What's wrong with Planet Fitness?

There is nothing "wrong" with Planet Fitness. Some people just don't like it.

I joined the PF that opened near my home back in January, same time as I started here and working out there as helped me to lose 60 pounds since January 1, 2012.

I like it much more than the 24hr Fitness in town which is the kind of gym some folk here seem to prefer. Dumbbells go up to 75 lbs which is fine for me, the Smith machines are great for me since I am in there before 5am and don't have a spotter when I am doing bench presses and what not and I appreciate the fact that they don't allow the gangsta crap I had to put up with at 24hr Fitness.

There is nothing "wrong" with Planet Fitness. Some people just don't like it.

I joined the PF that opened near my home back in January, same time as I started here and working out there as helped me to lose 60 pounds since January 1, 2012.

I like it much more than the 24hr Fitness in town which is the kind of gym some folk here seem to prefer. Dumbbells go up to 75 lbs which is fine for me, the Smith machines are great for me since I am in there before 5am and don't have a spotter when I am doing bench presses and what not and I appreciate the fact that they don't allow the gangsta crap I had to put up with at 24hr Fitness.

@OP: You'll find people that love it and people that hate it. The best thing you can do it see if you can get a trial-membership and use the hell out of that membership to see if you do like it or not.

Yup

Daily show did a skit on it. No lunks allowed.

http://blog.pjpride.com/2011/09/daily-show-and-planet-fitness.html

I got a few passes to the one in my area, and my only complaint was the machines they had were not meant to handle morbidly obese individuals. I started at 433 lbs and had problems getting the treadmills to work correctly. My friend soon discovered the label rating it to no more than 300 lbs. I ended up buying a treadmill to handle my weight.

It seems like people either love or hate Planet Fitness-I'm one of the people who love it. But like others have said, it depends on the location. Mine is nice and quiet when I go in the mornings and since I don't do much for weights, I don't mind that they don't go over 75 lbs. There are some gyms around here that my friends love but I don't like at all. I do love the fact that Planet Fitness is 24 hours a day cause I like to work out alone and when no one else is really there.

No grunting and they don't like bodybuilders. I wish it was my gym. Mine is just the opposite (rhymes with Mold's Tim) but it's convenient.

I absolutely love Planet Fitness! I've checked out at least ten gyms in my area and it's the only one that seemed to be great quality at a good price. I've had my membership for a year and a half and have no intentions of cancelling it.

I'm getting into "heavy lifting" so it doesn't work for me. I'll pay $15 more for access to classes pool and a greater variety of weights. Picking the right gym is a combination of your goals, what you expect from them, and how much you are willing to pay. I have MANY gyms in my area so I tried a few before picking. In the end...I really wanted the pool

The only thing I don't like is the people, but I can't change that. lol.

It's fine if you're just looking to go for a basic workout and they have some nice circuits. There's plenty of machines and it's usually very clean. They don't offer much for the intensely fit, some people find that it's limited once they've passed a certain point. You can get a $10 month-to-month membership and quit anytime w/ no penalty

I love it! It is super cheap, very clean, and they have great, modern machines!!!

I went to PF for 2 years. I loved it. I only stopped because I started going to classes and they didn't hold aerobic class there. In my opinion though it's the best bang for your buck since you can go for $10 a month with no contract, do circuit training, weight lifting or machines, use the massage chairs afterwards and even tan (though I didn't do the last part).

I've heard some negatives but personally never experienced them. In fact, since it was mostly open 24 hrs I really loved that if I went early or late there was almost no one there.

Lastly, when I started going I was 300 lbs literally. I tried Baily's & Gold's. I always felt like an intruder. At PF I wasn't the heaviest or skinniest person there. And even if I was I never felt judged. It's the motto but that doesn't always mean anything to some people. At that gym I felt like it actually was practiced. And if I join a gym again (which I probably will this winter) it will most likely be PF.

There's nothing wrong with planet fitness at all provided that:

1. You are a beginner at fitness (they don't have the type of equipment that caters to people who have moved past the beginner phase, what with no free weights--only machines and light to medium weight dumbbells).

2. Your goals are strictly weight loss oriented (see above--lack of "heavy lifting" tools mean people looking to build legitimate athletic conditioning are left out in the cold).

3. You have the willpower to resist the treat temptations (free pizza one night a week to all gym members, and all the candy you can eat 24/7).

4. You can get through your workout without grunting (along with dropping the weights, it is a violation of their policy and will have you publicly humiliated via an air raid siren-style alarm they sound whenever someone breaks the rules. They call it the lunk alarm, and on top of the public humiliation, they eject you if you do it again).

I could keep going, but basically here's the gist of it: The gym has only machines that do isolation training, cardio equipment, and dumbbells that go up to no more than 50-60 lbs. The only thing they have that other gyms don't is a designated circuit training center that guides you through a half hour circuit training workout using numbered stations. While this is a good and novel idea, I feel it really only benefits beginners who do not yet know how to put their own program together. The fact that they have no free weights to do more advanced exercises, and rules designed to discourage people who are at a more advanced level of fitness from using their facilities, mean they are really only capable of catering to beginners on a budget who either cannot afford a trainer or do now have a workout buddy to guide them through proper workouts.

I have a Planet Fitness coming near me, but I've heard a lot of negative reviews on this gym.
What's bad about Planet Fitness?

I don't go to one but I've read from several folks that they have limited to no free weights and they don't allow deadlifting or olympic style lifts.

That's exactly it. Between the lack of free weights, restriction of lifts, and the silliness of the "lunk alarm" (we don't judge you, unless you want to lift heavy, then we immediately ridicule you.)

No power racks either, just Smith machines, which are the absolute worst things in the world, imo. Unrealistic movement path, supports most of the weight for you, bodyweight exercises are better than Smith machine exercises...

I had a membership for a year, when I first started getting into shape. Cardio machines were great, but once I really started getting serious about strength training, it just wasn't adequate at all.

I guess it's an ok beginner gym, and a decent general fitness gym (tons of machines,) but not a very good strength training gym.

I'm a member, I love it. It's clean, plenty of machines, 30-min circuit area, never a wait. I don't do any power lifting though so I can't comment on that. I've never ever heard the lunk alarm go off.