Yes the last few gold's I frequented did have power lifting platforms or rubber weights. I believe crossfit brought it in vogue. But the ballys, la fitness, celebration fitness centre and jcc I have been members of or visited did not. In fact dropping weights a coullemofnthen would get
You a warning. I got such a warning for deadlifts because the weight settling, not dropping, was "too loud".

But dropping weights, even on proper settings takes its toll on the equipment. Dropping dumbbells bends the. Dropping Olympic bars does the same and loosens the Olympic collars. Rubber weights or platforms reduce the damage but do not stop it. It is also dangerous. Dropping 225 pounds or more from a standing overhead press or Olympic lift can send the weight into an unpredictable direction when it hits the ground.

But golds is generally a place that accommodates such lifting. That is where I did power lifting and strongman training as a member for nearly ten years. And strong man is even less appropriate in most venues. ;). Nothing starts an argument in a gym faster than walking across a crowded gym repeatedly with insanely heavy dumbells or a concrete ball and expecting people to stay out of your way or having to wait for people to get out of your way. We usually had to do that stuff in the back lot on less crowded days.

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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

And the Y has mirrors. Double awful. Now The Rush, which has mirrors, looks identical to planet fitness, locks you into a 3 year contract for $40/month with virtually no way out. Awesome gym, although, it is $460/month short of the required $500/month level of awesomeness.

I think what he's trying to imply is that PF is for women. I'm not sure why people have such hostility for PF. I was a member there years ago, and for $10 a month it was a killer deal. I don't lift a ton of weight, and it's a good place for the huge amount of people who want a gym where they won't feel ashamed or embarrassed. I'm not sure why people have such an issue with a gym catering to the less than physically fit people out there. God forbid the type A, lean machine triathlete should feel slighted.

I know folks have already linked to the original NPR Planet Money podcast, but the focus of that one was actually different than manipulating members into not going.

It was more about manipulating people to join who wouldn't actually work out that much (by making it look like bar, hiding the 'scary' weights in the back, etc), and then manipulating them to renew by making them feel they got something out of it even if they didn't workout (free bagel day, pizza night, etc).

I know most slowtwitch posters have fitness goals, some like working out at the gym and some are training for athletic events.

Most people, however, go to the gym because they are "supposed to." They are "supposed" to exercise, to stay active, to "do something" about their sundry health problems.

This is a lot like a defensive driving class or hiring a security guard to "protect" a building. One does not expect to "learn" from the defensive driving class. Or expect the security guard to save the building.

The money is spent so that one can claim to have taken a defensive driving course. One can claim that one did something to protect the building.

Is it wrong for a business to charge for providing people with the service of "helping people feel like they are doing something"?
Yes, of course, the most ethical way to do this would be to actually do something. But that requires work. And the value of that work is much greater than the average cost of the gym membership.

I am not sure where the bright line between " mildly unethical" and "fraud" lies. I do not find this to be exceptionally scandalous though.

See what you are saying, but this just doesn't make sense to me. For most of my life, I trained primarily in places where not only are most of the people in good shape, but they are high level athletes. I now work out at one of the largest commercial gyms in the nation (at least it was a few years ago) because I am out of the s&c industry and the demographic there is definitely the Average Joe. There are a lot of morbidly obese, seniors, and even noticeably disabled people I see there every morning, working out just like everybody else. Are people really concerned about going into a commercial gym and feeling ashamed or embarrassed? The thing that I noticed about Planet Fitness (seems it may be different at other facilities) is that there really aren't sufficient tools and of course, the pizza and candy. If I was trying to get in shape, that is the exact type of environment I would personally try to avoid; maybe I'm different? My experience there was just odd.

Yes they are. Look at one of the comments above. One person claimed they don't like PF because of "fat people." If one person will actually say it, there are several more than think it. People are incredibly judgmental. If people were embarrassed to go to gyms a place like curves would never exist. My mom is one of these people as well. For years she was terrified to go to a gym simply out of fear. PF caters to this group, which I think is an enormous segment of the population. I do agree with you about the pizza and junk food being very counter productive, and I'm not sure why they do that. You're right that there is a dearth of tools at the gym to assist people, but that's why it's so cheap. The one I went to did have a personal trainer on staff and he was always available to ask questions and was very nice and friendly. So there was some taking the initiative required. What I liked about the place, being someone who doesn't have a desire, need, or hell, an ability to lift huge amounts of weight, was that there was more than enough equipment for me. Never crowds, and even at the peak times there was so much space it never felt crowded. And you could cancel and rejoin as often as ya wanted for little to no penalty(they may have had a small sign on fee).

We all hate it when airlines waste our time. But would be willing to pay an extra 50% for an airline the did not waste our time? Would we even believe an airline that made this claim?

I have not done a study of the gym industry. I suspect that it is a lot like the airline industry. There are lots of "price wars", bankruptcies and reorganizations. I also suspect that renting, space, time and athletic equipment to a bunch of "fitness freaks" cost considerably more than "the fitness freaks" are willing to pay.

Most gyms probably loose a lot of money servicing these "fitness freaks." And make money off of those that never come in. It is not surprising, that they would prefer that their best clients not turn into their worst.

I'm going to give a shout out to Planet Fitness.

I broke my collarbone earlier this year. I needed someplace to ride an old school cushy LifeCycle for a couple weeks then do a little light rehab. The ONLY gym in my area, expensive or cheap, that had an affordable month to month membership was Planet Fitness ($15/mo no minimum) AND, when I canceled my membership, it only took 3 minutes and was no hassle. (Try canceling your membership at one of the larger chains . . . )

Frankly, I thought it was kind of nice that I did not have to worry about being out of place sitting on a LifeCycle with one arm immobile spinning for an hour watching TV. Even walking over to the weight area and doing arm raises with a 2 pound weight was not embarrassing.

I did spend a number of hours there observing the folks. There were a lot of folks just walking on the treadmills but there were some fairly serious folks too. Everyone looked like they wanted to be there, regardless of their level. It was summer and there were a couple college athletes home for the summer (one was a swimmer I knew from when my kids swam, the others I did not identify their sport) running through their weight routines. Obviously, they were there because it was month to month and cheap but they were doing full blown weight training to a specific plan they had been given, I presume emailed in from their coaches. The equipment was fine unless you were into full blown body building free weights and even at that, they did have the basic free weight stations.


I don't do gyms but if I did, I would have no qualms about going back to Planet Fitness.

One person claimed they don't like PF because of "fat people." If one person will actually say it, there are several more than think it. People are incredibly judgmental.

pink: We all want to go to the gym that is full of hot chix and fat old men... don't we? /pink

It's pretty typical (low) human nature to identify yourself and your self esteem with the people you hang out with. And to look down on and make fun of others who are not in your group.

I do agree with you about the pizza and junk food being very counter productive, and I'm not sure why they do that.

My guess is that it caters specifically to the people who hate to work out, but love to stuff their face. Hell for $10 a month I think I could easily get more than that back in pizza without even trying.

I think the article is stupid.

I do like the free tootsie rolls at PF!

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Isn't PF the place that has kicked people out for not wearing a burqa or something to cover up because toned bodies make the fatties feel uncomfortable? Apparently the "Judgement Free Zone" does not apply to those who actually work out.

I was trying to figure that out once (after a coworkers GF signed them up and he sent pics of the pizza), since it is only one day a month and has to be eaten there it would be kind of hard to make it a value just for the pizza. A hot and Ready pizza from little Cesar is 5 bucks, so you'd have to eat 2 whole pizzas to get 10 bucks worth of pizza. Maybe they are getting some higher quality local stuff which could make it slightly better value I guess.

Yes, they kick people out for not wearing burqa's. That's what they do.

Too toned for Planet Fitness.

http://newsone.com/...ness-tiffany-austin/

You might want to read the whole article rather than the the opinionated headline, "According to Planet Fitness, Austin’s toned body was not the issue that sparked the controversy but her outfit, which went against the gym’s dress code policy. “In this particular instance, club staff received complaints from several members about Ms. Austin’s attire,” McCall Gosselin, spokeswoman for Planet Fitness, told HLN in an e-mail Wednesday. “As a result, a staff member informed her of the dress code policy and also offered to provide her with a free T-shirt to complete her workout. Planet Fitness’ dress code policy is based solely on attire and not physique, as members of all shapes and sizes are welcome in our clubs.”"

Don't like their dress code then don't go. A gym has every right to set up any kind of dress code they want. Didn't see anything about requiring members to wear burqa's either.

The gym I go to offers the exact same deal, $9.99/month with no contract, and has everything you can imagine. I guess you're right, the only reason I can think of as to why people would go to PF instead is that they don't want to go to the other gym where some of the patrons are in shape.

I think that's a very unusual deal. The gyms in my area are off the top of my head, the YMCA $50 month to month, The Rush(30-40/month and what seems like a lifetime contract), anytime($50 month to month/25 with contract) and a few other higher end, more expensive clubs.
But thats just what PF caters to. And they make no bones about it. They don't make false claims, they clearly are targeting a very specific group, and yea, they probably also know that 10% are likely to make use of the membership. But, they're incredibly easy to cancel, so anyone who doesn't think they're getting their money's worth can cancel very easily.

Pretty sure this was aimed at the dudes who just leave their crap everywhere

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

The article comes with a picture of her intimidating outfit. I guess she should have worn a PF approved burqa instead. The fact that PF and its member would be upset about someone working out in that clothing tells you everything you need to know abou their "Judgement Free Zone."

After thinking about it, I do know a number of people who use, or have used, Planet Fitness. Here are the 2 reasons the folks I know join PF;

1. Cheap price + No hassle cancelation. e.g. all three of my kids have joined over summer break at least once. This is a huge driver either for folks not ready to commit or those who know they only need a gym short term. Anyone who has tried to cancel at LA Fitness etc LOVES Planet Fitness.

2. Folks here dramatically fail to understand what most normal people are looking for in a gym. Most people are only interested in a) a cardio machine that is b) not occupied; and c) conveniently located to their house or work. That is all they are after. Give them a 95% chance of getting on treadmill or elliptical when they want somewhere that is close and that is all they care about.

Don't judge folks by what you would want. Otherwise you start down a slippery slope that ends with having to acknowledge that all the golfers who think you are stupid for riding a bike on Saturday morning might be right ;-)

since it is only one day a month and has to be eaten there it would be kind of hard to make it a value just for the pizza.

Oh... thought it was a weekly thing.

c) Fat people

I used to think like that then I grew up.

I have a friend who is obese. She goes to the gym very early in the morning, 24 Hour Fitness, specifically to avoid assholes like you. She has such a great attitude and her overweight friend goes with her. Yeah, her workouts aren't "perfect" but she's going. Her diet isn't perfect but she no longer eats fast food and cooks everything from scratch at home. It is hard for me to not correct her or give her advice but I don't want to sounds like an arrogant know it all.

And she's lost over 100lbs in the last 18 moths.

You never know where someone is in their weightless program. You could laugh and call her fat or you could be impressed at the huge life change she's made and continues. She's been overweight her entire life and she's changing that without a personal trainer, nutritionist, Biggest Loser or any help from a "professional" just toughing it out on her own.

I used to belong to a swanky club that my work paid for but when I left I quit my membership. Way too expensive and it had a $1500 initiation fee. Crazy. I went to Gold's from there, $75/month, and the had a great pool. Then the kids took over every reasonable swim time for my schedule, between 4 - 7pm every day, so I left. I'm now at 24 Hour fitness for $40/month. It is a Super Sport and really big. It has everything I need including a 3 lane pool that no one under 18 is every allowed to use.

If a person is going to go, who cares what they pay?

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

This is my first experience with a commercial gym, I've always had free access through school or my job, so you may be correct. But, yeah, the other gym is $9.99/month no contract and it is pretty much the only gig in town outside of Planet Fitness. It's VASA, was Gold's until just a few weeks ago. I believe there are 20+ sites in the state, 7 within about 10 miles of my house. In that same area there are quite a few crossfit gyms, but no 24hr, no Lifetime, no Bally's, pretty sure no other well known commercial gym. I don't know how Planet Fitness competes, VASA is a shockingly better facility for the same price.