Planet Fitness gym: anyone have experience with them?

[artemis]

@Meatros

This is just counter intuitive to me. I suppose that’s where my difficulty in grasping this is coming from. When I’m shopping for gyms I look at price and what they have to offer. I’ve seen PF a few times (there seems to be a plethora of them) but I know better than to sign up there because I’ll just get kicked out.

The idea that I would sign up for a gym and once I start getting into shape I’d leave is bizarre.

A lot of people who’ve never worked out are intimidated by the idea of working out alongside really fit people. The problem’s mostly in their head (in my experience, the fit people at the gym are encouraging to the out-of-shape newbies, not discouraging), but that doesn’t make it any less real. So places like Planet Fitness offer an atmosphere they find attractive.

And a lot of people who are out of shape and have never exercised seriously have no idea how quickly they’ll get into shape, or that they might actually come to like “scary” stuff like HIIT, P90x, CrossFit, and powerlifting. So they don’t realize that they may outgrow Planet Fitness when they join it.

So is it more for a social atmosphere then? If it were only populated with cardio equipment, that would be one thing, but PF’s do tend to have free weights and such. I recognize that not everyone will either want or get to a stage of where they need heavier than 55 lb dumbbells, but what do you do if you hit that level?

Exactly. People join Planet Fitness for the atmosphere (and the low price), and if the day comes when it can no longer meet their workout needs, they graduate to another gym. Or they’ll keep their Planet Fitness membership (since it’s cheap) and do some things there (like cardio), and the rest of their workout elsewhere.

[Meatros]

@artemis

A lot of people who’ve never worked out are intimidated by the idea of working out alongside really fit people. The problem’s mostly in their head (in my experience, the fit people at the gym are encouraging to the out-of-shape newbies, not discouraging), but that doesn’t make it any less real. So places like Planet Fitness offer an atmosphere they find attractive.

Okay, I can get that - although in my experience, gyms aren’t packed with fit people. Anecdotal, but for every 10 averagely fit (?) people I see, there’s one jacked dude (or really fit woman). Then again, I work out at a rec center (and have for a few years now), but I could swear that this held up when I worked out at other places.

Still, your main point is about perception, and in that light, I can see how PF would be attractive to people who have that perception.

I must confess that if I were a new person to exercising I’d want a few people who looked like they knew what they were doing to help me out. I’m not sure if PF has personal trainers or not (I have to imagine they do - right?).

@artemis

And a lot of people who are out of shape and have never exercised seriously have no idea how quickly they’ll get into shape, or that they might actually come to like “scary” stuff like HIIT, P90x, CrossFit, and powerlifting. So they don’t realize that they may outgrow Planet Fitness when they join it.

Fair enough.

@artemis

Exactly. People join Planet Fitness for the atmosphere (and the low price), and if the day comes when it can no longer meet their workout needs, they graduate to another gym. Or they’ll keep their Planet Fitness membership (since it’s cheap) and do some things there (like cardio), and the rest of their workout elsewhere.

Okay, that does make some sense.

[artemis]

@Meatros

Still, your main point is about perception, and in that light, I can see how PF would be attractive to people who have that perception.

Exactly. I don’t know of any gyms where everyone’s a hard-body (flab-body is more like it) - but folks who’ve never gone to a gym before may well believe otherwise.

I must confess that if I were a new person to exercising I’d want a few people who looked like they knew what they were doing to help me out. I’m not sure if PF has personal trainers or not (I have to imagine they do - right?).

Since I’ve never been to Planet Fitness, I’m not sure if they have trainers. But if they do, I bet the trainers emphasize things like plyometrics which don’t require a lot of heavy weights. There are certainly many beneficial exercises that can be performed using lighter weight dumbbells and simple equipment like a bosu, Swiss balls, and resistance bands.

[chiroptera]

I called them today - they do have ONE trainer who you can hire for individual sessions plus he’s one of several people who leads various classes. I just got the high-speed sales spiel over the phone and part of it was “we are not a place for serious bodybuilders and weight lifters, we focus on overall fitness and weight loss for everyday folks.”

So, I dunno. I will visit but after reading responses here I’m thinking that I may be better off with the hospital-affiliated gym that’s $60 a month but is a more…“serious” gym, for want of a better word. With more amenities. And also fairly conveniently located for me.

I don’t need to lose weight and my primary reason for wanting to get back into gym-going is to a: relocate the mildly squishy bits and/or firm them up (I’m female BTW, and while my weight has been unchanged for 40 years, parts of me are getting a bit squishy and pointing south, heh…and also I can’t see wanting to lift 100 lb dumbbells even if I could), and b: strengthen my core and do whatever would be helpful in relieving my chronic back pain and sciatica. So proper form and technique is definitely important and when I had a trainer - she was a competitive bodybuilder and really pushed me - it was enormously beneficial to me.

I’m not at all intimidated by extremely ripped people; in fact I think it’s rather motivating! I do recall a regular at the gym I used to belong to being a woman well into her 60s who seemed to be in amazing shape and I thought that very cool.

[artemis]

It definitely sounds like Planet Fitness may not be the best choice for you, chiroptera. Especially if the hospital-affiliated gym has some good personal trainers affiliated with it. But before you decide you might try talking one-on-one with the Planet Fitness trainer and see what kind of exercise routines he’d be putting you through. If it’s “toning” crap with very light weights, go elsewhere.

[filmore]

Does that gym offer classes? Those can be a great way to get in shape, work your core, and have fun at the same time. Zumba (latin dance) and spin/cycle classes are lots of fun and very beginner friendly. Just start slowly and ask the instructor what to do if it’s your first time.

[DadWagonDriver]

I belong to the PF in Utica, MI. I joined because my neighborhood doesn’t have streetlights, and PF has treadmills.

I like the center “30-minute workout” area, too. 20 stations to rotate through in 30 minutes. It’s a good way to quickly do a full-body workout.

There are still meatheads at the location I go to, working out in Armani Xchange shirts.

[chiroptera]

artemis, that’s what I’m planning - talk to the trainer to get an idea. I’m not trying to be all precious about this and I will never be hard core but I don’t want to lock myself into something that’s not much better than Curves, either!

filmore, yes they do have classes, I checked the schedule.

wmulax93, hi there (one of my best friends lives in Utica) and yeah, I’m not hard core but I don’t want to get into bad habits and also efficient workouts are not a bad thing at all.

[artemis]

I don’t think you have to be hard core to want a decent workout. And if your back problems are caused by weak supporting musculature, you need to get those muscles stronger, which may mean serious workouts with (eventually) substantial weights. So making sure the training offered by the Planet Fitness trainer will actually accomplish what you’re looking for before you sign up for it is the sensible thing to do.

Are you sure you can’t go back to your previous trainer and gym? Spendy is worth it if it gets you the results you’re looking for (assuming you can afford it budgetwise).

[chiroptera]

@artemis

I don’t think you have to be hard core to want a decent workout. And if your back problems are caused by weak supporting musculature, you need to get those muscles stronger, which may mean serious workouts with (eventually) substantial weights. So making sure the training offered by the Planet Fitness trainer will actually accomplish what you’re looking for before you sign up for it is the sensible thing to do.

Are you sure you can’t go back to your previous trainer and gym? Spendy is worth it if it gets you the results you’re looking for (assuming you can afford it budgetwise).

Welp, I’ve moved away from where gym #1 is located, although I work in that city a lot.
But their annual enrollment fee is somewhere around $400 and monthly dues about $100 and personal trainers are extra per session which is way more than I want to pay for someplace that is not that conveniently located for me. I could spend $400-500 a month at that gym to get once-per-week personal training plus membership and I simply cannot afford that.

I agree that spendy is worth it if you use the facilities and not spendy is a waste of money if you don’t stick with the program!

[artemis]

It certainly sounds like your old gym and trainer are definitely not an option. Good luck finding a new place that will work for you! If Planet Fitness doesn’t turn out to be the right place, I’m sure you’ll find somewhere else that will work. And if it is, that’s great!