any drawbacks to this place? $10/month , 24 hr , i'm trying to figure out the catch any of you guys who are members have any complaints? i'm thinkin about joining

9/19/2007 4:53:24 PM

That is way too cheap, something must be up.

9/19/2007 4:54:16 PM

no real complaints, I can go in get my workout in and get out...gets kinda crowded some times, but thats about it

9/19/2007 5:06:30 PM

no grunting

9/19/2007 5:11:14 PM

There are weight limits, no deadlifts allowed, no oly lifts,

What kind of gym offers free pizza, tootsie rolls and bagels? whwat a fucking joke.

It caters to people (women) that want to start working out, but are turned off by people actually training. It wants to sign as many people up as possible, but hope they never show up (contracts).


If you are still a student, go to Carmicheal
if not
peak is gay
pf just sucks
golds is too far away
hillsborough Y is a great all around gym
powerhouse is a great weight training's gym (even has provides chalk!)

[Edited on September 19, 2007 at 5:19 PM. Reason : ]

[Edited on September 19, 2007 at 5:20 PM. Reason : ]

9/19/2007 5:13:09 PM

^^ you would figure after 2 edits you would at least correct your grammar mistakes...

9/19/2007 5:42:58 PM

You'd figure, that you could use "^" correctly, too..........

9/19/2007 5:45:31 PM

Carmichael blows major ass, i hate going there and even though get to go for free i am thinking of getting a membership anyway.

Issues w/ Carmichael-

Crappy Hours- Closes early on weekends, closed on holidays, extremely shitty summer hours all around. this semester since i work full time i only have a narrow window mon-thurs to make it to carmicheal 6-9 or 6-8 on friday ( i usually work out an hour so since the gym closes at 10 M-Th i gotta be there at 9)

OverCrowded- I prefer working out in the late afternoon or evening (do not have a choice now while working full time) and the gym is always overcrowded at these times. Worst time for crowding is when the freshman fill up the gym the first few weeks of school, and right before spring break & the end of the spring semester when "seasonal" lifters try to get in shape last minute

Parking Blows- During the semesters I am taking classes and try to "beat" the late afternoon rush since parking is still enforced i must waste time bumming around the Wolfline except the semester i had a DC pass.

[Edited on September 19, 2007 at 5:52 PM. Reason : l]

9/19/2007 5:52:36 PM

if you live on campus, carmicheal is decent.

if not, its a bitch, parking and hours make it not worth it

9/19/2007 6:29:03 PM

Christ, I never bitched about parking in the c spots on dan allen, or the lot beside reynolds, or the deck. Christ, you can't walk to the gym?????? Not even a block???????????????


It's not free--your tuition pays for it. USE IT.

9/19/2007 6:32:47 PM

Quote :

"Christ, I never bitched about parking in the c spots on dan allen, or the lot beside reynolds, or the deck. Christ, you can't walk to the gym?????? Not even a block??????????????? "

C-spots and DC deck after 5

Quote :

"During the semesters I am taking classes and try to "beat" the late afternoon rush since parking is still enforced i"

9/19/2007 6:36:53 PM

oic,

you could park in the pay lot. I doubt you would do that enough, to make joining a gym the better option.


Where are you thinking about joining?

9/19/2007 6:40:37 PM

Quote :

"It wants to sign as many people up as possible, but hope they never show up (contracts)."

They allow you to quit at any time. If there is any truth to your statement it is that they want to sign up as many people as possible, but nobody ever quits even if they rarely use it because it's only $10 per month.

I haven't used it much this summer, but I liked it just fine. Plenty of nice folks. Lots of cardio equipment, just enough free weights and assisted machines. The no grunting thing sounds stupid, but working out next to some idiot who goes "UUnnnghhhhh" with every movement he makes can be pretty fucking annoying. It's nice not to have to tell someone to STFU.

[Edited on September 19, 2007 at 8:20 PM. Reason : l]

9/19/2007 8:20:19 PM

Quote :

"golds is too far away "

depends on where you live. It's only a mile from my house.

I used to work out at planet fitness, and it was a great gym for $10 a month. A lot of people are turned off by the atmosphere of the place, but if you're truly dedicated to working out then you shouldn't be swayed by the color scheme. there's no reason for anyone to grunt, yell, or drop weights when they're working out either. When I bought my house, I just didn't like the location of planet fitness.

I still think the cardio equipment at planet fitness is superior to about any other gym I've been to. the only thing that would make it nicer is if they had personal TV's on each piece of equipment, but you can't expect but so much for $10.

[Edited on September 19, 2007 at 8:23 PM. Reason : ^they bank heavily on people not quitting because it's only $10 a month.]

9/19/2007 8:22:34 PM

does the PF there have an alarm on the wall that goes off whenever someone grunts, drops a weight, or "judges?"

9/19/2007 8:40:04 PM

Yes

9/19/2007 8:47:15 PM

I GRUNT BECAUSE I LIFT LIKE ALOT

btw, u also cant drop your weights...kinda shitty for macho strong men like me that like to lift big weights.

good gym though for the novices. Stay away from my free weights though noob


also...

Quote :

"OverCrowded- I prefer working out in the late afternoon or evening (do not have a choice now while working full time) and the gym is always overcrowded at these times. Worst time for crowding is when the freshman fill up the gym the first few weeks of school, and right before spring break & the end of the spring semester when "seasonal" lifters try to get in shape last minute"

this shit applies to all gyms munstar. not only carmycle

[Edited on September 19, 2007 at 8:52 PM. Reason : k]

9/19/2007 8:50:23 PM

Isn't a lot relative?
How much do you lift?

9/19/2007 8:54:16 PM

you can't do dead lifts at planet fitness? who do they think they are, soviet russia?

9/19/2007 9:04:18 PM

yea i've never really been into lifting even though i look like it( i come from a long line of slaves). i'm not registered for classes this semester so i'm thinking the best way to get my chubby ass in a gym is pf.

9/19/2007 9:26:08 PM

I prefer my gym behind Food Lion. Its open 24/7, 365. If you can't stand the crowds at night, get up at 5am like so many people do everyday who have an entire days worth of work ahead of them and bust your ass.

9/19/2007 9:48:34 PM

i like planet fitness

i've been a member there since the beginning of this summer

9/19/2007 9:52:35 PM

^^^^you can do deads at planet fitness, but they'll tell you to stop if you're just dropping them to the ground like a lot of people do. Also, I've never seen a gym in Raleigh that will allow you to do olympic lifts with any decent amount of weight. Hell, I haven't seen a gym in Raleigh that even has a platform, proper weights, or even enough room to do a snatch or clean and jerk safely.

[Edited on September 19, 2007 at 9:58 PM. Reason : ^^^^]

9/19/2007 9:55:38 PM

I go to the one near jones franklin/western, no real problems with it since I started there in the summer. However, don't expect it to be fucking a+ first class especially for how cheap it is. Did the 10/month deal too, but they'll try to push a $50 initiation fee at first, they 'dropped' mine to $30 but I've heard they sometimes waive it altogether. Only real issue as described before is overcrowding 5-8 or so on weekdays, but that happens everywhere. The real pusher is they're open 24 hours a day during the weekday and 7-7 on weekends, since I'm a night owl. It's pretty clean, modern machines, and plenty of 'em, especially cardio. Free weight area is decent but can be the most packed. The alarm aint a bad idea, especially when the dude beside ya feels he's buff enough to throw the 70lb free weights to the ground when he's done and make the motherfuckers bounce into your legs. /rant

Summary: For $10 a month after the fee, the way it is now, its a damn good deal imo.

9/19/2007 11:03:15 PM

Quote :

" There are weight limits, no deadlifts allowed, no oly lifts, "

No dead lifting is unacceptable. Of course, if they are only complaining about people dropping weights when they dead lift, thats fine, I welcome it.

Dropping the weights on the last set is poor form. Maybe you should consider lowering the weight and using correct form, you should not count a rep where you only do half of it then drop it. Controlled movements - Mr Macho Man.

And the grunting...f* annoying...you can breathe heavily just fine without the grunting.

9/20/2007 12:36:57 AM

I'm just telling you what I was told. Elusius did deads there, obviously, with no problem. I've never lifted there--due to the ridiculous rules I was told. The skinny desk guy was also proud of how they "chased the "meatheads" from the former gym out."

I tend to lift in a controlled manor, but had I lifted there, and followed my normal routine, I would have probably had a little plate chiming--agaist their rules.

Yes, you might drop a bar, but it is not purposefully, or done every time--especially on deads. The decent is where many people let their form go and fuck their backs up.

I don't live in Raleigh anymore, so whatever...

9/20/2007 12:58:17 AM

^i guess i was just ranting about people dropping the weights every set

9/20/2007 1:06:13 AM

Which gym was it that signed up a bunch of people with the promise of opening one summer and either opened almost a year late or never opened at all. The people that signed up even paid them in advance. Was that Planet Fitness?

There was also a gym in the news around that same time that closed its doors without so much as a warning to its members. People just showed up one morning and found a note on the door.

9/20/2007 7:45:53 AM

you are thinking of the Big Ape Gym on wake forest road. i was member there when that happened.

as far as planet fitness goes, if you are a novice or you just want to go use cardio and do light weight workouts, then PF is fine. if you are a more experienced lifter and use heavier weights and do more complicated workouts/exercises i would say go join a real gym.

personally, the 'no grunting/judging' stuff makes me want to puke. they are trying to appeal to people's insecurities. nobody cares what you look like at the gym (unless you are a hot broad). nobody should care if someone is trying to do a heavy squat workout and they have to 'grunt.' most people dont grunt to be cool, they grunt as a natural reaction to heavy weight.

its a fucking gym.

9/20/2007 10:00:51 AM

Quote :

"Dropping the weights on the last set is poor form. Maybe you should consider lowering the weight and using correct form, you should not count a rep where you only do half of it then drop it. ...And the grunting...f* annoying...you can breathe heavily just fine without the grunting."

9/20/2007 10:56:47 AM

working out a certain muscle group to exhaustion is a perfectly normal weigh to make gains... and it may involve you having to drop weights on your last set... should not be a big deal..

9/20/2007 11:06:23 AM

i always laugh at the olympic weight lifters who grunt and scream. what a bunch of pussies!

9/20/2007 11:14:34 AM

do a bench press set of 300lbs to exhaustion and let me know if you make any noise.

i agree some go over the top but the alarm is silly.

9/20/2007 11:31:33 AM

Quote :

"personally, the 'no grunting/judging' stuff makes me want to puke. they are trying to appeal to people's insecurities. nobody cares what you look like at the gym (unless you are a hot broad). nobody should care if someone is trying to do a heavy squat workout and they have to 'grunt.' most people dont grunt to be cool, they grunt as a natural reaction to heavy weight. "

actually, they are appealing to the people who want to workout without having to listen to some jackass that moans and screams while he does his little quarter rep squats with nothing but 45's on the bar. Heavy weight doesn't make you grunt; a desire for attention does.

[Edited on September 20, 2007 at 11:36 AM. Reason : ^I can rep out 345 10 times without making a sound.]

9/20/2007 11:36:05 AM

does a person who is making noise really bother you all that much? I never even noticed others in the gym doing that before I went to PF. dont most people have mp3 players they are listening to anyway? I just dont think it is a big deal and I bet that most doing weight heavy enough to warrant noise dont give a shit about the attention.

congrats on the 345. obviously its not a heavy weight to you so you really wouldnt make any noise.

9/20/2007 11:48:46 AM

My brother has benched around 400 and doesn't make noises.. with a little conscious effort at first, you can make yourself stop doing it

9/20/2007 11:51:31 AM

i think for some people that is true, for others it isnt. for others perhaps it is involuntary.

its like not making any noise during relations. for some it is a release and they cant really control it. same thing.

9/20/2007 11:57:47 AM

Quote :

"does a person who is making noise really bother you all that much? I never even noticed others in the gym doing that before I went to PF. dont most people have mp3 players they are listening to anyway? I just dont think it is a big deal and I bet that most doing weight heavy enough to warrant noise dont give a shit about the attention."

this is why there are 198232938298372012918230918233 other gyms to be a member of. don't like planet fitness? MY GOD SOMEBODY'S HOLDING A GUN TO HIS HEAD MAKING HIM GO IN THERE!!!!!!!!11oneone

9/20/2007 12:01:41 PM

have you ever been to a powerlifting competition? the only people that grunt and scream do it before the lift to psych themselves up. when they're lifting, they're too focused on moving the weight and breathing in a controlled manner to make any noise. The only time I've ever seen someone yell during the match is when they suffered a knee injury and had to dump the squat bar.

Some people claim that you can get more strength out of your core by grunting or yelling, but most powerlifters know that you can get the same effects by controlling your ab muscles. When I do max effort deadlifts, I don't think I have enough energy left in me to even try to make noises.

9/20/2007 12:02:00 PM

Quote :

"have you ever been to a powerlifting competition? the only people that grunt and scream do it before the lift to psych themselves up. when they're lifting, they're too focused on moving the weight and breathing in a controlled manner to make any noise. The only time I've ever seen someone yell during the match is when they suffered a knee injury and had to dump the squat bar. Some people claim that you can get more strength out of your core by grunting or yelling, but most powerlifters know that you can get the same effects by controlling your ab muscles. When I do max effort deadlifts, I don't think I have enough energy left in me to even try to make noises."

Ive done a few powerlifting comps and the only thing I noticed was that everyone is a little different. I am not a "grunter" except for random times and I dont even notice when I do it.

Quote :

"this is why there are 198232938298372012918230918233 other gyms to be a member of. don't like planet fitness? MY GOD SOMEBODY'S HOLDING A GUN TO HIS HEAD MAKING HIM GO IN THERE!!!!!!!!11oneone"

I dont go there. I did. the original poster asked opinions and I gave mine. not a difficult concept to understand.

9/20/2007 12:07:34 PM

Quote :

"i always laugh at the olympic weight lifters who grunt and scream. what a bunch of pussies!"

9/20/2007 12:13:22 PM

Breathing is more important then grunting, its hard to stay tight when you are grunting. Most people who I see grunting are doing some sort of reverse curl jump power clean. Now on the other hand, I will fucking cruse or complain/moan/bitch when I'm dragging the sled, bear crawls with 4 plates is some serious torture.

^Agis, when are you gonna join me again? I went out and bought some more plates.

9/20/2007 1:22:41 PM

Quote :

"no grunting "

Quote :

"There are weight limits, no deadlifts allowed, no oly lifts"

Quote :

"does the PF there have an alarm on the wall that goes off whenever someone grunts, drops a weight, or "judges?""

i heard about this gayass place. what a complete waste.

Quote :

"What kind of gym offers free pizza, tootsie rolls and bagels? whwat a fucking joke."

Quote :

"there's no reason for anyone to grunt, yell, or drop weights when they're working out either."

yes and no. it's gay and totally pointless to do any of those three things habitually (and i roll my eyes at those few people you see doing it), but if you're lifting heavy, you're going to grunt or drop a weight from every now and then. it happens. asking someone to leave if they do that is bullshit (never been there, but i've heard that's what happens).

Quote :

"ou can do deads at planet fitness, but they'll tell you to stop if you're just dropping them to the ground like a lot of people do."

yeah, most gyms will do that (as they should).

Quote :

"The skinny desk guy was also proud of how they "chased the "meatheads" from the former gym out.""

that right there would be enough for me to look elsewhere. the impression i get is that the gym exists for people to go in and fuck around and say they went to the gym...not to actually do any real training. it sounds to me like they cater to that set and really don't want any serious working out done in there.

Quote :

"you are thinking of the Big Ape Gym on wake forest road. i was member there when that happened."

yeah, i was there too. that was bullshit.

Quote :

"My brother has benched around 400 and doesn't make noises.. with a little conscious effort at first, you can make yourself stop doing it"

i'm not a grunter, either...but i won't say i NEVER grunt or yell a little on a tough rep.

9/20/2007 2:58:50 PM

Well, I can see both sides.. doing it every now and then a little bit on complete accident is def not something worth being kicked out of a "real" gym for. I say "real" gym because obviously planet fitness is more worried about helping ppl think working out is an easy activity instead of the reality that if you don't put something into it you won't get shit out of it.

9/20/2007 3:25:25 PM

Beyond Fitness closed down their doors in a very similar fashion to Big Ape. I was a member at Big Ape when they closed their doors, and I never saw it coming because the manager never said anything. The only reason I ever heard about Beyond Fitness closing their doors is because they were fucking up their bill payments at so many locations that the rumors spread quickly. The management at Beyond Fitness denied it to the end. They even had a couple of assholes join on this message board trying to recruit new people and swindle them out of their money right before closing their doors.

9/20/2007 4:01:29 PM

Quote :

"What kind of gym offers free pizza, tootsie rolls and bagels?"

Once a month they have free bagels in the morning and free pizza in the evening. It's a nice gesture. How are you going to bitch about free pizza?

I don't really lift right now because I'm more interested in cutting weight than putting it on, so I guess it doesn't really affect me. In any case, I went there today and knocked out a 30 minute session of hard cardio. Good equipment, clean, not many nasty skanks. Followed it up by jogging one lap and walking one lap around Lake Johnson for a good workout.

[Edited on September 20, 2007 at 6:35 PM. Reason : l]

9/20/2007 6:34:52 PM

weightlifting is good weight loss medicine, too

9/20/2007 7:09:45 PM

Quote :

"^Agis, when are you gonna join me again? I went out and bought some more plates. "

When are you doing it again? Would you be down for doing it on a sunday?

9/20/2007 8:05:11 PM

I'll give you a call, I might go out of town

9/20/2007 8:32:58 PM

^^^ Agreed, but recovery is a bitch when you're not eating enough calories and I already have a muscular frame. I do a lot of pushups and chinups though. That's about all I do that might count as weight training. I might start lifting again once I cut some more weight.

9/20/2007 10:12:48 PM