See post #28.
The strident very innocently, I believe, truly do not/cannot recognize how dominating their energy is. They don’t see it in this thread, because they just can’t see it. I don’t think they recognize that no one asked about their workout, how many reps, which weights etc. They shared because they really do want to help, I believe. They share success stories, to inspire, etc. These things are just representative of the somewhat dominating energy that those with a more casual approach could be finding off putting.
Different people different paths, that’s all.
I assumed a basement to weed out the group of answers that includes yours … “Simple doofus, I got no room!”
So assuming the minimum amount of space for a power rack, those who have the room, even if it means that it is tucked next to the boiler, why?
Most don’t go because they have paid, most pay and don’t go … which is the business model that PF takes to the highest level. Most serious gym rats would work out at home as regularly as at a gym.
Admittedly I am coming from a different angle. I have the basement and the toys there. I don’t have many other hobbies. I work, I cook, I read, I play here, I exercise. I don’t mind having spent a little on my toys that get used. But time is valuable and if I had to add the time to get to the gym I’d never exercise with my current frequency. I can grunt if I want to at home.
elbows FWIW I’ve only read advice given here that was asked for.
I don’t have space, but even if I did, I’d go to the gym for the simple reason that there are other people there. Most of them are forgettable, but every once in a while I meet someone who’s worth talking to. That’s enough to make it worthwhile.
Ah, yes. Like I said, douchebags. 
A: or were you referring to people’s posts in this thread?
Sorry, I misread a section of the above post and then ran out of editing time. Hence the nonsensical post.
I worked out at home for 5 years, it got boring. I go in a quiet time slot with other regulars of all ages and fitness levels and we chat as we do our thing, whatever that thing may be. I can always find a spotter or some tips as well as some jokes and talks about big life stuff. It is very good for my mental health to be around other people also trying to be better.
The gym, like most places where the same people gather regularly, can be social. You see the same faces each time and eventually, with some, you say hi or give a nod. Eventually friendships form. I worked out at home for a couple of years and I missed the social interaction.
I think all Planet Fitnesses aren’t the same. Mine was more Naziesque. I like to use a 10lb plate while I do abs. So it was a shock to me right after I’d first joined, when I walked to the other side of the gym to grab a plate and take it to the ab area, and an employee told me they didn’t like plates in the ab area. This had never happened to me in any other gym. I paid the membership, I wanted to crunch with a 10lb weight: What the fuck do you care??
And they were very slow to fix things. I read on their website, from a commenter, that they kept tabs on complaints. If you complain too many times, you’re out. If you’re complaining about something not getting fixed, you’re probably coming regularly, so buh-bye. It’s weird to join a gym where you get the vibe that your regular attendance is NOT wanted. Not just bodybuilders, or the uber fit, ANYONE who would utilize the place regularly isn’t welcome as a member.
It’s the model, that PF seems to take to an extreme. How chiroptera has flown under their radar is the mystery. Sonar beats radar I guess.
Meanwhile the answer to my question (for those who have room for a basic work out set up) seems to be for the social interaction aspects of being in a gym. The social contact makes the cost and time inconvenience worth it.
Yes, I’d agree with this. Additionally, gyms that I use offer me a more diverse range of equipment options than I could set up at home, as I typically must use my own, improvised versions of regular exercises in order to work with my disability. And this ofen requires additional equipment added to the original equipment (indirectly, not jimmy-rigging machines or anything). Just using what I need to to make it work for me as a paraplegic.
I’m not a bodybuilder, I’ve never joined a gym, and this policy would totally put me off. I know how to share a space with others without creating incident, but the thought that I’m walking on eggshells because some reasonable action I take could cause an employee to ring an alarm…yea no way. I don’t need pressure like that.
Well, I’ve only been going to PF since…Jan 2 or 3 was when I joined. Because it’s only about a half-mile from my friend’s house and I’d vowed to support her in her weight loss, plus convenient, plus they waived the $39.00 join-up fee for the first week in January. So, barely three weeks; I’ve gone all but two days since then. Maybe in another few months I’ll be a PF hater. 
But so far I’m cool with it, and quietly chuckling that I am the demographic they (the corporate they) hates and doesn’t make money on.
Ditto on the social aspect as well - in my line of work I’m often working alone, and at ever-changing jobsites. The continuity of being a “regular” someplace has appeal. I do sort of miss the last place I was going to but to be honest, it required such a detour to most of my jobs, plus was further from my house, that I didn’t go as often. PF is on a straight line between my house and where I have 80+ percent of my work so it really is convenient.
If I had a basement and all the equipment, I don’t think I’d use it as much as I should. Because, it’s at home, you know? Home to me is a place to relax, not exert myself, plus there’s always something else to do at home. When you go to a gym (excuse me, Planet Fitness says they are not a gym LOL) there’s nothing to do but work out. “I’m paying for this, I’m here, might as well…”
I’m probably not alone in needing an external locus of control (ie a gym membership) to engage in good habits on a regular basis.
That bolded part is how I feel. I also feel that planet Earth is my home.
:shrugs:
Just like I am not paying much attention to how in- or out-of-shape other people are, I am paying even less to how big their water container is.
Seriously, I must be weird. All the stuff people complain about at the gym, doesn’t even register with me. I don’t care if you are out of shape, a beginner, if you curl at the squat rack, what you are drinking, what you are wearing, whether or not you are holding onto the handles of the cardio machines, being naked or seeing other people being naked in the locker room, or if someone is lifting more than me. Who the dickens cares?
The only people I notice are the guys I work out with, or if someone asks for a spot or if I know how to work the machine circuit. OK, maybe a few covert glances at the hotties, but that’s it.
[QUOTE=elbows]
The strident very innocently, I believe, truly do not/cannot recognize how dominating their energy is. They don’t see it in this thread, because they just can’t see it. I don’t think they recognize that no one asked about their workout, how many reps, which weights etc. They shared because they really do want to help, I believe. They share success stories, to inspire, etc. These things are just representative of the somewhat dominating energy that those with a more casual approach could be finding off putting.
[/QUOTE]
Maybe this is true. If it is, I’m sorry, but there isn’t really much I can do about it. Me and the guys I have been working out with for years are over by the squat rack, where the housewives and personal trainers don’t go. If the clanging of the plates bothers you - maybe PF is the place for you. I certainly won’t be bothering you there.
Regards,
Shodan
Ah.
This may be a test case then!
If some who have posted here are correct within several months of you being a regular consistent user in the facility (say getting into the second quarter) the PF model will try to find ways to try to discourage you, either by making fun of your having fitness goals or by more actively finding ways to get you to leave, even trumping up violations that you are guilty of that warrant your dismissal.
It is this alleged active discouragement of those who are more frequent users and who are making fitness progress (as a key part of the business plan) that seems to be the part that bothers many here. All gyms and fitness clubs rely on the fact that the majority who sign up, with the best of intentions to go several times a week at least, will in reality go less than once a month, and maybe not go for many months while still paying the monthly fee, convinced that they are going to start to go regularly soon, just as soon as they are past this particularly busy period at work, or fully recovered from their cold … but those gyms/clubs do not per se actively select for the low and non-users and actively discourage those are more frequent users.
The comparison to credit card companies has been made. No one objects to the fact that credit card companies make their money off of those who do not pay off in full each month and who do not pay late. And the companies accept the numbers of those who do pay off in full each month with at most continued enticements to have a larger limit hoping to get them to spend enough that they don’t pay it all off every time. But few credit card companies go out of their way to dismiss those who pay off in full each month and to actively discourage paying in full and on time.
That active discouragement is the allegation and you chiroptera are our prospective case study!
Let us know!
I’ve been going for over a year now, and there has been no discouragement of any kind. I go three times a week (sometimes two if something comes up). The people at the desk cheerfully greet me and say goodbye to me every day I come in. And they know how many times I go there because I’ve asked for a printout of my history on more than one occasion. Not a single problem with the place or the people running it.
Thanks to those who explained to me the importance of socializing as part of the gym/fitness club experience.
Given that though … is there an argument to be made that those who are fairly low fitness, who are “relaxed” about fitness goals, and who feel bad having those who are higher fitness achievers around to compare themselves to (and feel inadequate for the comparison) get more of what they want from that social element at a place that keeps the actual achievers out? Not saying that such justifies the alleged active discouragement of regular facility use of achieving actual fitness goals … but if a particular one only did the former and not the latter? Better that the lower fitness folk with “relaxed goals” are doing something than nothing, yes?
On preview: Macca26, obviously even if the active discouragement is policy it may have a threshold before it is triggered, both based on number of hours of presumed actual machine use and the hours they are being used. If say your total machine use is under two to maybe three hours a week, especially if those hours are not at peak times, then the discouragement might not be triggered, but over that, or more peak time usage, and it is.
I do go at peak times but there has never been a problem waiting for machines or weights as Planet Fitness has a plethora of them. There’s always at least one or two open for cardio and people switch between weight machines often. They recently updated and moved to a new space so they could double the amount of machines they had available, even. I do only go for about 3 hours a week, but like I said, the average gym goer who goes three times a week very likely goes for 3 hours, and unlikely to go over 6 I’d say. I have a friend there who is a pretty serious gym rat; has multiple gym memberships and loves planet fitness. She’s there much more often than I am, morning and afternoon. She’s been a member of planet fitness for years and years and because she has a black card membership, goes to multiple gyms of theirs at will (her plan was grandfathered in from some special they had years ago where you got black card benefits at the $10 price). She has never experienced any discouragement at any of the gyms either.
I’m wondering if PF has “unofficially” backed off from the more extreme policies. There have been a ton of stories of in the past of their version of gym-life.
On the other hand, my gym once threw out two guys who were screaming so loud, it was audible outside of the building. And this was not a hard-core gym, very much an everybody place.
FWIW consumer ratings on PF are across the board terrible. It does seem Macca26 that your positive experience is more the exception than the rule.
The model does seem to be to do their best to attract and maintain those who will most rarely use the facility, help those people feel good about their lack of fitness goals and lack of progress the little bit they are there, and taking active steps to discourage more than infrequent usage, including in more than just a few reported cases, trumped up charges of dropping weights or grunting, or for having helped people. You don’t hear/read of those events occurring anywhere else. Those who fly under the radar, using the facilities a moderate amount but not enough to trigger discouragement actions, may get a decent deal. Some individual operations may be less rigid in their discouragement policies than others.
Yes $10 a month there to not use the facility much and to make no progress is less than $50 a month to not show at a gym that has a social element and structure that may actually encourage the setting of and reaching to work towards goals. But then those people might as well put that $10 in the bank instead and still not show at the not-a-gym.