worn plum out. I love having the trainer in there helping with the circuit too.
I know that this is my own personal experience with PF, but I'm a promoter of their company because of the way that they treat my friends and family that go there. I know that I'm probably going to get a "good for you but they still suck" or "welcome to the internet, you must be new here" because I voiced my opinion solely because of the other opposing opinions toward something I love. I personally believe PF is one of the best out there for those of us that are looking to lose weight and feel great.0 -
I have lost 45 lbs using MFP and going to Planet Fitness...........I have never had any issues.
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haters are gonna hate
it's not the greatest gym in the world, but for the price, i like it0 -
I have seen so much in the way of insults toward the gym of which I am proudly a part. I am a member of Planet Fitness for many reasons. For those of you saying they discourage achievement and the like, I have news for you, they don't. The PF I go to has had many fantastic trainers. If you're using the machines wrong, you'll be told about it and shown how to, if not by an employee, then by another member. If you take the pizza/bagels to the exercise area, you'll be asked to go back to the lobby where they serve it. The tootsie roll thing is awesome for me because I usually work out so intensely that I have to have that little bit of carb to assist with the worn out feeling of my body. I've heard the lunk alarm go off because they wanted to push it when a kid came in and asked them to do it. As for grunting, they don't really enforce that. I even grunt a little while lifting. I personally am glad that I don't work at a place that has yelling and dropping/slamming weights because that would make me feel uncomfortable.
Along the lines of the trainers that they have to PF, my dad is overweight and over sixty. They've done everything for him to make sure that he has the right tools to lose weight and feel great. He's been going there for 3 years and is more muscular than he has been in my entire 26 years of life. He's never changed his diet (which is what we're working on now) so he's not lost the weight, but we have just made him a specialized diet plan and he's losing weight too. My dad outdoes most of the 20 year olds at the gym when it comes to ab workouts, and that, to me, brings a tear to my eye. He started at PF not being able to do 3 minutes on the elliptical and now he does an hour without thinking twice. He does the arc machine for an hour. He started out not being able to do ab workouts almost at all, but through the dedication of the PF trainers, he can.
Who can forget the 30 minute circuit there? Now I know, those of you who have been there have seen it used incorrectly a myriad of times and it not being enforced that this is the circuit equipment only, but if you see me in the circuit, people who aren't using it right tend to get out of my way. Maybe it's the intensity that they see when I'm doing my cardio. Maybe it's the high kicks, roundhouse kicks, side kicks (did I mention I do a lot of kicks on those steps) and the pushups between cardio and strength. I don't know why people get out of my way when they're doing the circuit incorrectly and using one machine for 20 minutes or something, but they do. That mini session of the only thing I don't like about the circuit aside, I love that circuit! Burning no less than 350 calories when I do it and just getting that full body workout is so fantastic. I know people who do it twice (making a 60 minute circuit) and I'll probably be one of those people someday. If you do it all right (do the full minute of strength and not just 12 reps, which this is right in my eyes, don't question!), you're worn plum out. I love having the trainer in there helping with the circuit too.
I know that this is my own personal experience with PF, but I'm a promoter of their company because of the way that they treat my friends and family that go there. I know that I'm probably going to get a "good for you but they still suck" or "welcome to the internet, you must be new here" because I voiced my opinion solely because of the other opposing opinions toward something I love. I personally believe PF is one of the best out there for those of us that are looking to lose weight and feel great.
And I ask again, which no one seems to want to answer to, what do you think of their derogatory marketing strategy?
They caracaturize fitness enthusiasts and call them a dull or stupid person; blockhead; an awkward, heavy, or stupid person all while advertising a judgement free zone, if that wasn't the marketing scheme they'd catch far less hell here, but from what I can tell that's what they want.
That's what disgusts most people about the place...0 -
Not only do they not allow heavy lifting but they actively discourage it through name calling and loud annoying alarms.
I would not like it.
i'm as big a hater as the next guy, but there is no one preventing you from lifting above a certain weight.
some lifts can't be done for a number of reasons, but of the lifts available you can lift as much as you can.
unless your talking about dumbbells...
I'm talking about dead lifting and squats. They dont have the equipment I need for my heavy lifting abilities. But I'm just a lunkhead (their words, not mine).
if you were lifting 5 lbs in a deadlift would you still call it heavy lifting?
i guess it doesn't matter because they still wont let you do it0 -
on the other hand, even tho there is a sign saying that the bar is not to be used for deadlifting, i've seen guys do some pretty creative things with that bar.
if you didn't mind using a weight you could clean and press then i suppose you might get away with doing squats, obviously this isn't going to touch how much weight you can acutally do.0 -
In
:laugh:0 -
And I ask again, which no one seems to want to answer to, what do you think of their derogatory marketing strategy?
That's what disgusts most people about the place...
Honestly? I personally couldn't care less what their advertising is. I don't really pay any attention to any advertising. When I choose to go somewhere it's because it's convenient for me. PF is cheap and close(er) to where I live than the one other gym in the area.0 -
And I ask again, which no one seems to want to answer to, what do you think of their derogatory marketing strategy?
They caracaturize fitness enthusiasts and call them a dull or stupid person; blockhead; an awkward, heavy, or stupid person all while advertising a judgement free zone, if that wasn't the marketing scheme they'd catch far less hell here, but from what I can tell that's what they want.
That's what disgusts most people about the place...
In the initial planning of the company, I'd say that it was trying to gear itself toward the everyman, not the bodybuilder. I think that calling "bodybuilders" if you will lunkheads is kinda tacky to be honest, but I don't believe that it was initially intended that way, but like wording of any kind, it can be taken wrong. Maybe that's why I've always laughed at the advertising, because I think it's silly now. No really, I think it's just silly. PF is not a place for those that are wanting to get to be Olympic medalists in weightlifting. It's more for the cardio and toning, as well as muscle building (to an extent). As for a judgment free zone, yeah I see where people could get mad that a bodybuilder is characterized as a dummy, but to be honest, I would see you as an idiot if you started yelling during lifting weights.
Think about it in another way, if yelling and loudly grunting makes someone like me, someone who is trying to lose weight and tone up for a health reasons and a wedding, feel uncomfortable, I might leave. If you're yelling and loudly grunting and people are looking at you like, wow he's strong, you're going to keep doing it, but, if the people around you are like me and see it as someone being an idiotic attention *kitten*, you might leave because you can't do that anymore without people judging you. I'm not advocating that bodybuilders are idiots, I'm just telling you the way I've always seen people who do the things prohibited at a Planet Fitness.
I really hope that made sense XD
TL:DR version: I think that it's a very silly and dumb advertising ploy that was not initially intended to be what it became.0 -
I have lost 45 lbs using MFP and going to Planet Fitness...........I have never had any issues.
:flowerforyou: Nice work :happy:0 -
And I ask again, which no one seems to want to answer to, what do you think of their derogatory marketing strategy?
They caracaturize fitness enthusiasts and call them a dull or stupid person; blockhead; an awkward, heavy, or stupid person all while advertising a judgement free zone, if that wasn't the marketing scheme they'd catch far less hell here, but from what I can tell that's what they want.
That's what disgusts most people about the place...
TL:DR version: I think that it's a very silly and dumb advertising ploy that was not initially intended to be what it became.
Calling people who lift heavy stupid really can't be taken the wrong way though. They intended to insult a group of people based on their fitness goals and that's exactly what it was.0
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