The Planet Fitness Nightmare That Never Ends!

Planet Fitness gyms are a nightmare for real bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts who actually care about their results, and a nirvana for the people who hate exercising with great passion. Basically, this is the place where overweight people show up from time to time to waste an hour performing worthless movements and then reward themselves with free pizza, all under the promise that getting fit can be a comfortable journey that doesn’t involve any real effort.

If you haven’t visited one yet or have a different opinion, we’ll gladly give you our arguments why no self-respecting fitness-oriented individual should waste their time and money in Planet Fitness gyms. It’s time to face some hard truths. Read this article and make your own decision.

The Ideal Gym for People Who Don’t Want to Work Out

One of the main reasons anyone works out at Planet Fitness is the dirt-cheap monthly cost – $10 a month. However, there are some issues to be expected for such a low price. After all, you know what they say: you get what you paid for. But why do people keep paying and exercising in this place, even after experiencing how shitty it is?

Here’s the ‘shocking’ truth: most of the people who go to Planet Fitness gyms don’t really want to get in shape. They do it because it’s what everybody seems to be doing these days. And what’s the one thing that people hate the most about getting fit? That’s right – the hard work that needs to be put in sculpting one’s physique, which is why fad weight loss diets and magic pills are so popular and it’s also the reason why Planet Fitness grew into such a profitable business. They don’t even have any free weights above sixty pounds!

People want great results with the least effort possible, and the owners of Planet Fitness are excellent at exploiting this irrational desire. Their entire brand is built on an anti-bodybuilding sentiment, a philosophy of anti-competitiveness and “no gymtimidation” and the chain is aggressively marketed as a friendlier alternative to traditional gyms, the antithesis of both the old-school hardcore gym and the boutique fitness model: a judgement-free zone away from those sweaty, steroid-addicted meatheads obsessed with lifting heavy stuff off the floor or gorgeous women with perfect bodies who’ll fat shame you to death.

There are signs “You belong” plastered on the equipment and a “lunk alarm” goes off whenever a person exerts themselves with too much machismo. Among other things, that means no grunting is allowed whatsoever.

“Other brands look at working out as a hobby, and I think personally that working out is a chore, and I believe most of America thinks of it the same way, they know they have to [but] they’d rather go to Chili’s and have a beer and have some chips and salsa, but you know, you have to, you don’t want to, so you kind of wince your way throughout”, says Planet Fitness’s CEO Chris Rondeau.

So this is supposed to be the place where the average guy and gal who basically hate exercising and are afraid to go to an actual gym and sweat like workhorses will feel accepted and comfortable. Even better, they’ll be able to ditch the guilt of not doing anything for their health or appearance without having to step out of their comfort zone. It’s kind of amazing, really!

Light Weights and Free Pizza

At Planet Fitness, you are not expected to pay great attention to your diet. In fact, a survey of over 20 different Planet Fitness gyms in 12 different states revealed that they don’t provide any nutritional guidance for their members. There are no trained nutritionists and the trainers are there only to advise members on using the equipment. However, they serve free pizza on the first Monday of the month and bagels on the second Tuesday of the month!

Also, you can always find tootsie rolls available at the front desk, which is baffling and really cruel to people who’re trying to count calories, but most importantly, it’s strongly proves that getting people into shape is far from being the primary goal of Planet Fitness. We all know that a healthy diet is a vital part of losing weight and getting fit and there’s no getting around that, but at Planet Fitness gyms people are discouraged from trying to implement the most reliable diet strategies for fat loss.

Oh, and did we mention that you can’t find free weights above 60 pounds at any Planet Fitness location? The heaviest fixed barbell is also 60 pounds. A few years ago, when a Planet Fitness member complained that his local club had removed its only squat rack, he was told by an employee that “other customers complained that it was intimidating”.

On the other hand, there are rows and rows of assorted cardio machines which are scientifically proven as being essentially useless for both fat loss and muscle building goals, water massage beds and dozens of large TV-screens… ok, we have to be brutally honest about this: as soon as you walk into one of these places, you should know that you’ve entered an adult playground, a fucking daycare for lazy, fat people – not a facility where people come to work hard on their bodies. It’s that obvious.

Continues on next page…