# Tell me about Planet Fitness
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-planet-fitness/709385
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [January 9, 2015, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-planet-fitness/709385 "2015-01-09T12:26:43Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2015, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-planet-fitness/709385/41 "2015-01-19T18:16:03Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#):
>
> Relaxation definitely has its place when it comes to physical fitness. Before spin class this morning, I did some ab exercises, then flopped on the mat and relaxed for a minute or two. Then at the end of spin class, we did a nice relaxing cool-down song with some nice stretching. I relaxed and did some light stretching between sets of deadlifts. Using the gym as a place to relax is a wonderful thing. đ
>
> Seriously, though, 2 hours in the gym, doing the ab work, then sweating through a 45-minute spin class, then lifting heavy left me feeling more relaxed than lying around in some ârelaxation areaâ ever could. Canât do what I did today at Planet Fitness, though.
Youâll get no argument from me on those points. Relaxation definitely has its place⌠but their ârelaxation zonesâ promote laziness and low-effort rather than fitness. Heck, they donât even bother promoting the use of their relaxation zones as a recover tool. Instead, itâs all about chillaxing, and thatâs a poor way to make progress.
On a related note, youâre the kind of person that people should be when it comes to gym work, **Green Bean**. You acknowledge that youâre middle-aged and overweight, yet you have clearly educated yourself. You understand the importance of hard work, nutrition, and proper technique in ways that most people donât. The PF defenders could stand to learn from your example.
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-planet-fitness/709385/42 "2015-01-19T19:07:59Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#):
>
> Itâs the whole mentality of the place thatâs so repugnant.
>
> If they offered the same limited equipment without the negativity, manipulation, judgemental attitude, dishonesty, and anti-fitness policies, people wouldnât be railing against the place. It would just be a cheap fitness center thatâs not quite a real gym, and thereâs really nothing wrong with that.
> They make it very clear that people like me are not welcome. And by âby people like meâ I mean fat middle-aged suburban moms. Youâd think Iâd be their target audience, but by their standards, Iâm a lunk. I deadlift, I squat, I bench-press, and once in a while, if I really need to, I let out a little grunt.
> There are several problems with the notion of using PF as a âbeginner gym:â (again, not ragging on you for saying it)
>
> - If you start at Planet Fitness, you may never recognize the severe limitations of the place and move on to that better gym.
> - The constant exposure to the anti-fitness messages are likely to reduce your motivation to go further. I shudder to think of all the people who have drunk the grape kool-aid and let themselves be convinced that âgymsâ are scary and awful
> - It eliminates many of the things that are really important in getting people into a solid fitness routine (more on that in another post)
> - You see nothing to aspire to. No equipment that you have no idea how to use but looks kind of cool. No classes that youâre not quite ready for but would like to try someday. No personal trainers teaching people all sorts of weird and interesting techniques. No demonstration that âgoing to the gymâ doesnât have to be a boring slog of cardio machines and uncomfortable weight machines.
> - Starting at a new gym is an obstacle in and of itself. You have to learn your way around, get to know people, learn the routines of the place, and maybe pay an initiation fee. Itâs hard to get out of a comfort zone.
>
> Itâs like buying a bike with the training wheels welded on. Why wouldnât you buy a bike that will serve you just as well after you learn to ride? And who wants to buy a new bike anyway? Youâll probably end up using those training wheels for far too long.
>
> Because the bad is really very bad, and the lack of good things is very bad, and the mentality that it promotes is very bad. You can look past it because you recognize the game and have experience with other gyms. That is not true of most of the customers.
>
> Regarding the free pizza, bagels, tootsie rolls, and cupcakes - they SAY that itâs about showing that these things can be enjoyed in moderation, and I think we can all agree that pizza once a month wonât wreck your diet. The problem is that everybody is already having enough trouble moderating their pizza consumption. Giving them MORE pizza is not teaching them a thing. Gyms should be providing healthy things that people arenât getting enough of already in other areas of their lives, not unhealthy things that theyâre being offered all the time. If offering a healthy food freebie instead isnât feasible for whatever reason, they could give people some other kind of freebie. Go to the gym 10 times, get a water bottle! Oh, except that would actually encourage people to go to the gym and wouldnât make them any fatter.
> Good for her! Iâm glad she managed to get herself to at least some sort of fitness center, and especially glad she has a friend like you to support her and to tell her the truth about the serious drawbacks of going to Planet Fitness so she doesnât get âstuckâ there, both physically and mentally.
>
> Does she lift weights? I mean real weights, not those contraptions that purport to be weight machines or endless bicep curls with pink 5 lb dumbbells. If she was/is that heavy, sheâs probably quite strong, and being able to throw some real weight around will probably do wonders for her self-esteem. Perhaps more importantly, it will give her something quantifiable to work on other than the number on the scale. Unfortunately, PFâs lack of standard weight equipment and ridiculous rules will limit what she can do there, but she can at least get started. If you like, Iâm happy to give you my basic âminimalistâ routine and some suggestions to modify it for what she will have available at PF.
> Relaxation definitely has its place when it comes to physical fitness. Before spin class this morning, I did some ab exercises, then flopped on the mat and relaxed for a minute or two. Then at the end of spin class, we did a nice relaxing cool-down song with some nice stretching. I relaxed and did some light stretching between sets of deadlifts. Using the gym as a place to relax is a wonderful thing. đ
>
> Seriously, though, 2 hours in the gym, doing the ab work, then sweating through a 45-minute spin class, then lifting heavy left me feeling more relaxed than lying around in some ârelaxation areaâ ever could. Canât do what I did today at Planet Fitness, though.
QFT.
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### Author:  [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-planet-fitness/709385/43 "2015-01-19T19:27:59Z")
**Macca** - Wow, thatâs enough straw men to fill up the relaxation area and then some! Nobody said or insinuated most of that stuff. JThunder pointed out the key problem - they HINDER people from achieving their fitness goals.
I will say that youâre wrong about most people not needing more than the weights that Planet Fitness has to offer. Most healthy adults do need more weight than PF offers if they want to increase their functional strength, and they do need the equipment that PF has removed from their stores as a matter of corporate policy. Being fit requires more than being able to do a session on a cardio machine and a few dumbbell curls. Barbells are foundation of modern strength training, and they have been for the last hundred years or more.
**JThunder** - Ha, I totally agree with you about PFâs relaxation zones, and definitely with what you said up above - "Ultimately, thatâs the core problem with Planet Fitness. They promote exercise as something thatâs meant to be easy and relaxing â hence their demonization of bodybuilders. Their website states that they provide âan environment where you can relax, go at your own pace and just do your own thing.â You can go at your own pace and do your own thing at ANY gym. Even most classes allow you to adjust the intensity of your workout to your own needs. PF offers nothing unique in that regard, and theyâre being misleading by implying that they do. To quote the Hodge Twins, âThis is just advice. Get out there and do whatever the fuck you want!â
Thanks for the compliments, by the way.
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### Author:  [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2015, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-planet-fitness/709385/44 "2015-01-19T22:50:20Z")
> [@JThunder](#):
>
> Some of their policies (no grunting or heavy breathing, no deadlifting, no pull-up bars, no squat racks, no bench press stations, no carrying gallon jugs of water, etc) are designed to discourage serious gymgoers who are likely to use the facilities more frequently.
>
> Other amenities and policies (no scales in the bathrooms, free unlimited pizza, free candy, free bagels and/or donuts) are designed to attract people who arenât all that enthusiastic about working out. Heck, they donât even urge people to consume these fattening foods in moderation. If anything, [they pride themselves on the fact that they hand out over 3 million slices of pizza per year](http://planetfitness.com/news/fastest-growing-gym-franchise-america), even though this must seriously derail their clients from their fitness goals.
Itâs clear youâve never been in a Planet Fitness before or even listened to someone who has. The Planet Fitness I go to has no rules about heavy breathing or deadlifting. There are multiple pull-up bars, squat racks, and bench press stations. Everybody is carrying around water bottles, and I canât even remember the last time I heard the lunk alarm go off, even when someone did drop a heavy weight stack.
Also, pizza and bagels are once a month deals and theyâre far from unlimited. I rarely go on pizza night, but when I did they had ordered three sheets cut into the tiniest pieces Iâve ever seen. How far do you think 3 million pieces goes with 908 locations and 12 pizza nights a year?
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### Author:  [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2015, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-planet-fitness/709385/45 "2015-01-19T23:11:31Z")
**Green Beanâs** post # 37 is full of awesomeness. Even though itâs making me feel even worse about joining up there and giving them money!
That said, their stupid policies and utter hypocrisy aside, I donât see myself (almost 57, female, fairly scrawny; I have been a painting contractor for decades so am plenty strong already and want to keep my strength up) ever needing to utilize more weights than they have on hand. Either free weights or the machines. I already do more weight than almost any other female, and some of the guys, there and really do try to push myself to muscle exhaustion (without grunting, heh) but honestly I canât ever see myself getting to the upper limit on what they have to offer. Like I said earlier, Iâm doing the same work outs at the same intensity as I was at two more âseriousâ gyms.
I do have two herniated discs and mild, yet chronic, pain, and find that regular work outs and my back exercises minimize the discomfort greatly, as well as minimize the number of times my back goes nuclear to where I cannot walk. Also doing a lot of core exercises helps keep the squishy middle thing at bay. My other reasons for working out are just to keep overall decent muscle tone and fitness, and more recently, I am focusing on improving cardiac and aerobic health because while I am (for my age, gender and size) very strong, I have a higher resting heart rate than I would like and Iâm not so good cardio-vascular-wise.
\*\*
Green Bean\*\*, feel free to share your newbie work out regimen for my friend - but she is actually extremely weak, unsteady, and in horrible overall health, Iâm sorry to say. At her heaviest, her BMI was a jaw-dropping 69, so I am not kidding when I said she was super-morbidly-obese. That was at 5â1" and 365lbs. Due in part to her own dieting pre-surgery, and her weight loss post-surgery, sheâs now in the 270 or 280 range and steadily losing. Iâm really proud of her, actually - sheâs a smart woman but addicted to food and sheâs been really committed for months now and it is paying off.
So far she has âworked upâ to 30-40 minutes on the treadmill at 1.5 miles an hour and no incline. Which is pretty pathetic but literally miles better than she was doing a month ago, so there is that. Iâm going to give her a little more time, then start really pushing her - IMHO no reason she cannot do some, if not most, of the weight and resistance machines, starting with low reps and very little weight.
\*\*
JThunderâs\*\* point is also worth a mention- and as a skinny person, I get very much irritated by comments from random people, even strangers, about my size - itâs apparently acceptable to say things like âOh I hate people like you who can eat whatever and not gain weight!â Like itâs some backhanded compliment. But actually, no, I made a conscious, life-long effort, to not gain weight and to stay relatively fit. I had a few years as a pudgy teenager and never want to go back there again. So I changed the choices I made and stuck to them.
> [@](#):
>
> The latter is something that many people fail to understand. Some people say that they donât like having bodybuilders or other fit people within sight, and so they applaud PFâs methods. What if the situation were reversed, though? What someone said that having fat people around was demotivating? IF a gym were to then declare that overweight were âlunksâ and tried to drive them away, American would be outraged.
Also QFT.
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### Author:  [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2015, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-planet-fitness/709385/46 "2015-01-19T23:37:26Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#):
>
> Itâs clear youâve never been in a Planet Fitness before or even listened to someone who has. The Planet Fitness I go to has no rules about heavy breathing or deadlifting. There are multiple pull-up bars, squat racks, and bench press stations. Everybody is carrying around water bottles, and I canât even remember the last time I heard the lunk alarm go off, even when someone did drop a heavy weight stack.
As discussed in this very thread, Planet Fitness runs off a franchise model, and thereâs a lot of variation from location to location. You found one of the good ones, but that doesnât mean that there arenât bad ones as well.
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### Author:  [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2015, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-planet-fitness/709385/47 "2015-01-19T23:50:10Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#):
>
> As discussed in this very thread, Planet Fitness runs off a franchise model, and thereâs a lot of variation from location to location. You found one of the good ones, but that doesnât mean that there arenât bad ones as well.
Sure, but claiming they donât have _bench press stations_ is absurd. Iâm sure you could count the number of Planet Fitness locations without them on one hand.
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### Author:  [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)
#### Post date: [January 20, 2015, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-planet-fitness/709385/48 "2015-01-20T00:41:43Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#):
>
> Sure, but claiming they donât have _bench press stations_ is absurd. Iâm sure you could count the number of Planet Fitness locations without them on one hand.
You are dead wrong. Your location is violating corporate policy.
> [@](#):
>
> âThatâs not a typical Planet Fitness,â says McCall Gosselin, the companyâs director of public relations. âOur clubs donât have equipment like squat racks and Olympic benches. Our dumbbells only go up to 80 pounds.â
From here: [Planet Fitness Removes Squat Racks](http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/planet-fitness-not-gym)
Your location is an aberration, Justin.
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [January 20, 2015, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-planet-fitness/709385/49 "2015-01-20T00:46:36Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#):
>
> Sure, but claiming they donât have _bench press stations_ is absurd. Iâm sure you could count the number of Planet Fitness locations without them on one hand.
PF has _Smith machines_, which can be utilized for chest-presses similar to a bench press but they do not have free-weight bench-press options.
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### Author:  [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)
#### Post date: [January 20, 2015, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-planet-fitness/709385/50 "2015-01-20T01:09:54Z")
The first rule of Planet Fitness is to never make eye contact at Planet Fitness. Thatâs what I learned.
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### Author:  [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)
#### Post date: [January 20, 2015, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-planet-fitness/709385/51 "2015-01-20T01:19:12Z")
> [@tapu](#):
>
> The first rule of Planet Fitness is to never make eye contact at Planet Fitness. Thatâs what I learned.
Really? Why do you think so?
In any gym Iâve belonged to I tend to keep to myself, but still occasionally end up in casual conversations, even so.
Why do you think this is a rule specific to Planet Fitness? How does your rule compare to other gyms? Have you ever belonged to other gyms besides PF?
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### Author:  [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)
#### Post date: [January 20, 2015, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-planet-fitness/709385/52 "2015-01-20T01:35:42Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#):
>
> PF has _Smith machines_, which can be utilized for chest-presses similar to a bench press but they do not have free-weight bench-press options.
Yeah, if you want to tear up your shoulders. Smith machines are dangerous, as Iâm sure you know. Ironically, the only exercise that the smith machine is marginally suitable for is the deadlift, which Planet Fitness forbids. :rolleyes:
Iâm curious about what you do for your lower back since you canât deadlift. Extensions of some sort?
> [@chiroptera](#):
>
> Green Bean, feel free to share your newbie work out regimen for my friendâŚ
Itâs not actually a newbie workout. Itâs minimalist and old-school, and suitable for everybody without physical limitations (which unfortunately does not include your friend at the moment) Iâm not a newbie. I just had, like a 20-year break from lifting. đ
Itâs 5 exercises, one in each of the following categories:
1. Upper body push (I bench press)
2. Upper body pull (I do lat pull-downs. Rows are a good option)
3. Overhead press (I do a dumbbell press variant)
4. Squat (I do a classic squat)
5. Deadlift (I do a classic deadlift)
> [@](#):
>
> - but she is actually extremely weak, unsteady, and in horrible overall health, Iâm sorry to say. At her heaviest, her BMI was a jaw-dropping 69, so I am not kidding when I said she was super-morbidly-obese. That was at 5â1" and 365lbs. Due in part to her own dieting pre-surgery, and her weight loss post-surgery, sheâs now in the 270 or 280 range and steadily losing. Iâm really proud of her, actually - sheâs a smart woman but addicted to food and sheâs been really committed for months now and it is paying off.
>
> So far she has âworked upâ to 30-40 minutes on the treadmill at 1.5 miles an hour and no incline. Which is pretty pathetic but literally miles better than she was doing a month ago, so there is that. Iâm going to give her a little more time, then start really pushing her - IMHO no reason she cannot do some, if not most, of the weight and resistance machines, starting with low reps and very little weight.
Okay, so in that case, Iâm going to suggest she not go for all 5 of the exercises right now. How 'bout just two exercises and you guys focus on teaching her HOW to lift.
1. Overhead dumbbell press
2. Lat pulldown
Why these two? Because they donât require getting into any weird positions.
I suggest 3 sets of 10. The last set should be hard. If the weight is right, she should have trouble pushing out those last reps - or even not be able to complete all 10. If sheâs doing it easily, raise the weight of that last set, then when she can do that, do the second and third set at that heavier weight and so on. Capice? If 3 sets of 10 seems to be too much for her for whatever reason, try 2 sets of 12 or 3 sets of 8.
Whatâs going to happen is that as she gets used to the exercise and the feeling of approaching muscular failure, the weight she is lifting will increase rapidly. Thatâs an awesome feeling. Sheâll soon be asking for more exercises to do. Do not let her fall into the trap of staying at a low weight she can easily do 3 sets of 10 of. This is one place where failure is awesome.
Thereâs not a lot of sense in her wasting her time on some circuit of miscellaneous weight machines. Sheâd be better off doing things like bodyweight squats, stretching, and ab work (which will be really hard for her - tell her itâs okay to hate it! Just do a little bit each time). The machine which supposedly replicates a bench press might be worthwhile for her because bench press is an important exercise and itâs not possible for her to bench at PF.
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### Author:  [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)
#### Post date: [January 20, 2015, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-planet-fitness/709385/53 "2015-01-20T01:47:45Z")
> [@chiroptera](#):
>
> Really? Why do you think so?
> In any gym Iâve belonged to I tend to keep to myself, but still occasionally end up in casual conversations, even so.
> Why do you think this is a rule specific to Planet Fitness? How does your rule compare to other gyms? Have you ever belonged to other gyms besides PF?
Because it was like that. It is a futuristic vision of the self-sufficient, tightly-scheduled, self-obsessed Individual. The movie Brazil, realized.
I found Goldâs Gym to be quite the opposite. The employees and clients were relaxed, friendly, and helpful.
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### Author:  [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)
#### Post date: [January 20, 2015, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-planet-fitness/709385/54 "2015-01-20T02:12:00Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#):
>
> Yeah, if you want to tear up your shoulders. Smith machines are dangerous, as Iâm sure you know. Ironically, the only exercise that the smith machine is marginally suitable for is the deadlift, which Planet Fitness forbids. :rolleyes:
>
> Iâm curious about what you do for your lower back since you canât deadlift. Extensions of some sort?
>
> Itâs not actually a newbie workout. Itâs minimalist and old-school, and suitable for everybody without physical limitations (which unfortunately does not include your friend at the moment) Iâm not a newbie. I just had, like a 20-year break from lifting. đ
>
> Itâs 5 exercises, one in each of the following categories:
>
> 1. Upper body push (I bench press)
> 2. Upper body pull (I do lat pull-downs. Rows are a good option)
> 3. Overhead press (I do a dumbbell press variant)
> 4. Squat (I do a classic squat)
> 5. Deadlift (I do a classic deadlift)
>
> Okay, so in that case, Iâm going to suggest she not go for all 5 of the exercises right now. How 'bout just two exercises and you guys focus on teaching her HOW to lift.
>
> 1. Overhead dumbbell press
> 2. Lat pulldown
>
> Why these two? Because they donât require getting into any weird positions.
>
> I suggest 3 sets of 10. The last set should be hard. If the weight is right, she should have trouble pushing out those last reps - or even not be able to complete all 10. If sheâs doing it easily, raise the weight of that last set, then when she can do that, do the second and third set at that heavier weight and so on. Capice? If 3 sets of 10 seems to be too much for her for whatever reason, try 2 sets of 12 or 3 sets of 8.
>
> Whatâs going to happen is that as she gets used to the exercise and the feeling of approaching muscular failure, the weight she is lifting will increase rapidly. Thatâs an awesome feeling. Sheâll soon be asking for more exercises to do. Do not let her fall into the trap of staying at a low weight she can easily do 3 sets of 10 of. This is one place where failure is awesome.
>
> Thereâs not a lot of sense in her wasting her time on some circuit of miscellaneous weight machines. Sheâd be better off doing things like bodyweight squats, stretching, and ab work (which will be really hard for her - tell her itâs okay to hate it! Just do a little bit each time). The machine which supposedly replicates a bench press might be worthwhile for her because bench press is an important exercise and itâs not possible for her to bench at PF.
Yes, pretty much along the lines I was thinking - lat pulldowns, leg press (since youâre basically lying down for those), ab sit up benches, bicep curlsâŚbasically stuff that at low/no weights is surely stupidly easy and not stressful.
She has never in her life been physically active, and like many such people, views physical exertion or discomfort of any kind as inherently unpleasant and to be avoided at all costs. The notion that pushing oneself physically in any way can feel good is a completely alien concept. A few degrees too cold or too hot is potentially dangerous and to be avoided. As is sweating or heart thumping or breathlessness or any other normal signs of exertion - mind you, perhaps prudent for people who have had heart attacks.
But itâs a mental blockage, not a physical one, she has to overcome. I figure Iâll wait until sheâs confident just being there and doing her 30-40 minutes of whatever but in my head Iâm giving her another two weeks before I start nagging her. It is difficult for me to get inside the head of someone who has spent their entire lives avoiding and being afraid of physical activity, I figure sheâs had almost 60 years of that, so it will take a while for her to change her head around.
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### Author:  [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)
#### Post date: [January 20, 2015, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-planet-fitness/709385/55 "2015-01-20T03:01:41Z")
No noâŚget her doing a weightlifting exercise NOW. Even just one. Sheâll never be confident doing her 30-40 minutes until sheâs pushing beyond that somehow. Having her do whatever it is at low or no weight will be de-motivating because a. itâs boring, and b. sheâll know on some level that itâs useless. I like the idea of the âstupidly easyâ bicep curls. Start there with 5-pounders - no less. Even if itâs just a few reps. Maybe explain that when the muscle hurts a little, that means itâs getting stronger. Be goofy. Make it fun. Or at least try.
Iâd have the same trouble understanding her mindset as youâre having. I admire you for trying. Maybe one day sheâll produce an endorphin or two and start to get it.
BTW - what does she do while sheâs on the treadmill? Watch TV? I find that the right music makes my time on the elliptical fly by and I donât want to get off! For me, itâs heavy-heavy metal, especially Rammstein. Maybe that would work for her - either sheâd love it and work out harder, or sheâd hate it and walk faster trying to get away from it. Win-win!
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### Author:  [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)
#### Post date: [January 20, 2015, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-planet-fitness/709385/56 "2015-01-20T04:14:51Z")
Former morbidly obese near 50 year old woman turned gym rat checking in. Is there a rower/erg? I loved rowing as I was defattening, it let me use my awesome leg muscles with much less pain than walking and I could take more and more load on my arms as I strengthened up. I still abhor the treadmill and elliptical but row, spin bike and stairmaster quite regularly.
I do all the big lifts with the big boys and find the concept of PF horrifying. The weights set off my head chemicals in the most lovely way, like where I used to try to get with pizza and chocolate but never quite could. I try to get the larger folks off the treadmills and into the iron before they shed all the leg muscle carrying their larger selves around has created. The upper body takes a while, hurts and can be frustrating but leg success can come early and be very rewarding.
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### Author:  [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)
#### Post date: [January 20, 2015, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-planet-fitness/709385/57 "2015-01-20T08:55:30Z")
**Green Bean** , thanks and OK, yes I will get pushy with her! We are going this morning before workâŚI will start my campaign of forcing her out of her comfort zone. Iâve definitely been telling her that muscle soreness is a GOOD thing.
She just watches TV, I guess. Since they have about eleventy thousand of them there it is hard not to. Rammstein? Me too! Theyâre on my playlist. đ I like aggressive/metal/punk/rock & roll for working out.
**Thylacine** , good for you. I donât know if they have rowers, come to think of it.
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### Author:  [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)
#### Post date: [January 20, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-planet-fitness/709385/58 "2015-01-20T14:03:37Z")
Bad news - [they donât have rowing machines](https://www.facebook.com/planetfitness/posts/10151886992584856).
Quoth Planet Fitness
> [@](#):
>
> We have a standard model for our Planet Fitness clubs, and one of our policies is to not include types of equipment such as kettle bells and rowing machiness. This is due to liability reasons and also for the reason that we want to keep to general fitness, with the use of cardio and strength training machines.
What the heck? How does a rowing machine not fit in with âgeneral fitness?â They are perfectly ordinary!
Rowing machines are also one of the few cardio machines that provide a significant upper-body benefit. Itâs just one giant âupper body pullâ exercise. (and they feel great to use!) I wonder if PF has hand cycles? Theyâre not popular, but they are for the upper-body and one of the few (only?) cardio machines usable by people who have lower-body mobility issues.
They also donât provide stability balls or kettlebells. Huh? Theyâre not exotic. They sell them at Target, for peteâs sake! Kettlebells are only coming into common use now, but stability balls have been popular for more than a decade, and essential to many core strength exercises that wonât kill your back. Not having them is inexcusable.
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### Author:  [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)
#### Post date: [January 20, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-planet-fitness/709385/59 "2015-01-20T14:37:02Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#):
>
> Your location is an aberration, Justin.
OK. Then all the more reason not to tar every Planet Fitness with the same brush.
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### Author:  [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)
#### Post date: [January 20, 2015, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-planet-fitness/709385/60 "2015-01-20T17:48:46Z")
Painting them with the same brush? Posters here have repeatedly emphasized that not all Planet Fitness franchises are the same. Theyâve repeatedly acknowledged that some Planet Fitness locations are better than others.
This doesnât change the fact that their overall philosophy is, as **Green Bean** said, repugnant. They donât just promote mediocrity; they actively extol it. This wouldnât be such a problem, except that they demonize people who are actively fit and hinder their own clients from making as much progress as they could.
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