Working out at Planet Fitness is everything it’s advertised to be!  It’s a “no judgement zone” where you are free to choose cardio, fat burning, stretching, or whatever, and where you receive support to fulfill your goals.

Wednesday evening I attended the introductory class in “Designing Your Workout Plan.”  Robert, the personal trainer, asked about my physical conditions, medications, and goals.  I told him about the diagnosis of osteoporosis, my bike accident this summer when I fractured my shoulder, my alkaline diet, and that I take supplements, but no prescription medication of any kind.  He said I was “very lucky.”  Most people my age, he said, are on pharmaceutical prescriptions of some kind.  We established three goals:  1) To build muscle strength and bone density, 2) To keep my weight down, and 3) To stretch the shoulder so that it maintains or increases its range of motion.  (I should have added a fourth goal–that I am planning to run in the “Turkey Trot” 5K race on Thanksgiving–but I didn’t think about it at the time.)  Robert took me on a tour of the workout equipment and showed me how to set them up and use them, and he recommended a target heart rate of 116 on the elliptical machines.

I got right to work.  The upbeat music in the gym really gets you moving!  You can bring your own headset with you and plug into the audio for a slew of TV’s that are set up in front of the treadmills and elliptical machines.  You can bring a closed container of water, too, to keep in the cup holders as you make the circuit.  If you bring your purse or other valuables, you can bring your own lock and tuck them away in a locker.  If you forget your headset or bottled water, they have vending machines up front where you can purchase them on site.

Seems like they’ve thought of everything at Planet Fitness!  Hope to see you there!

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19 Comments on Working Out at Planet Fitness: “The No Judgement Zone”

  1. Tyler says:

    I don’t know why everyone hates on Planet Fitness so much. At a great price of $10 a month it’s great on my wallet. And you get what you pay for! If you’re upset that there aren’t enough free weights or nothing is heavy enough, then PF is obviously not the gym for you anyways. It’s for the 140 pound guys like me who just want to get in shape without the intimidation of the guys whose arms are as thick as my torso. Sure, there are a bunch of people who don’t know what they’re doing at PF. But that’s okay. Everybody has to start somewhere! And I think this gym is an excellent place to do that!

  2. Maria says:

    The reason Planet Fitness exists and is very popular and growing, is for a membership who wants to work out far away from those judgmental folk who have written negatively here and who offer a similar take everywhere else on the internet. 

    Planet Fitness is a gym where the focus is on general fitness.  Which word is not understood? 

    People of all ages above 13, all shapes, sizes and backgrounds have a place to go where they are not judged for the shape they are in.  Planet Fitness is not a “one size fits all” gym.  It’s a place for all sizes who all have one purpose: to come and do their workout without stares and comments. Their purpose is their own “personal” reason and not ours to judge why they are embarking on a lifestyle that includes cardio and strength training.  That’s what, “Judgment Free Zone” means. 

    Those who judge Planet Fitness by their motto, absolutely clearly judge all their members as inferior. The anti Planet Fitness venom is because of the demographic they cater to, and they do not cater to “attitude”.

    Changing one’s lifestyle that includes a fitness regimen for anyone is difficult.  To take that first step, one has to address the intimidation factor that truly does exist at many gyms.  It’s not easy to walk in the door of a gym because of the stereotype that PF haters love  to perpetuate.  You can’t take back what was written above, but it’s you and those who think like you who believe they are gym gods that keep many people from this positive lifestyle change.

    So enter a company with the guts to make and enforce gym rules and etiquette, where those rules apply to everyone who enters through it’s  doors. You belong, however, it’s “my house, my rules” if you want to be a member here.  Those rules are upfront and clear.  For some, when those rules are challenged or violated, suddenly they are not fair and discriminatory, and it seems that there are dozens of daffy definitions as to what isn’t fair and what is discriminatory.  So what else is new!

    How about you go to your gym and I go to mine.  Planet Fitness is my gym;it’s individual, it’s comfortable, and it’s affordable.  Planet Fitness offers a $10 and a $19.99 monthly membership.  The Black Card membership rocks!  10 FREE visits a month to any PF outside of my home gym.  Any more visits are just $5 each.  Lots of other perks, too!

    If one wants more from a gym then go join a gym that offers more.  If it’s more weights, a sauna, a pool, or daycare, etc., offering more means more $$.  For now, Planet Fitness fits my fitness lifestyle that I began three years ago, it fits my budget and my comfort factor.  It’s a place where I belong! 

    If and when I should want more, I’ll shop around for more.  I suggest that those who want more, do the same.  Just check your attitude at the door, thank you.

  3. anonymous says:

    This gym is for retards
    Its cheap for a reason

  4. vic says:

    This place is a joke!!
    Dumbbells go up only to 80 lbs. If 80 lbs. is the highest, the day you, Slob, actually get to use it for an exercise is a psychological triumph! You’ve hefted the mightiest weight there! You’ve scaled the Everest of Mediocrity!

    There are two total free bars in the place, and they’re dedicated to bench press — don’t even think of moving one of them or the Smile Police will assault you and put you in your place with pleasant condescension akin to being blackmailed by Mormons. Everything else is a purple machine that makes you really good at building functional muscle perfectly suited to push a car off your crushed toddler, but only if its at exactly a 37-degree angle, seated.

    You’re not allowed to wear bandanas. Personally, I believe in this rule, because as far as I’m concerned, bandanas are suited only for gypsy heads and around the necks of German shepherds, but Planet Fitness has a different reason! Bandanas promote gang violence! I’m not sure if this is because the Planet Fitness CEO cried during Boyz N Da Hood, but to be fair, I didn’t work out at the PF on Crenshaw. When it comes to gang violence, PF sez ”Squash it!”

    You’re not allowed to bring in water containers larger than 20 oz. Who the fuck would even think of this? Apparently, this is because dreaded meatheads will bring in a full gallon of water for a workout! Our targeted member demographic would never exert themselves enough to drink more than 20 oz. of water during a workout! Water fountain? Fuck that. I’d sooner drink out of Tubgirl.

    Membership sucks too. Let’s say you pay $20 for a black card membership. You have access to all gyms. NOOO!!!! They count how many time’s you go in a month. After you reach a # they tell you your not allow to used this gym until next month.

  5. Bill Grant says:

    Bill GrantPlanet Fitness

    I am so upset with PF right now!!!!! Finishing up my workout hitting a personal best right at closing time running at 7.5 which for me is full speed and the power is completely cut off. Not, sure if you have ever been on a treadmill with the power getting cut but it is a lot like a broom stick being stuck in the spokes on the front tire of a bike going full speed. Scarey feeling like you are going right over the top of the tread mill but even more frustrating is the swelling on my knee … See More

    Like · · 14 hours ago ·

    Billy Morris I just drove across town to PF and the doors were locked…my clock said I had atleast 20 mins…who knows how long they had been locked before I showed. I can get a sweat on in 20 minutes…that was a little frustrating…now driving to a 24 hr club that just opened
    14 hours ago via mobile · Like.

    Planet Fitness Hi Bill, and Billy – Could you please forward your posts using the Contact Corporate link under our profile picture? They will be happy to look into them for you. Thank you!
    3 hours ago · Like.

    Bill Grant There is no contact corporate link that is what I asked for last night and was told I would have to contact corporate through the web site which I tried. I was also told the manager would call me this morning that has not happened either. I suppose the only other option I have is contacting an lawyer to find out how responsible PF is. The saddest thing is instead of making excuses and making someone jump through hoops to get a point across a simple apology and commitment to change would have probably worked.

  6. Kevin says:

    Watertown NY staff, rude, disrespectful, not to mention don’t know what they are doing. GYM is a Joke.

  7. JOHN GITNEY says:

    TRY THE ONE IN NEWARK DELAWARE
    BROOKSIDE SHOPPING CENTER
    YOU ARE GREETED POLITELY AND HAVE A GREAT WORK OUT
    THE STAFF ARE GREAT
    TRY IT YOU WILL COME BACK AGAIN

  8. rachel says:

    i have a gym on the east coast and i love working out there, the employees are really nice and down to earth they make me feel welcome every time i come in. and i have never been told i cant tell my friend how to work out or train her a specific way

  9. Disgusted in Torrington, CT says:

    Here’s a GREAT one. My membership was cancelled today for the following reasons: “Lunk – member was lunked several times, he is aware of club rules, but continued to grunt and drop weights. Excessive hissing.” I have to tell you… I was stunned AND stumped… I was having some breathing issues with allergy-induced asthma, but have had the issue before and been able to work through it.

    The Lunk Alarm goes off, but the “offender” is most often not aware because they are never pointed out or talked to about their offending behavior. Had anyone spoken to me, they would have clearly heard that I was having a breathing issue. The “hissing” was me wheezing.

    In 30 plus years of weightlifting I have never dropped a weight; NEVER. I was taught to always lift in control, especially when lifting alone.

    So, now my character has been questioned, and upon informing the manager of the issue I was having (as he was terminating my membership), he insisted I had violated the code. So much for the Judgement Free Zone.

    Don’t work through your allergy-induced asthma at Planet Fitness. It will get you Lunked and cost you your membership like it just did me. I’d hate to see what would happen to someone who has a heart-attack there.

  10. Tina says:

    This gym has the most rudest people i have ever came across. No one is nice they all have stinky attitudes.

  11. Right says:

    If it’s a judgment free zone why do they discriminate against “lunks”?

  12. Exactly says:

    Exactly, do your sets and leave. I’ve worked out and worked there as a trainer… it’s just like every other gym, you get guys who mess around and the rare few who know what they’re doing. The equipment is clean, functional, and that’s all you “really” need. The lack of a power rack is a disadvantage to some, and the dumbells are somewhat limited, but if you know what you’re doing you can still get a workout… for cheap. I’m speaking for the couple of west coast clubs – not sure about how the East Coast is.

  13. Happy says:

    Or you can go there, do your sets, and leave. 😀

  14. Unhappy says:

    Planet Fitness is a joke. It’s the club for the people who waste everyone else’s time at the real gyms.
    Really crap place to be or work out.

  15. ENIT says:

    How can you call it a gym if you can’t squat?

    What a joke.

  16. Wayne says:

    No, even if you are trying to build strength and endurance Planet Fitness will frown on you. Working out with a group we were told that this was not allowed as it involved “coaching” and “leading”, something the PF trainer is only allowed to do. Our reply was “Huh? We are doing a workout together.”

  17. Anonymous says:

    This gym is for underachievers.

    • Kathy says:

      That depends on what you’re trying to achieve. If you want to become an Olympic-class weightlifter, this gym is NOT for you. If you want to build muscle and bone strength and increase endurance, Planet Fitness is the place to be!

  18. […] Get to Planet Fitness at 5:00 a.m. to work out.  (This also means I have to be in bed asleep at 9:00, in order to get […]

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