Planet Fitness – Elgin

I make the extra 20 min drive to come to this one because it’s way better than the des plains one! Amazing equipment, tanning beds, hydro massage and red light therapy!

Do not even bother with Planet Fitness. Join a gym where there are knowledgable staffers. There are so few reviews for a reason.

Planet Fitness!
Home of the Lunk Alarm! (that you will barely ever hear go off btw)
Free pizza on the first Tuesday of the month!
Free bagels on the second Tuesday of the month!
Endless supply of Tootsie Rolls at the desk?
What the heck is going on here???
I am a member of both this Planet Fitness and the Xsport Express in South Barrington, due to home and work proximity. See, I live closer to Xsport, but PF is on the way home from work for me, and for the low low price of $ 2.50/week, it can’t be beat. I guess if you don’t mind passing your house to go somewhere then you wouldn’t need two gyms, but I always hate it when I have to pass my final destination (home) in order to reach my secondary destination (gym). It’s complicated up in my head, you don’t wanna see inside my brain.
I know that Planet Fitness doesn’t cater to the hardcore gym rat, and that’s okay; but they sort of go nuts with it. Like, who are you trying to attract with the pizza? That makes no sense to me.
This «gym» is somewhat limited equipment-​wise, and that might turn you off if you think of this place as a place to build muscle, rather than to maintain. And don’t think that I’m saying this because I’m a guy, the lack of equipment is lacking for the women who use them as well.
The dumbbell racks only go up to 60.
There are no free weights otherwise.
No Olympic bars.
Nowhere to deadlift.
No shoulder press rack.
No squat rack.
This place is a glaring example of what happens when you don’t actually care for your customers’ fitness goals. Planet Fitness is here to make money, not to help you with your gains. As far as it being a judgement free zone, I laugh at those signs. They’re being pretty judgy about the supposed «lunks» out there with their tank tops and gallons of water, grunting and stuff, who do they think they are?
Planet Fitness wants every month to be for the January joiners with all their gimmicks. They probably hate it when people actually go 3 – 4 times a week and use and wear out the equipment. At $ 10 per month, I wonder how many people sign up and then don’t go to the gym. Probably a lot? But seriously, if you’re going to have a bucket full of Tootsie Rolls at the card/​keytag scanner desk, how is that helpful?
And if you have questions about the equipment and how it works, I wouldn’t ask any of the staff members. None of them look like they’ve lifted anything other than something off the rack at he mall.
Planet Fitness is fine if you know what you’re doing and is convenient for use as a side-​bitch gym. If you’re serious about lifting, you’ll be limited using this as your main squeeze.

I’m very pleased with this facility as well as the franchise. I travel extensively and I signed up for the black card, so I can visit any of their gyms. Their gyms are all over the country. I just signed up and have visited the facility in Fairview Heights, near St. Louis, which was a half mile from my hotel. The Elgin location is huge and very clean. I couldn’t be happier with this gym and I’m very glad that I joined. You can’t beat the price.

I mean a gym is a gym. Regardless of how big and fancy it is. Since I’m not much into lifting weights this gym is perfect for me.
It’s also good for a lot of first time who are not to sure of how to work the machines or where to even begin. They fancy themselves on being the judgement free zone which is nice for those who don’t feel as confident as most. (No one likes getting kicked down even more)
They are also very in expensive with also doesn’t hurt the wallet to much! The perks of being a black card member for only $ 20 a months includes bringing a FREE guest with you every time and being able to use the massage chairs and tanning beds! How sweet is that?!
** note if you get the $ 10 membership these services are not included.
The staff is also friendly and very very very helpful when it comes to answering questions or even taking you through a walks through of the gym.
The place is also very clean from what I’ve seen. The locker rooms (woman locker room at least) is always kept up and looking bright shiny and new. Also with the massage chairs, beds and tanning beds.
Every first Monday of the month they bring free pizza for the guests and every second Tuesday of the month they have bagels. I guess another perk for people who like that sort of thing
The gym has a stretching section, a 30 min a work out section the 12 min ab workout and then the main gym which has a variety of cardio machines and weight machines.
For those of you just starting out and looking for your first gym I recommend this place. Give you the place the grow and learn