I find this article to be completely laughable. The author hangs his hat on his opinion that people won't attend a low-cost gym like Planet Fitness simply on the fact that it's cheap, and that if it cost more than you would be more likely attend. And his cost for a "good" gym is $500/month? What exactly is worth the extra $490?

He argues that these gyms can't accommodate every member at a single time, which makes no sense. No gym can do that. Why would a gym expect every single paying member to show up at once? That's a very low probability of happening. It's not like electricity or HVAC -- you don't design for the high demand load when it comes to a gym. You design for average capacity.

The article is also full of inaccuracies, for instance where he states the "gym portion (free weights and machines) are typically hidden away from the main pat of the gym." Maybe that is the case at the one Planet Fitness he has gone to, but it's not the case at the one I regularly attend nor the case at the ones I've been to while traveling on business.

Why would I "like" to be in a long term contract for a gym, or anything for that matter? $10/month with no contract is a great deal for me. I go use the gym for what I need, and if my circumstances change I don't have to pay to break a contract.

If you don't like gyms like Planet Fitness, fine. But this article just sounds like a marketing scheme to get you to pay more money for a "real" gym.

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@davempratt

link to original story on NPR

I don't like planet fitness because of

a) Lunk alarm (you can't grunt or drop weights? Really? )
b) No squat or deadlift setup
c) Fat people
d) Free food

There is a squat and deadlift setup at the PF I go to. I used it yesterday.

I agree the lunk alarm is kind of stupid.

I've seen fat people at every gym I've ever been to. I give them kudos for making an effort and trying to change their life for the better.

I've never seen free food at PF, but there is a flyer that advertises a free pizza day and bagel day once a month. I agree that is silly for a gym to do.

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@davempratt

Smith machine or free weights?

How can you 1RM a freeweight deadlift and not clunk on the way down? It is literally impossible.

Smith machine.
I would agree that is probably impossible. I don't know though because I don't do 1RM on any exercise.

I'm not a gym nut. I ride bikes and run mostly, and I go to the gym to get a lunch workout in and do a few strength exercises specifically for running and cycling. So for me, PF is fine.

I don't have a problem that people don't like PF. It's not for everyone. But that article just made some really silly arguments and was not fact based at all.

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@davempratt

Smith machine != set up to squat and deadlift. It is a useless piece of equipment.

In general, the article is spot on. Having run a corporate fitness center for 5 years (membership was $5/month, we had 10,000 members (including family members) on the books, and about 700 daily attendance), we lived on members who paid their dues (usually by payroll deduction) but never actually came (or if they did, it was very infrequently). We could only surmise that they felt some psychological benefit from being members of the corporate fitness center, or felt the $5/month was providing a benefit in case they decided to attend.

OK.

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@davempratt

1rm deadlifts? where do you think you are posting?!?

I would argue that this is the case for EVERY gym, not just low-cost gyms.

Remember that episode of Friends about the gym membership?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR8yT86jSao

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@davempratt

So a good gym is $500 a month? My $35 a month YMCA membership must be awful then.

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

Yeah. It's rocket science that it's advantageous for a subscription-based business to have more customers (revenue) than actually use the service (expense).

Jesus, I thought Lifetime was expensive.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

That is because LTF is expensive.

Those are all absolutely the case at the Planet Fitness here. I went there once, to give a friend with zero strength training background some pointers. It was pretty difficult to do any actual strength training there. I don't know how it stays in business because there is a much better gym in every respect around the corner which also does no-contract $9.99/month deals. This http://www.t-nation.com/...et-fitness-nightmare was pretty much my experience. At least good to hear that they are all not that ridiculous.

It is amusing to watch on youtube though

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeBb-8nWANA

my experience is similar to yours - the free weights/machines are front and center in my PF and the ones we visit when on travel. My wife is a gym rat and really likes PF and goes there ~5 times a week for lifting and cardio. I only use it for the treadmills. My treadmill died and it just seemed to make sense to pay 10.00 a month to use their treadmills compared to dropped a few grand on a new one. I run faster than most people and I have no issues using their machines that are probably considered inferior by many. My youngest son is into lifting and does complain a little about what our PF has when he is home from college...but he still manages.

To me, just walking in and hitting a treadmill periodically, 10.00 is great and I doubt paying more would somehow enhance my time with a treadmill in any environment.

You could probably rent a small gym for $500 a month !

What a stupid article. Whether high end or low end, ALL gyms count on and seek people to sign up knowing full well that a large number of them will scarcely attend after some period and many will quit attending at all but keep paying in the belief/hope that they will get back on the bandwagon. The gyms don't have to actively discourage people not to attend, it's just human nature that people will sign up hoping to accomplish a goal, and then fail as life or lack of motivation gets in the way. To assert that this is only true with low end gyms is to misunderstand the overarching market climate that all gyms, regardless of their business model, operate within.

It is easy not to like large corporate entities but I really like LTF. I use their pools regularly and treadmills and wt room occasionally. I pay ~$80 a month for a single membership and consider it a bargain.

[semi-pink]
1: Enough squat racks
2: A bouncer to tell people curling in squat racks to gtfo.
[/semi-pink]

If I could drop $500 on a gym membership, I'd A: Already own a house and B: build myself an 500 sq ft garage extension or outbuilding as a pain cave.

Smith Machine for squats on a frequent basis equals orthopedic surgeon's best friend. I only ever used smith machine for an occasional military press workout or close grip bench presses.

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"In the world I see you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Towers. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying stripes of venison on the empty car pool lane of some abandoned superhighway." T Durden

Any business with a monthly subscription model relies on the majority of it's members not using it to the max.
Netflix?
Massage Envy and the like.

I have a membership to 24 hour fitness. I pay $30 per month. I don't use it much. But I know if I cancel and then if I decide that I want to go back, that I'll need to sit through a sales pitch and fight about a one time fee.