So, I finished up the semester at college a couple weeks ago and arrived home all pumped up and ready to hit the weights hardcore over break. I head over to a nearby gym that I frequent when I'm not away at school and signed up for the three month $100 student membership on May 28th. The place is great, it is fairly large but never busy. Almost everyone who goes there, with the exception of maybe a dozen or so legitimate lifters, just walks on the treadmills and keeps to themselves. On most any day I can walk in and find peace and solitude in my corner of the gym where the squat rack and power rack resides. No one bothers me, no one complains, I get my lifts done.
Fast forward a mere four days to June 2nd. I'm driving down this serene road in my VW Jetta, listening to my music, and getting all amped up for some heavy squatting. I round the last corner as my gym comes into view; all is well. Wait! I look up ahead and do not see the red, white, and blue beacon of hope that is the World Gym sign. Instead, waving gingerly in the breeze like the flag of a gay pirate ship is the purple and yellow banner of planet fitness!
I park my car and begin walking briskly towards the door. Fearing the worse I begin praying to the gods of heavy lifting and recite Beradi's habits as if they were the rosary. I swipe my card and push past the herd of fat ladies lurking around the front desk. I cross my fingers and look towards my beloved corner. What do I see? Of course not my power rack. Looming in the distance, mocking me, is a barney the ****ing dinosaur purple SMITH MACHINE!
I walk back to the front desk and kindly ask the girl at the counter if they would be replacing my much desired equipment (Hey, a power rack is a power rack even if it is purple). She tells me she isn't sure and the many people have been asking. I ask to speak to the owner/manager so as to place my inquiry. I wait several minutes while talking to another kid who has similar questions. Finally, a short, average built guy walks over, talks briefly to the girl at the counter, and begins addressing the kid standing next to me.
Manager: You can't get a refund, you signed a contract and we are only offering limited refunds.
Kid: Um....I heard you would have only machines and no weights over 75lbs.
Manager: Can you lift more than 75lbs.
Me: Excuse me? Is this how you address all your customers; in a condescending manner? Do you just treat younger people this way hoping to bully them into a membership?
Manager: So whats your reason for leaving?
Me: First off, I never said I was canceling my membership. I had some questions as to what equipment you would be replacing.
Manager: What equipment? We have everything.
Me: A power rack. Perhaps a bench would be nice.
Manager: (cuts me off) How often do you use this power rack? Tell me, what is a power rack?
Me: I begin to explain that I use it when squatting one day a week.
Manager: (Cuts me off again) Well, thats stupid, I can't go to corporate and tell them that this guy wants his money back because he uses a power rack one day a week. He again tells me "I signed a contract"
Me: I explain to him that I signed a contract that works both ways. I signed under a certain impression of the gym and that this gym fails to fit my needs.
We continue to go back and forth. Quite frankly I was about ready to knock this guys ass out. I finally get him to give me a form to file for a refund which was supposedly mailed out Saturday.
I was told I may not get my full $100 back. WTF! I was a member for four days.
I looked on their website to call corporate but they do not list their numbers. I searched yellowpages and google but only found lists of similar complaints. I tried call 411 and several other locations. They all told me that they didnt have the number. Finally, I convinced some employee at another location to look for the number on a letterhead or something.
Called corporate and left a message. They have yet to return it.
Here's what you should expect to find at the typical Planet Fitness gym:
* No squat racks
* No dumbbells over 70 lbs (in some gym locations this may go up to 80 lbs)
* Limited barbells (often only two to three bench presses)
* Prohibition on use of chalk for heavy lifts like deadlifts
* Preference for machines over free-weights
* Higher ratio of cardio machines versus weight and resistance training equipment
* No group exercise rooms
* A dress code that prohibits certain articles of clothing like bandanas, skull caps, jeans, boots, do rags
* No cell phone usage on the floor
* Ban on grunting, swearing and 'psyching-up' rituals
* Ban on excessive noise (like banging dumbbells or dropping weights)
* A Giant Purple 'Lunk Alarm' light in each major area of the gym that the staff will activate when someone breaks the code-of-conduct.
but it all depends on the planet fitness...i worked at one for a lil bit, and the guys working with me were pretty big guys and we lifted together.
grunted and what not...some people dont care
its a cheap gym
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In addition to the free tanning and Shiatsu massage chairs that come with a the Black Card upgrade, Planet Fitness offers three other perks to all of their members: free pizza once a month, free bagels once a month and the ever-present jar of purple Tootsie Rolls at the front desk.
Yes. I'm not joking.
When you join Planet Fitness to get in shape, once a month they reward you for those 300 calories you just burned on the treadmill with a nice 500 calorie slice of greasy, cheap pizza from a local pizzeria. Or how about a giant, high-glycemic carb bagel to set you on your way to great summer abs? And when you?re done working out each day, grab a couple of purple Toostie Rolls loaded with high fructose corn syrup.
This whole thing would be laughable if it wasn?t so absurd. I can understand providing some kind of 'treat' to your customers every once in a while, but outside of serving fried chicken or corn dogs, I can't think of two more unhealthy foods to offer. A better approach would be to provide some type of healthy snack for their members, that helped them get an idea that eating better can taste good as well. Why not wraps, high-fiber protein bars, or even a healthy version of pizza?
Giving free pizza at a gym is the dumbest idea but maybe they're trying too keep the dumb customers fat and make them keep using their gym lol
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Giving free pizza at a gym is the dumbest idea but maybe they're trying too keep the dumb customers fat and make them keep using their gym lol
That's exactly what it is. It's not about health or the customer, it's about keeping people coming to the gym. I can't stand that kind of atmosphere. Give me a somewhat dirty and small gym with the proper equipment and I'm happy. Also, nooooooooo ****ty mix/pop/crap music please.
Here's what you should expect to find at the typical Planet Fitness gym:
* No squat racks
* No dumbbells over 70 lbs (in some gym locations this may go up to 80 lbs)
* Limited barbells (often only two to three bench presses)
* Prohibition on use of chalk for heavy lifts like deadlifts
* Preference for machines over free-weights
* Higher ratio of cardio machines versus weight and resistance training equipment
* No group exercise rooms
* A dress code that prohibits certain articles of clothing like bandanas, skull caps, jeans, boots, do rags * No cell phone usage on the floor
* Ban on grunting, swearing and 'psyching-up' rituals
* Ban on excessive noise (like banging dumbbells or dropping weights)
* A Giant Purple 'Lunk Alarm' light in each major area of the gym that the staff will activate when someone breaks the code-of-conduct.
Only 4 days? they better give you a full refund, there usually is some grace period where you can get out of a contract, especially if they are one company one day and turn into something else in another.
Tell them you joined World Gym, not Planet HOMO. Raise some hell and then join a better gym.
there's no need to grunt while lifting, even if you're testing your max. that being said, i'd never want to join PF.
The guy on the video that got kicked out wasn't grunting, he was just breathing heavily. But his 500lbs squat probably scared off everyone at the Smith machine.
there's no need to grunt while lifting, even if you're testing your max. that being said, i'd never want to join PF.
grunting or some vocalization helps increase your effort by some percentage maybe 5, but it helps.
This is why martial artists do a kiap, and there was a "scientific" test done where a guy broke more bricks yelling then he did without. Maybe it is psycological but it helped.
World Gym are the people who screwed you, not Planet Fitness. this is just how gyms operate: when they close, they don't go out of their way to give you a refund. the managers probably knew they were closing in a few days but still accepted new members, which is underhanded.
i was a member at a Gold's Gym that closed. luckily I was only making monthly payments, so i didn't get screwed too badly.
So, I finished up the semester at college a couple weeks ago and arrived home all pumped up and ready to hit the weights hardcore over break. I head over to a nearby gym that I frequent when I'm not away at school and signed up for the three month $100 student membership on May 28th. The place is great, it is fairly large but never busy. Almost everyone who goes there, with the exception of maybe a dozen or so legitimate lifters, just walks on the treadmills and keeps to themselves. On most any day I can walk in and find peace and solitude in my corner of the gym where the squat rack and power rack resides. No one bothers me, no one complains, I get my lifts done.
Fast forward a mere four days to June 2nd. I'm driving down this serene road in my VW Jetta, listening to my music, and getting all amped up for some heavy squatting. I round the last corner as my gym comes into view; all is well. Wait! I look up ahead and do not see the red, white, and blue beacon of hope that is the World Gym sign. Instead, waving gingerly in the breeze like the flag of a gay pirate ship is the purple and yellow banner of planet fitness!
I park my car and begin walking briskly towards the door. Fearing the worse I begin praying to the gods of heavy lifting and recite Beradi's habits as if they were the rosary. I swipe my card and push past the herd of fat ladies lurking around the front desk. I cross my fingers and look towards my beloved corner. What do I see? Of course not my power rack. Looming in the distance, mocking me, is a barney the ****ing dinosaur purple SMITH MACHINE!
I walk back to the front desk and kindly ask the girl at the counter if they would be replacing my much desired equipment (Hey, a power rack is a power rack even if it is purple). She tells me she isn't sure and the many people have been asking. I ask to speak to the owner/manager so as to place my inquiry. I wait several minutes while talking to another kid who has similar questions. Finally, a short, average built guy walks over, talks briefly to the girl at the counter, and begins addressing the kid standing next to me.
Manager: You can't get a refund, you signed a contract and we are only offering limited refunds.
Kid: Um....I heard you would have only machines and no weights over 75lbs.
Manager: Can you lift more than 75lbs.
Me: Excuse me? Is this how you address all your customers; in a condescending manner? Do you just treat younger people this way hoping to bully them into a membership?
Manager: So whats your reason for leaving?
Me: First off, I never said I was canceling my membership. I had some questions as to what equipment you would be replacing.
Manager: What equipment? We have everything.
Me: A power rack. Perhaps a bench would be nice.
Manager: (cuts me off) How often do you use this power rack? Tell me, what is a power rack?
Me: I begin to explain that I use it when squatting one day a week.
Manager: (Cuts me off again) Well, thats stupid, I can't go to corporate and tell them that this guy wants his money back because he uses a power rack one day a week. He again tells me "I signed a contract"
Me: I explain to him that I signed a contract that works both ways. I signed under a certain impression of the gym and that this gym fails to fit my needs.
We continue to go back and forth. Quite frankly I was about ready to knock this guys ass out. I finally get him to give me a form to file for a refund which was supposedly mailed out Saturday.
I was told I may not get my full $100 back. WTF! I was a member for four days.
I looked on their website to call corporate but they do not list their numbers. I searched yellowpages and google but only found lists of similar complaints. I tried call 411 and several other locations. They all told me that they didnt have the number. Finally, I convinced some employee at another location to look for the number on a letterhead or something.
Called corporate and left a message. They have yet to return it.
The dude you quoted should have actually read his contract. The reason I say that, is because, if you do - you find out you are pretty much screwed no matter what happens. The fact that he had an impression of the gym that changed is probably expressly addressed in the contract. It probably says something along the lines of the gym reserves the right to change or modify it's hours/equipment/staff without notice, at any time.
Besides, Planet Fitness didn't buy the place up in 4 days time; the old gym took your money knew they were being bought out and sold the membership anyway. That was dirty and underhanded.
Who the hell gets offended by someone else grunting!?
well, i don't get offended but it's definitely annoying. it's funny but the same guys i see grunting are the ones who never squat or deadlift, are always doing chest day, and think leg press is one of the big 3 lifts.
here are some people who might get intimidated by someone else grunting:
1) women
2) new trainees
3) people just trying to lose weight and aren't really interested in weight lifting
from what iv just witnessed, it seems that planet fitness was created by businessmen in which the main principle is to make $$$. Not help in making the local commumity a healthier or fitter place.
thier business princliples seem like thier coming from the perspectives of fattys (no fatty hater)
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Planet Fitness: WTF IS THIS CRAP!?!?
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