It’s a new year and of course one of my resolutions is to get back into shape. The very thought of putting something like this at the top of your resolutions is stressful. 80% of people who put going to the gym as their New Years resolution abandon it by the second week of February.
But I’m determined to not be part of that 80% dropout rate which means I not only need a gym but I need one that’s convenient enough and offers the things I really want in a gym.
My office has a full gym with trainers and group classes which is really awesome. However, there is something about getting sweaty with colleagues that doesn’t work for me. Plus most of the classes are during work hours when I’m busy, you know, working.
Plus once I’m done working out I have to shower and there’s not much worse that can happen to you at work than stripping down to nothing next to the guy who you have a meeting with in an hour. So wherever I ended up it wouldn’t be at the office gym, at least not for the main event.
From 2010-2014 I worked out at 24 Hour Fitness, mostly at the Castro location in San Francisco but later at the super fancy UTC location here in San Diego. In San Francisco I paid $12.50/m for access to 300 clubs. Now their Costco deal is $16.67/m which is a sizable increase, especially considering you can no longer use the Costco deal to extend a membership so future years will likely cost more.
Either way, when I started at the UTC location I had to toss out my Costco membership and upgrade to a $75/m Ultra Sport Club level. It sucked to pay that kind of money every month but I got with it nicer facilities and a swimming pool, which was my main reason for joining. 
Long story short, I no longer feel the need to spend $75/m and technically didn’t qualify for the Costco deal which could mean I’d be paying upwards of $45/m to go to the gym near my house. Not cool.
So tonight Cody and I joined Planet Fitness. I had never actually been inside of a Planet Fitness but they’d always intrigued me. They’re mostly famous for their “Judgement Free Zone” and “Lunk Alarms.”
That being said, I’ve also found their perks (free guest with every visit, tanning, hydromassage, Beauty Angle infrared therapy and unlimited fitness training pretty enticing, including some rock bottom membership pricing.
Cody and I opted for the $19.99/m membership which includes all the above and then some. We could have gone for the $10/m membership but tanning, hydromassage and the unlimited guest privileges won us over!
Tomorrow morning I’m planning on going in for my first day at the new gym and will be sure to let you know how it goes.
There were a few things missing from Planet Fitness.
- No swimming pool
- No spin classes
- No yoga classes
- No large group classes (only groups of <5)
- No private personal trainers
It’s going to suck not having a pool though I do have an ocean 15 minutes from my house. Keeping group exercise classes to no more than 5 people makes it more personal and provides more 1-on-1 time with the trainer but… I really wanted the energy of a spin class or boot camp and a regular yoga course that didn’t cost more money.
If I really start to miss any of those classes I can always suck it up and do them at the office gym, same with having a personal trainer. But when weighing the pros and cons, Planet Fitness won out hands down.
Plus it’s 3 minutes closer so I’m that much more likely to actually go!
