Porter Square Planet Fitness

[knowthyself.livejournal.com]

Has anyone been to the new Planet Fitness in Porter? I can't quite tell from looking around online if it's open yet, but if it is, have you been? How was it? And if it's not, does anyone when it is opening?

Thanks!

Comments

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

heh, that's kinda funny.

I think if you just want to use some simple machines and cardio things, it's still fine.

Anyhow, I vaguely recall hearing April as their hopeful opening date, but I could be wrong.

[cold-type.livejournal.com]

I actually think most gyms bar people from screaming, dropping weights and wearing street clothes. Some just enforce the rules more than others.

[cold-type.livejournal.com]

I'm just wondering how loud the guy was. I remember working out next to a guy who grunted/yelled so loud I thought he dropped a dumbbell on his toe.

[water-childe.livejournal.com]

They also refuse to let you workout if you wear a bandana on you head.
I was touring the place and I looked at the guy like he was nuts.
I said, "You actually mean to tell me that if I want to wear a bandana, which I often do because I have short hair and dislike sweat in my eyes, that you'll kick me out, if I had a membership here."
He said yes.
I said, "No offense to you, but that's honestly one of the stupidest rules I've ever heard."
Then I asked if his manager would kindly explain to me the logic or reason behind that rule. 'Cause, I don't know, I wanted to know why? Just 'cause I think it's lame, doesn't mean it might not be for some good reason, although I could not for the life of me imagine what.
The manager? Got in my face and was very defensive. Swore at me. I on the other hand had never raised my voice, despite the fact that I said I thought the rule seemed dumb. Way to go guys. Sure makes me wanna by a membership. This was at the location they had near Tufts, several years ago. I understand that this sort of place might have appeal to novice folks, but I honestly also thought their equipment was of poor quality, and that the management seems less then stellar. Might be good for some, but I consider them only barely above Curves. Then again, my needs for a gym should not be the same as the rest of y'all. I'm a chick, and I like to lift heavy. As in very heavy, and on the same level as some dudes. I'm glad I feel comfy in mixed gender gyms because most women's only gyms piss me off.

[water-childe.livejournal.com]

Women's gyms also assume the sole reason you're there, is to loose weight.
Because ALL women want to lose weight, regardless of how they appear when they come in for a gym membership. I considered Healthworks briefly when I had a free pass. While they are a very swank gym with some very nice spa features in the locker rooms, they actually had a questionare on the membership form about weight loss, which more then annoyed me. I didn't fill it out. When the membership girl point plank asked me, "So, how much do you wish to loose?" I said, "Uh, I weight lift. I'm actually looking to gain. I have more I want to add to my upper body." She frowned, and mumbled under her breath about 'being one of those'. Yeah, so while I'm not the norm, I'm by no means exclusive in my needs. Just because I have tits, please do not assume what my needs are in terms of fitness. I also think it's kind of offensive to make weight loss the entire thrust of gym membership. It's part of what's wrong with the fitness industry, IMHO. I think that getting people to enjoy exercise, and even learn how to make it a part of their daily lives, should be primary. People can still lose weight if that's what they want, but healthy and fitness should not be mutually exclusive to weight loss.

[slinkr.livejournal.com]

Where do you work out? I'm not quite up to lifting anything very heavy yet, but I've been working on it and I'm not sure how much longer Healthworks is going to meet my needs.

[water-childe.livejournal.com]

I workout at at Bally's in Medford.
Now, as someone who's working in a few gyms. Bally's has a mixed rep.
They are a very large chain gym. Quite a few don't think very well of them.
I definitely would not work for then again, but that's another story.
The Bally's in Medford (They call it the Townline Bally's if you look for them on-line)?
Clean, spacious, and I have NEVER had to wait for piece of cardio equiptment, ever. Not ever during what most gyms call prime time, and that's 4 or 5 to 6 or 7 pm.
I used to use the Porter Square Bally's until I and my SO bought a house in Malden. I liked the Porter Bally's, but found it crowded at times, and didn't like the locker rooms. There were narrow, and it got cramped down there at time.
The Medford one? Much bigger ladies locker rooms. They do not have a pool or whirlpool like the one in Porter, but they do have seemingly good childcare, a spin room, and fairly decent classes. They now offer massage services on site, and they have a lovely dry sauna. They also seem to treat long term customers well. When my 2 year contract was up for renewal they gave me a deal on a 3 year PIF that was even better then the 2 year PIF I got with them initially. When in doubt? If you can swing it? Get a paid in full. You'll make out better by and large over any month to month they try and pitch you. As the economy is the suck, if you can afford it, this is a great time to get a gym membership as they are all hurting to hit numbers.

[water-childe.livejournal.com]

oops, I meant 'who's worked at'. past tense.

awwwwwwwwwww, poor muscle men

[studeronomy.livejournal.com]

Awwww, poor body-builders. :-( I hope they're able to find a gym somewhere, someday, somehow, that caters to athletic men rather than middle-aged women.

Re: awwwwwwwwwww, poor muscle men

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

the NYT article specifically says that their target clientele is novice exercisers.

they're trying to reach out to the folks who're feeling ostracized and ignored at other gyms because they're not already ripped/bulging. cut 'em a little slack, eh? there's plenty of places you can still go and make pig noises.

Re: awwwwwwwwwww, poor muscle men

[miss-lisa-ma.livejournal.com]

Not if she gets the cold, chilly, intimidating treatment from people who believe they're SO superior because they lift teh Big Wates. (Look, dude, I don't know for sure if that's you or not, but enough people who are not lifetime gym rats have had that experience to open a healthy market niche for PF. If it's not your cup of tea, then just don't go there.)

Re: awwwwwwwwwww, poor muscle men

[blacktigr.livejournal.com]

I switched from Planet Fitness to Gold's Gym, and I'll never look back. I've gotten better workouts in the past 5 months than in the nearly 2 years I was a member at PF (and my membership was cheaper). I even got permission from the owners to practice my preferred martial arts there.

I'm more comfortable at GG than I ever was at PF. I was always kinda weirded out by the elevators and primping girls, but then I'm a bit of a tomboy.

My friends who also had memberships at PF canceled them for various reasons: the music was too loud, the TVs too omnipresent, and there were never enough cardio machines.

Re: awwwwwwwwwww, poor muscle men

[cold-type.livejournal.com]

Wait..there's free pizza? How do I get in on that?

Re: awwwwwwwwwww, poor muscle men

[water-childe.livejournal.com]

Uh, chicks can be body-builders. And no I don't mean the stereotype shake and back tanorexic type of bodybuilders. I look pretty normal. I just like to lift real real heavy because it feels good and does good things for me. Also, I think that gyms should try harder to be inclusive, not exclusive spaces, where most folks can feel comfy. Still, that's more of a crit aimed at the fitness industry as a whole.
Speaking as a weight lifting chick who generally finds mixed gender gyms more comfy, most big weight lifting dudes? Are actually pretty considerate if you give them half a chance. The ones who act like showboats and grunt like animals? Fairly rare, and somewhat of a stereotype. I've been a lifter in mixed gender gyms since I was 25. I'm almost 36 now. So, while I do speak only from my experience, I do speak from experience.

Re: awwwwwwwwwww, poor muscle men

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Hi, I'm a middle-aged woman and those rules seem ridiculous to me.

[infinitemorning.livejournal.com]

No grunting?

Okay, those rules are frakking ridiculous. I'm shocked they're still in business.

[water-childe.livejournal.com]

I read some of the reviews, and yeah, I didn't like them from my own experience, but the racism, sexism, and such? Gah. Not awesome.
Surprised too.

[sungold123.livejournal.com]

It's scheduled to open April 1. You can go in and sign up (or do so online) and look at the space but when I was there mid-January there weren't any machines in yet - still rather contruction-y. Looks like a decent-sized space, though.

Judging from past Planet Fitness experiences, I wouldn't expect much (middle of the line cardio machines, normal assortment of weights, no classes) but you get what you pay for - and you can't beat $10/month.

[shadow.livejournal.com]

You can go see their place still under construction to get a sense of the size / scale. I have a membership at the Planet Fitness at my work, and it's definitely not a "serious" gym. There are limited free weights and no core equipment (no swiss ball, no reebok core board, no bosu ball, not even a resistance band). The staff don't come across as serious about fitness. There are no classes and not even a scale in the bathroom.

But! You only pay for what you're getting. I paid $99 for a year's access to treadmills / ellipticals and dumbbells. That's what I paid for 5 weeks of access to Healthworks. If you can afford it Healthworks is a better gym if you're looking to find a place for a serious workout, or if you like the classes.

[water-childe.livejournal.com]

shadow makes a good point. You do get what you pay for.
I tend to vote with my money. I don't like the allegations of racism or sexism I read about in the reviews. Me, even if they were the most affordable choice, I personally don't know if I'd feel good supporting them. Yet on the other hand, having access to some exercise equipment that won't kill a budget? Important. This gym is not for me. But, it may be perfectly okay for a whole bunch of people who need something fairly basic.

Incidentally, since the theme of this thread is somewhat fitness related? check out http://www.stumptuous.com
Mostly aimed at women, but good advice for anyone seriously interested in working out and getting fit, from total novice to the more experienced. No BS. Really. There is sadly a lot of misinformation out there about getting fit, mainly because the fitness industry makes good money on misinformation, as well as making people feel bad about their bodies, rather then really empowering them.

[slinkr.livejournal.com]

Second the recommendation for Stumptuous.com. I started on one of their weights programs last year, and it's been more effective than anything else I've tried at the gym (including personal training sessions).

[alphacygni]

I like what stumptuous says, but I really wish they had options listed for beginners that don't involve using a gym.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

?!?!? That's one of the things Stumptuous is famous for--good advice on starting out training with a home program. See here (http://www.stumptuous.com/no-weights-no-problem).

[alphacygni]

Hmmm - after the post above, I went and read the "No fat chicks" article, and it was pretty gym exclusive. But I'll go look at some others.

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

I think I'm going to sign up, because I just want some cardio. Someone stole my bike and i'm not so interested in getting totally shreaded. My friends (some of whom are pretty jacked and training MMA and so forth) said this is a good call, especially for $10 a month.

[kalie-b.livejournal.com]

Thanks guys for keeping us posted, I've never tried Planet Fitness. Any suggestions for places where I could enjoy a needak rebounder (http://www.needak-rebounder-store.com), that's my favorite type of exercise, I even intend to get one at home. Looking forward to read more of your experiences.