Current Events > Anyone here ever sign up for Planet Fitness?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I haven't been a gym member in a long time but want to start changing my life into healthier routines. There is a PF close to my workplace that seems convenient. I just don't wanna get stuck with a bad place if there's a lot of horror stories about this place.

Its fine if youre doing cardio. Their weight lifting facilities are limited as they dont (or didnt last I was there) have any free weights and youre relegated to machines.

You can get a year membership that you prepay upfront. That way you arent stuck with difficulty cancelling later down the line.

Its nice for how cheap it is. I wouldnt bother with any of their personal trainers.

AloneIBreak posted...

Its fine if youre doing cardio. Their weight lifting facilities are limited as they dont (or didnt last I was there) have any free weights and youre relegated to machines.

That's entirely dependent on the pf. Not all of them only have machines.

Great starter gym.

Idk I see pics of that lunk alarm thing and I just imagine it goes off after every deadlift rep.

justaguy3492 posted...

Idk I see pics of that lunk alarm thing and I just imagine it goes off after every deadlift rep.

It doesn't. Idk why people go on about it so much. You'll rarely hear it, and the times that you do, it's mainly to tell someone to stop being an idiot.

It has been like 10 years since I used them but roughly speaking

Pros
Price is rather cheap so thats nice

Cons
A lot of machines for cardio, not as much stuff for weight lifting and building muscle
Our location had stuff like pizza day or donut day so thats just oddly tempting to some people
Tried to cancel the membership when I moved and it was a hassle where they want you to mail a letter or some shit that you cannot do online so just beware of that

Yeah just avoid going 7-9 am and 4-7 pm and it's a fine place to get a workout in

ArtiRock posted...

That's entirely dependent on the pf. Not all of them only have machines.

Great starter gym.

Ive been to a few and have seen zero barbells in my time. At best, youll probably have dumbbells and a smith machine.

This sports illustrated review from early 2023 also indicates there are no free weights: https://www.si.com/showcase/fitness/planet-fitness-review

Still, Id agree its fine for a starter who isnt pursuing powerlifting.

It's kind of a meme to hate on PF

For the average person who doesn't care too much on how they workout it's a perfectly fine gym

It's definitely not great though if you're actually into bodybuilding though.

really just depends on your goals, it severely lacks in free weight equipment. Depending on where you live, they often suffer from cleanliness too in my experience. There are much better gyms out there with similar price points.

My wife and I have a membership. Here's my general thoughts:

• Mine has both machines and free weights with heavy enough weights for the average user
• This includes your traditional squat racks and benches
• Basic membership is $10 a month, which is super cheap for everything you get
• Basic membership includes free group fitness classes
• Basic membership includes free personal training; you just need to sign up for appointments early as they fill up fast
• Premium membership is $25, which generally isn't worth it unless you travel a lot or really like to use their massage chairs and tanning machines
• Despite the memes and marketing, I've never heard a lunk alarm and don't even know if they have one
• People of all shapes and sizes come to my gym, from instagram models to people stepping into a gym for the first time in their lives, and everything in between
• They have a great TRX machine that gets a lot of use as a blend of free weights and assisted workouts
• They do not, and have not ever served pizza or donuts since I've been there. They have tootsie rolls by the entrance if you want one
• They stick to the "judgment-free zone" mantra. I do the personal training regularly, and when I skip a few weeks, the trainer doesn't give me a hard time about it nor try to guilt me about it like other trainers have done. I've found it's kept me much more consistent.
• They have very lax dress code standards; basically nothing offensive or exposing toes; everything else is fair game: https://www.planetfitness.com/about-planet-fitness/customer-service/club-faqs
• No childcare, for those who care about this

AloneIBreak posted...

Ive been to a few and have seen zero barbells in my time. At best, youll probably have dumbbells and a smith machine.

This sports illustrated review from early 2023 also indicates there are no free weights: https://www.si.com/showcase/fitness/planet-fitness-review

Still, Id agree its fine for a starter who isnt pursuing powerlifting.

Yea thats inaccurate, mine has free weights.

Anyways, I Id personally just go to the one youd visit most often and ask for a quick tour or just ask to look around yourself. I see the front desk people giving tours all the time so theyre probably used to it.

Or at very least you can walk around and get an idea of if its a good fit for you.

When I lived in IL, they opened one up across the street. So I went purely because it was 20 seconds away.

no thanks. Its all treadmills with no real weight machines except smith machines

Mine had dumbells and a ton of machines. I used to go at 4am, so it had almost no one in it at that time. Eventually, I just bought my own stuff snd created my own basement gym.

As long as your gym doesn't have those toxic gym influencers or perverts who secretly record even in locker rooms you'll be fine.

I had a membership years ago, went there after work with a group of friends. No bad experiences when I was there.

Nowadays I use home equipment.

It really depends on what you're looking to get out of a gym.

If you're looking to lose weight and tone up a little, it's perfect.

If you're looking to really bulk up and lift heavy, you're better off with a traditional gym.

Otherwise, a lot of what @Zanzenburger said holds true for the PF I go to.

I've been going consistently (3-5 time a week for 3 years now) and I have never heard the "Lunk Alarm" go off.

is it every gym that makes it a pain in the ass to cancel the membership

Thank you everyone for the info!

I'm just looking for a starter gym for doing some light weightlifting and cardio. I just wanna get in shape but not looking to become The Rock or anything. Dude said I can come take a tour of the place after I get off work.

I'll probably get the $25 level because I want access to all locations so I can have a Gym close to my work and one close to my house which is about 45 mins apart. Also they said the $25 includes a free guest entry per visit so my gf can come when she feels like it. Seems like a decent deal.

I have, cancelled during Covid.

Its a perfectly fine gym, if youre looking to compete in strong man competitions its probably not the place but other than that its great. People just there to get fit or whatever, no nonsense.

I went with whatever the higher package was, loved working out and then hitting the massage chairs.

It's certainly better than nothing, but they vary widely in quality between areas. The ones I went to years ago had modern machines and free weights. The one near me now has no free weights and machines that would have been considered outdated when I was in high school. Overall, I'd say it's certainly worth it to get a base level of fitness for cheap.

Btw, about the pizza thing, used Google and found this:
https://www.planetfitness.com/community/articles/real-story-behind-planet-fitness-pizza-monday

I wasnt sure if I was imagining things or not, or if that site was satire or not. In general, I dont think there is anything wrong with the casual workout stuff and ideas presented in the article, but I think that really depends upon certain factors and just wanted to bring it up because it stood out to me. I havent been to a gym like that in years.

As people mentioned, locations have a variety of equipment and potentially even some policies. I remember them having donuts on occasion at the gym in Shreveport, LA but I could be wrong. I wouldnt expect that from most locations.