Walking into a Planet Fitness gym, one is surrounded with purple walls, mass numbers of treadmills and ellipticals, inspirational quotes and people exercising. The gym is obviously different than others, as it feels more open and inviting to both newcomers and exercise fiends alike.
Planet Fitness was first opened in 1992 by CEO Chris Rondeau, and the company prides itself on being a "judgment free zone." According to their website, Planet Fitness states, "it doesn't matter if your legs have never seen a squat machine before. We believe how you work out is totally up to you." Through their core beliefs, they have created a new term, "gymtimidation," or, the reason why newcomers are less likely to go to a gym.
Aleah Welsh, a student at Penn University, joins Planet Fitness on and off during her school breaks. "I originally went to LA Fitness, but then they opened a Planet Fitness about a block away from me so it was really convenient. They also make it very easy to join," she says.
Welsh believes, however, that Planet Fitness' slogans of "judgment free" and "lunk alarms" are advertised too intensely. "I felt berated by the idea a lot," she says, "with their marketing, they really hitting you over the head with the idea."
Welsh adds that Planet Fitness is supposed to be a gym for "normal" people, and not a safe haven, which is something that their advertising sometimes comes across as. She explains, "Now it just makes me feel like I'm a loser. It's supposed to be a gym for normal people. [Their advertising] makes it too much 'us versus [other gyms]'."
She adds however, that the advertising of the slogans is carried through in the gyms with a positive manner. "I realized that doing the free weights and some of the machines at Planet Fitness versus LA Fitness that it actually is kind of nice that there isn't these ripped, jacked guys grunting around me at the gym., Welsh says. "It's just that I didn't really notice it right away. It's like they are giving me this place to feel OK, but I didn't know I needed it."
Christina Knox, who is a high school athlete, has been a member at Planet Fitness for around four years, and she thinks that the slogans present an unrealistic expectation. She says, "I don't know what kind of judgment free they are trying to sell, like 'people won't judge you there,' but I don't know how you can prevent other people from judging."
Planet Fitness continues their advertising of "no judgment" throughout their gym spaces, placing signs banning baseball hats and muscle tees. "They say judgment free, but then I feel like they are judging people if they want to wear a hat or muscle tee. I think it's hypocritical in a way," says Knox.
She does feel, however, that Planet Fitness has a lot of benefits as a gym that far outweigh some of the cons. Knox enjoys that they are open 24/7 as well as how clean the equipment is all the time. She compares the cleanliness to the dirtiness she felt while a member at other gyms.
One component that Knox looks for in the future is more diverse equipment. She says, "I know that a lot of gyms have ergs, and I'm a rower, so it would be really great to have one."
