Planet Fitness – Garner

Real nice place to do cardio. Not a place to get big as the weight lifting area is small and always crowded. Overall a real nice place

Good machines, attentive trainers, and the message chairs and tables are worth the black card.

Have been working out here since 5 – 2015 and they are very clean and keep the machines up. The only complaint I have is how quickly they go thru trainers. Just started the third one since I have been there. Very bummed!

Waste of money! Unless you do nothing but cardio or workout in the middle of the night, you’re not going to get any free weights. All the weights get hoarded and the staff does nothing about it. They are to busy trying to sign up new people to care about their current members.

Rusty (manager), as promised…
I visited this gym today. I’ve been working out for years and as a member of the military, I’ve visited gyms all over the U.S. Today was the first time I visited a Planet Fitness and furthermore, today was the first time I’ve been restricted by a gym (Rusty) on how much I was able to lift during my workout AND told I couldn’t bring in a large jug of water.
After leaving my jug of water at the front desk, I began working out. I just stopped by to get a little workout, wasn’t expecting to have a gym Nazi (Rusty) walking around monitoring me and calling me out because of my size and physical ability, which apparently intimidated other clients? After leaving my jug of water that was forbidden (you can have multiple small bottles apparently, but according to Rusty, a jug of water is intimidating to clients), I was told that I could only have a certain amount of plates on the Smith Machines and that I had to remove the extra. I can understand if it were a safety issue and I were a little inexperienced teenager in there working out with his buddies.
I noticed several signs on the windows/​walls. One said «Open 24 Hours», however, the sign on the door had business hours which contradicts the 24 hour advertisement. Now, another sign reads about how Planet Fitness motivates you and kicks your butt to reach your maximum potential. However, I was just starting my warmup and was told that I was using too much weight. That’s another contradiction. Two more signs read «No judgement zone» and «No critics»… Across from that wall was a sign that defined the term «Lunk». A term I am assuming that Planet Fitness coined for people that drop their weights, wear tank tops, grunt, moan, AND drink out of gallon jugs. So, I am assuming I am a ‘Lunk’ because I drink out of a gallon jug; in fact, I drink 2 – 3 gallons of water a day to ensure I’m properly hydrated as I’m a very active individual. Now, back to the signs. Planet Fitness presses a button which sounds an alarm and flashes a blue light if they catch someone being what they deem is a ‘Lunk’. This contradicts the other two signs stating this facility is a judgement free zone and there are no critics. I get it if someone is causing a scene, drawing attention to themselves, or destroying equipment because they are being complete idiots. However, to tell someone they can’t have a jug of water or admonish them because of their physical ability clearly limits their progress as opposed to ‘pushing’ them to reach their potential as stated on one of said signs.
While working out, I counted 5 males wearing tank tops. Now, according to Planet Fitness, they are ‘Lunks’. To me, these are individuals who are trying to workout and better their lives while wishing to stay cool as this weather and these temperatures can be excessive at times. I questioned Rusty on how come I couldn’t have my jug with me during my workout, but these guys are able to wear tank tops or be ‘Lunks’ I suppose? The contradictions of this establishment really confuses me.
At any rate, these ridiculous policies are discrimination practices at their finest. The review isn’t stopping here, it’s going to corporate and the Better Business Bureau. Rusty wanted me to use his name specifically as he said he was enforcing corporate’s policies. Well, half of them anyway. His only response to me asking about the fairness of the policy — tank top vs. jug of water, he stated «the tank tops don’t show the nipples». I don’t know of a tank top that shows nipples?
In the end, this gym is clean and the equipment is in good shape but that’s only because you are restricted to your workouts. It reminds me of Turbo Gym from the movie Dodgeball but complete opposite — you get yelled at for making progress or being outside of the normal weekend gym members.

I love working out at Planet Fitness. This location always has super friendly staff that treats you well, and is always very clean. Also, it’s very affordable for everyone! I am so grateful to be a member at Planet Fitness!

I’ve been a member at this Planet Fitness for over 3 years now. The gym is pretty close to immaculate. Staff is cleaning the entire facility constantly. The equipment is in good condition, repairs are done quickly.
Planet Fitness is a great place to get into shape and is adequate for most fitness enthusiasts. If you’re looking for a hard core free weight facility, this place isn’t for you.
Planet Fitness isn’t perfect, but based on the dues of $ 10 per month, I feel it warrants 5 stars.

I have been a member at this Planet Fitness location for about two years now and overall I am very happy with my time here. I have not gone to other Planet Fitness locations to compare. My trips and goals throughout my time at this location have changed so I will try to cover most of the areas in this review.
At the time I started going, I was a guest of a friend who was looking for some additional support in going. I was primarily interested in cardio and conditioning at the time. We would typically arrive during the weekends around 6:00pm. This is obviously a peak time but even still, there were always treadmills and elliptical available. The numerous TVs are a nice feature though I rarely watch or listen to them. As time went on I wanted to do more strength training and weights as I eased into this area of the gym. I first used many of the machines. Again, while going at such a peak time, I did find that it was a little more of a challenge to catch specific machines open. Most of the machines are in pairs so popular ones can become tough to use during peak times.
Recently, my times of visits vary. Typically three times a week I go at 6:00am which is very convenient as most of the gym is wide open. There is no difficulty getting to a treadmill or even having my pick in front of a TV if I do want to zone out to some ESPN highlights or something. The machines are generally all open as well. I have found great use of the 12-​minute-​abs section. Though I have never seen anybody follow the 12-​minute-​ab routine as is described in the initial registration walk through but the machines there have been very useful and are almost always available regardless of time of day. I prefer the inclined benches for difficult sit ups as well as the ‘machine’ for strengthening your lower back.
Additionally, I also frequently use the benches, of which there are six in this location. During non-​peak hours it is usually easy to find an open one. The additional free weights and combo machines for various arm and leg strengthening exercises which are all right next to each other make it very easy to alternate between routines across various machines/​benches.
Very rarely have I been unable to use the machine or bench I’d like even during peak times.
Other areas worth mentioning would be the clientele. You see the different groups of people at the different times. During peak hours is when you will find more of the ‘serious’ gym goers. Outside of peak hours is when you tend to see more casual gym users. I haven’t found the serious users to be intimidating but have found myself taking notes of some of their exercises and routines and incorporate new motions and practices into my routine. So they serve as a good resource to push yourself and try some new routines.
I am, however, unsure of the unspoken etiquette of the gym in terms of cleanliness. Is a person suppose to wipe down before they start a new machine or after? I tend to err on the side of caution and do both. However, I have found numerous people who do not wipe down benches or machines which doesn’t sit all too well with me. Although, I just then ensure I wipe whatever it is down thoroughly before I use it. Overall, though, people seem to keep things clean and orderly while following the ‘No Gymtimidation’ mantra of Planet Fitness.
I really can’t think of any bad experiences I have had with Planet Fitness and for it’s cost, the convenience it serves is great. The weekend hours would be my biggest complaint as those are the days I find it hardest to get to the gym between their 7:00a-7:00p hours. Weekdays are 24 hours though which fits my schedule much better. Overall, I’m happy with my choice to become a member here.
I have no experience with the tanning beds, massage chairs, locker rooms, or the hydra-​massage beds.

I have really been pleased with this Planet Fitness. The workout room is spacious with plenty of treadmills, ellipticals, and arc trainers available at even the busiest times. The weight machines are organized in areas of focus so that you can move right down the line of abs, arms, chest, and legs. We tried the 30-​minuter workout which was surprisingly challenging and slightly exhausting!
If you upgrade to a «black» membership for $ 20 per year instead of $ 10, you get access to the massage chairs, tanning beds and hydro-​massager. Plus, you can bring a guest every time. This worked out great for our daughter who likes to bring any number of friends. (Note: kids 13 years and older can join with their parents or 18+ adult.)
They have ½ hour group classes that are free to members and focus on various areas such as abs, arms, legs, etc. They also provided us with a graph that showed the number of people in the gym during each hour of the week so that we can plan to go at times that are less busy.
The staff are super friendly. The machines are clean and it seems common knowledge that everyone wipe down the machines with the provided Planet Fitness cleaner when they’re done using them. I haven’t seen evidence of one person leaving a machine without wiping it down. There are two long banks of televisions that allow you to enjoy the shows while working out… nearly every station you can think of it featured! Simply plug your headphones into any of the machines.
You’ll find young and old, large and small, beefy and flabby at PF, but there is no judgement from any of the gym enthusiasts. Everyone is courteous and welcoming. We love it!

I hate gyms. I don’t like the people that go to gyms to show off. This place is different. There are old people, young people, pretty people and people like me that are trying to make improvements even if it is hard. The place is clean and friendly. I highly recommend it to anyone considering joining a gym.

What can you ask for. It’s ten bucks and clean.

I’ve been a member at several different gyms, as I’ve moved a lot in the past several years, and I think Planet Fitness is the best one so far! It is the most cost efficient and I love that I can bring a guest, no questions asked, any and every time I want! This means my husband and I can both work out for the price of one. I can see how it wouldn’t be worth it for couples/​friends who have differing schedules, but in my case its perfect! Also, its HUGE. I don’t anticipate ever having trouble finding an empty elliptical or treadmill, even at peak hours. I appreciate that PF has a flyer stating their peak hours, so if you’d rather not work out with the masses, you can plan around those times. Furthermore, this is the cleanest gym I’ve ever been in to. For the amount of people and machines in here, I am amazed. I have been to much smaller, spa-​like gyms with high membership fees, that were not as well kept! Every time I’ve been, staff are wiping machines and cleaning surfaces. There are tons of «clean stations» where you can clean off the equipment you’ve used and most people use them.
Cons: If you are a body builder, this is not the place for you. The staff even told me that when I signed up. Also, I have yet to see any body weight scales, something I’ve never seen a gym without. Maybe they’re there? In a hidden location? And last, no yoga, zumba, spin, etc. classes. Although a personal trainer will tailor work outs for you and guides some full body workout class in the «30 minute work out» set up they have.

Okay first time to planet fitness and lo and behold two of my friends go here! It is obviously the most budget friendly gym and so it attracts a lot of people in their twenties and thirties. I personally enjoy it more knowing that all these people are struggling to get fit just like me. The facilities overall were very clean and spacious. They had enough machines so that even during the busiest point of the day you never had to choose a different machine due to one being full. Overall I really loved it and the price can’t be beat.

First, let me say that I have no idea what a fellow reviewer is talking about when he says Planet Fitness has a dress code. I mean, of course, don’t show the world your goodies, but people dress like they would at any other gym I’ve been too.
Second, I love Garner PF. I joined about two years ago after going to another gym in the area. I was hesitate to join b/​c my previous gym had group classes and PF does not. While I miss having group classes (step, kickboxing, spinning, etc), PF is very friendly, convenient (at least for me), cheaper (I pay $ 10 per month), and I pretty much always find open equipment rather it’s free weights or a machine. Monday nights are the worst, but I think that’s normal for most places. It’s much cleaner than my previous gym as well. You typically see staff wiping down equipment and mopping/​sweeping while you’re working out.
I would give Garner PF five stars, but I do miss my group classes… although not enough to pay $ 45/​month like I was at my old gym.