PLANET FITNESS - A bad Joke!!

I wasn't going to blog about it. Honestly Ern (my husband) told me to - he's really starting to enjoy the fact that me madly typing away on the computer to vent in my blog is therapeutic LOL He seriously says to me: "Why don't you GO UPDATE your blog." What husband says that to his wife? Whether he's supporting my revamped passion, trying to control my rants, or simply wanting more Black Ops time on PS3 to himself, who knows :) but it works. I'm on break from school so time I would normally spend doing homework I have just been channeling right into fitness, its been a nice balance. My response was NO. I don't care enough to blog about it. The commercials are dumb, plain and simple. And SOOOO MANY Trainers I know have already posted blogs about it, I'm late to the punch. Will Brink has been posting Planet Fitness commercials for months now saying how offensive they are, and while I agree I guess I just kinda shrugged them off. But maybe they're getting worse with the new year - trying to snag all the January $$ droppers - see ya next January! Or maybe it's because I've seen numerous face book status updates/debates about it and the boards are all a buzz about knocking it. I really didn't care that much. Or so I thought. Turns out I do. It's one thing for me to adamantly say those commercials are dumb, they annoy me, and kinds shrug joke them off. I saw a status update from IFBB PRO JOSE RAYMOND's girlfriend that said "Jose is walking around saying repeatedly I lift things up and put them down." I thought it was funny. I love people with a good sense of humor who can laugh stuff off. It's not the end of the world. After being in the industry long enough I think you come to a peaceful acceptance that the general public does not understand bodybuilding. They never fully have and never fully will. It's a niche sport, and those who get it are a small group. You learn to accept the stereotypes to a degree, and the misinformed opinions. But when a "fitness facility" is USING such ignorant stereotypes to MARKET their facility. Well that's just plain WRONG.

It didn't start to bother me more until I saw the trends of statuses and discussions change. People agreeing they feel more comfortable, no lunkers, no grunters, no people in sports bras with their abs hanging out, it's so much more comfortable, no fuss, it's a great beginners gym, things like that. That's when my keep quietness started to unravel. This gym prays on people's insecurities trying to convince them that all of these things are SCARY, intimidating, and bad. And people buy into it hook, line, and sinker. Which makes me hate PF even more LOL. I have recommended to people to go to planet fitness before, so before you go HUH? mixed signals, let me explain. If your budget is tight, you have never worked out before, you are not going to use all the amenities of a large health club and do not even know if you will keep up with a gym routine by all means go for your easiest, cheapest route. WHEN and IF you are ready to COMMIT, when you are ready to make it routine, set a goal, STICK to a regime, THEN upgrade. Invest a little more in yourself, and LEARN how to work for results. But for a quick fix, I'm not knocking anyone who goes to the gym AT ALL and I need to make that perfectly CLEAR.

But honestly after hearing and seeing these commercials: You could not pay me to step foot in that place!! Their commercials are so incredibly offensive, making fun of "stereotypical bodybuilders or power lifters". Bodybuilders and power lifters are the pioneers to every REAL fitness plan out there. Although its changed over the years to be on an unhealthier curve for some. Arnold ate lean meats, low glycemic carbs, and high fiber vegetables. YEARS before it was cool for playboy bunny Kendra to do so. Bodybuilders new about the "New OMG do your cardio on an empty stomach rule" FARRRRRR before it was ever posted on yahoo's main page as breaking news. They have been using flaxseed oils, MCT oils and promoting HEALTHY FATS so long before someone started promoting MUFAS and the "belly fat diet". Even look at airborne? Ummmm hello I know I'm not the only person who has ever been instructed to break an amino acid capsule and put it under your tongue while your working out and mix VITamin C powder in you water while you lift. Wanna talk about AIRBORRNE making millions, BODYBUILDERS have been doing that for years! And "ATKINS" one of the LARGEST LOW CARB DIETS EVER POPULAR IN THE US ummmmm we'vve just simply called it a keto diet for years before some doctor decided he would get even richer from writing a book. Wanna talk about basic information. Here. I was 20 years old just started working out trying to get into better shape after having my daughter. Did not take ONE single supplement besides creatine, and an over the counter fat burner. I picked up a book called SLICED a bodybuilding book published in 1991 when I was 9 years old. It was my father in laws - I "borrowed" it, well I still have it, but I don't think he minds ;). I tried to learn everything I could about the sport, it was my bible. I did my own diet and training based on methods out of the book, and 10 weeks later walked on my first stage and received my World Natural Bodybuilding Federation Pro Card and this was my result:



I challenge ANYONE, any single person to purchase this book right now: http://www.amazon.com/Sliced-Bill-Reynolds/dp/0809241161
follow a protocol out of it and its principles religiously for 12 weeks and see what happens. Or you can just walk into Planet Fitness for 12 weeks and wing it because bodybuilders are so STUPID right?

Planet Fitness offers free pizza Friday!! How is that promoting health & fitness? Pizza at a gym!! While I am the first girl to say cheat days are the best days ever lol I do not ever want to see pizza at my gym! It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of. Their main marketing ploy is that $10 a month coming out of your account you can totally justify since it's so inexpensive and when people quit which is what they're hoping for they'll never notice the $10. If you had to pay $50 a month and sign a contract you may actually have to think and plan "can I commit to this?" before you vow to lose that last 30 pounds again on January first. But $10 is quick and easy, and they hope you won't squalk when they keep withdrawing it well after you have gone back to pizza and the couch. Actually you could go back to Planet Fitness just on Fridays for the pizza I mean you are paying for the membership its worth free pizza! $10 a month that is a DEAL! But remember - You get what you pay for.

So here's the deal how can I say to someone find a planet fitness close to you to get started? Well here's the deal... I don't think a gym that is appealing to the general public is a BAD THING AT ALL! I think its actually a very good thing. BUT and this is a very big BUT (no pun intended) it's HOW they have to knock other gyms or PEOPLE to do it. That is what kills it for me. If they were simply promoting it as a beginners gym, or a "comfort factor" I wouldn't have a problem with it. While I personally scoff at a CURVES workout for efficiency. I can totally understand the purpose of a woman's only facility that is not too challenging, that is quick and easy. Its an option some want and its better than nothing in my opinion, that is UNDERSTANDABLE to me - yet they don't feel the need to KNOCK other gyms or PEOPLE as Planet Fitness does. That is what I do not like. It's kinda like that girl in the group who's average and all her friends are STRAIGHT 10s - Carmen Electra types. She's insecure and EASY. Instead of dealing with her own insecurities she finds ways to make fun of, stab her friends in the back, or sleep with their boyfriends out of jealousy. That's what I feel about Planet Fitness. They are the jealous insecure gym in the group. They can't compete with REAL training facilities that would put them to shame, and they can't compete with people that may look like ARNOLD so they'd rather make fun of them or not allow them. Makes them feel better right? All the while convincing other insecure people that they do this to "protect them".

I actually read somewhere that said they got rid of personal trainers because they feel its insulting to their clients to offer nothing more than "rent a friends" to them. Devaluing knowledgeable trainers should make them the WORST fitness facility ever. KNOWLEDGE is power and it is very evident when you see someone's results change drastically. Otherwise why can you walk around the same gyms, month after month, year after year, seeing the same people, yet their body has never changed one ounce? Doesn't matter as long as their "comfortable" and their account is being debited monthly. Do you think people on the biggest loser could do any of that without their trainers knowledge, tools, programs, advice, guidance, and motivation?

And here is where I think it bothers me the most - I personally have met some of the most amazing people in this industry. I know NATURAL bodybuilders who are doctors YES DOCTORS, lawyers, CANCER SURVIVORS, Moms of FIVE, 60 plus years old, I actually know one who is a MEMBER of MENSA... NO JOKE! EAT THAT freakin planet fitness. They carry around a jug of creatine. They eat out of a cooler. They wear spandex shorts and wacky weight belts. They GRUNT when they are squatting THREE TIMES THERE BODY WEIGHT... if that makes someone uncomfortable, then yes perhaps Planet Fitness is a good option for them. But there is no need to KNOCK educated, well rounded individuals, who choose a DISCIPLINE MOST CANNOT ever dream of. To put a stereotype out like that and lump every person who takes fitness to the next level is IGNORANT, and should not be used to encourage fitness. EVER.

How would people react if they advertised a bodybuilding gym that allowed no one with cellulite? No one who doesn't know what a BMR is? No one who cannot perform a proper squat? The media would be BLOWING UP with back fire! Why? Because that's the MAJORITY of America?

And last but not least INSTEAD of letting people PREY on your insecurities, raise your head high! Enter a gym where there are hard bodies. Enter a gym where the trainers look scary. CHALLENGE yourself to step outside of your comfort zone. You may be pleasantly surprised. Not everyone WANTS to look like a figure competitor or fitness model or bodybuilder. Not everyone WANTS to do what they do, or WANTS to eat what they eat. While it may be the best way or even our philosophy, some people may simply want to be healthier or fit into a certain size. With the average size in this country being a 14, a size 8 can be a huge accomplishment! Your goal could be simply lowering your cholesterol, blood pressure, or being able to reach your toes again. But you could surprise yourself. You could set a goal - achieve it, and then set a more challenging one. You could start just by walking and end up running a 5K! YOU NEVER KNOW. Don't let someone tell you you should be "comfortable".


My favorite quote when I use to have my fitness website it was my main slogan: "CONFIDENCE IS THE SEXIEST THING A WOMAN CAN HAVE, FITNESS GIVES ME THAT CONFIDENCE". Wanna know one of the sexiest confident woman I liked in the media? Jennifer Hudson. So talented, so beautiful, so strong, and even before she slimmed down and got her new banging BODY, I in all honesty would have traded my body for hers, for her voice and Talent! What?! The woman is amazing! Look at Beyonce. While she works out and eats healthy she's no tooth pic. Shit shakes when she walks and it's HOT AS HELL! Being healthy is about your BODY and Your Mind. Working out at a place that just makes you "feel comfortable" is not about your body and your mind. Just some food for thought. I have rambled enough. The End.