Planet Fitness – Linden

I’ve been a member of PF for over 2 years now and had been reluctant to add a review since this was my previous part time employer. However now as a previous employee I can fairly review this facility. What I do love about the Linden location is that it’s opened 24 hours, 7 days a week. It’s crowded during peak hours but clears out between 10pm & 11pm, so here I am at this ungodly hour of the morning getting an awesome workout in the middle of this review. At this hour the facility is close to spotless, because it’s being thoroughly cleaned and there’s about 5 people working out (including myself). During normal hours the level of cleanliness varies. The equipment is okay, some equipment stays broken quite often like the torso rotator (they have a better one at the East Orange location). The quality of the equipment is not as good as some other gyms (LA Fitness & Crunch Fitness) from my opinion, but it serves the purpose for the low membership rates. Over all the best reason to join this gym for me is the convenience, however I always maintain membership at another gym as back up and because PF doesn’t offer classes such as Zumba, Spin classes, yoga etc. I give PF 3.5 stars, I couldn’t give them 5 stars because they don’t offer any real exercise classes or child care, but Kudos for this franchise being opened ²⁴⁄₇ (as well as East Orange, S. Plainfield, Elizabeth, while some of the others are only 24 hours Monday — Thursday’s).

staff is amazing, especially Nicole, so helpful and nice. This gym is a good starter gym, plenty of cardio machines (treadmills, elliptical, etc) Do not recommend if you are intermediate or advance. Weight room completely sucks. Weights are usually all over the place, members hardly ever put weights back on the rack. There are only 4 smith machines, and you have to fight to get one. I usually come here for cardio, tanning, and the massage beds. The rest of my workout I finish in LA Fitness.

It’s convenient. That’s the only reason I come. It’s usually crowded and people have no regard for others. No one racks their weights and they’ll take up 3 or 4 machines at a time.

Clean club. I always go in the morning around 5:45/6am. More than enough room to do what I need and get my day going. Joe and Caty are the friendliest at the desk!

This place gets 1 star for being conveniently close to my parents house (so I don’t have to miss a workout when I visit) and 1 star for having the basics: 5 long rows of cardio machines, free weights, etc. 3^rd star is for the staff who truly try to right the wrongs. No holes in the ceiling, but it’s little things that every other PF seems to have figured out already.
If you have the black card, go to another PF location. Compare and you’ll see the differences.

The Planet Fitness franchise has many perks that work for me (open 24/​7, multiple locations, large open workout areas, big locker rooms). For me, these outweigh the negatives. Overall, I would rate the franchise 4-​stars.
But my review is for the Planet Fitrness at this location. This isn’t my home gym but I’ve come here a couple of times so I can say that my problems with this location weren’t a one-​time thing. The pluses are that they have a large cardio area and a nice sized weight area. Now for the negatives:
1. No one wipes down the equipment they use; that’s a little disgusting.
2. Some of the benches in the weight area need repair as they’re a little wobbly.
3. The equipment in general is not maintained. The first time I went there the exercise balls needed air. The last time I went there all but one were flat… and that one needed air.
I know these problems are location specific because I’ve been to different Planet Fitness locations that didn’t have these issues.
This location if fine if you need to come here once in awhile but I wouldn’t suggest that you make this your main gym. Either look for another location or look for another gym.

Good gym if you’re just looking to tone up or body sculpt. Planet fitness is known for not having too much in the weights department and no free weights at all. Nautilus machines on the heaviest are about 75lbs. They have a very large cardio deck from treadmills to elliptical machines. The perk is that they are open ²⁴⁄₇.

This gym is just horrible they have unprofessional people that work there and have no clue what to do. The gym is dirty they really need to clean up a lot the bathrooms seem like they haven’t clean it over a year or so. The Dumbbells only go to 70lbs there’s no way your going to get big like that. Also, the machines that they have is shitty and they feel so cheap I went there for a visit and they had bagels up in the front to give out to the members. LIKE WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT YOUR A GYM YOUT SUPPOSE TO GET PEOPLE IN SHARP NOT PRESUE THEM TO COME BECAUSE OF SOME MOTHER FUCKING BEGALS. this gym is terrible but what can you expect to get with $ 10 a month/​$ 1 fee

Being a member of Ballys once upon ago… i really like planet fitness. The staff is great, the place is clean and kept clean. There are plenty of machines so no giving me the evil eye to get off.
When you join they give you a free shirt. Pretty cool… Note to self tho the charger you have for the older ipods work for their machines. The newest ipod sorry betta charge before you come.
The place is never crowded the times i came here. I did notice some machines were out of order but there so many more its not even a problem.
They have a abs room (which i love) in addition 30 express workout room (love that too)…
Overall it’s a pretty good gym, you definitely get what you pay for. Especially since its 24hrs never a excuse not to come.
One bad note… its does get chilly with the big fans on so warm up!!!

Good gym for the price, $ 10 bucks a month and an annual fee of $ 30 bucks. Place is clean and the weights/​machines are sufficient. Also, it’s 24/​7, so no excuses. I recommend this gym. I use to go to the NYSC in Colonia, but this place is way better and cheaper.

Avoid! The staff are rude and unwelcoming. Deceptive marketing,

Self explanatory

I’ve awoken from my 2 year coma to write a Unilocal review! Yaaay!
I’m by no means an expert on fitness or anything healthy but I found myself (before New Years! Pshaw) wanted to drop some lbs and just get into better form. I looked for what’s cheap and found PF. Cool. 20 bucks and you get a shirt and access to all locations and you can bring a guest.
This location isn’t my home gym, but since it’s close to work/​fun I decided to drop in with a friend the other day.
The front desk attendants weren’t as chipper as the staff in Edison, which is fine because I really don’t care that much. We checked in with no issue.
Upon entering, you’ll be pleased to see how large the space is. Tons of treadmills and ellipticals, almost so that it seems like the muscle training space is compromised. The treadmills here are different than the ones I’m used to but that’s cool, I can deal with change. What I can’t deal with is having to hop from machine to machine to find one that actually works 100% correctly. A few couldn’t connect to the TVs. One tried to eat my headphone plug. One wouldn’t function at all. It was surprising to see so much out of service equipment given that this facility is on the newer-​side.
Minor stupid gripe: I could be crazy, but as I was running I found my feet clipping the front of the treadmill constantly. Almost like the surface was on the shorter side and the sides wider. I’m tall. I could be wrong.
The weight machines and free weight area were well displayed in order of abs, arms/​chest, legs and there’s the typical two machines for every one exercise. The explanations of each machine and muscle used were displayed clearly on each one. The weird thing is that there were very limited lbs on some machines, I saw a few non-​ab machines only reach up to 100lbs, which is pretty light. I couldn’t find a dumbbell that was over 75lbs. Not that I’d be using that… Linden doesn’t seem like a spot for people who are really trying to bulk up.
We stayed for about an hour and some change and split. I did see the 30 minute workout room, 12 (?) minute ab room, massage area but didn’t get into any of that. The locker room was very modern and clean, the only feature I enjoyed over my home gym.
It’s a decent enough location to get in your cardio if you can find a machine that works, but the weight area is seriously lacking.
The end. Happy 2015!

Pros: Love the fact that its 24 hours and within 15 min from my house. Lots of cardio equipment. Not much in the way of weight training though and the heaviest dumbell is 75lbs, heaviest curling bar is 60lbs.
Cons: I like to run, probably one of the few people at this gym that run more than 10 minutes. I also like to sprint, and not once, not twice, but 5 times now on 5 different treadmills, I will sprint at nothing crazy 8mph, 0 elevation and the treadmill will just die on me, not slow down, but completely shut off and luckily I haven’t been hurt by this. So I have to memorize and try out 1 – 3 possible GOOD treadmills and stick to them. I’ve reported this to the front desk who assured me they would get them fixed. They would leave a sign saying Out of Order and it would take them 2 – 3 weeks at least for the sign to disappear, tried same treadmill again, guess what? It died in the middle of a sprint. Now I am a bit PTSD from running on treadmills — thanks alot!
Gym has constantly people cleaning up BUT i’ve spotted a cockroach in the warm-​up area behind the mats. Reported that, so far so good haven’t seen a repeat occurence.
Overall, for $ 10/​mo you get 24 hour access to a gym but you get what you pay for it seems. I miss NYSC and might consider going back despite them banging my credit card after cancelling and their pseudo-​friendly staff but thats for another review.

You basically pay what you get for. Pretty packed at night, where people are bringing their «guests.» You have like 5 guys sometimes with guests all working out at the same time. Hogging weights — if you’re a cardio/​tanning freak this gym is great. Besides that it’s mediocre.

I just love this gym. The trainer is awesome the staff is awesome.. Better than any other gym.

Whats odd about this PF is the fact that despite only being open for about 8 months, way too many things are broken or in bad shape…
1 out of the 3 hydrobeds is broken. 1 of their two massage chairs doesn’t work. Often the front desk computer is down. Some of the machines are broken already and many of them have tears in the upholstery.
Its like the owner bought all used equipment for this new facility…
Its not all bad though. Majority of the front desk staff are very sweet and willing to help when you get stuck with something broken.
And if you don’t know already, «PF is not a gym. Its Planet Fitness!» So if you’re here to weight train, lower your expectations quite a bit or choose another gym. With enough creativity, you can form some good workouts here, but with no kettle bells, medicine balls, or even true squat racks, it can be difficult.

So, i’m in town for business for about 6 weeks and belong to PF back home. I went to the Edison gym a couple of times but this one is more convenient coming from work. I like the set up, like the 12 min abs room (though they could have a little more variety than machine, stretch bench, machine, stretch bench.), like the fact they’re not stingy with the time on the hydromassage table … HOWEVER … i need to be motivated and LOVE trainer-​led classes, that’s a BIG reason why i joined PF. So, i signed up for a class at 7 pm last week, rush out of work and when i get there, «oh, the trainer left 5 minutes go.» Um, ooook. I’m pissed but i’m reasonable, maybe he had a valid reason for ditching a class of at least 5 people. So, i sign up AGAIN for TWO classes today at 4:30 and 5. Repeat the whole process, «oh, he left early today» WTF??? Needless to say, corporate will be hearing about this! This is BS!!! Not going back there again, no matter HOW convenient. Drive a little further south to Edison and work out with John, he’ll get you sweating!

Joind this gym a couple weeks ago. Mostly i joined for the convinience and 24hr availability.
If ur looking for a hardcore gym, this place isn’t for you. I’m in my early 40’s and just want to get in shape and tone up. I’m not looking to bulk up or get any ridiculous gains, been there done that. I have a bad back and the hydro massage and massage chairs do wonders. The xtra $ 10 a month for the blck card is well worth it for me.
However there are no wieght benches, squat racks and dumbells are limited.
So if ur looking to lose weight and tone up then this is a good place to go. If ur looking too bulk, drop weights, grunt, yell and annoy people than don’t bother. Your bettr off going else were Were that stuff is tolerated and encouraged.

In all of time, only two Unilocal Elites have come out of Linden, NJ. I am one of them. This is something I do not take lightly. So when something new opens up in or around Linden, rest assured (semi assured) that there will be a thorough & comprehensive critique of it from yours truly. And what you’re about to read is the quintessential review.
Which is a shame, since the only people who read reviews for NJ based establishments located outside of Essex/​Hudson/​Bergen County happen to be Google web crawlers & the NSA. And they aren’t even people.
But, I love to write, so here we go:
For the first half of this review we’re going to pretend that I haven’t been a member of a non-​corporate gym for the last 11 months that I’m actually pretty fond of.
Planet Fitness; I never really thought of the brand until this new one was opening up. All my gym friends were making fun of it & whatnot & I had no idea why. I figured it was just like any other gym. My 17 yr old sister signed up for the black card even though it was more $; she wanted guest privileges.
If you want to lose weight or get in shape, by all means, join this gym. It’s cheaper than mine & has all the right equipment for you to start out; ESPECIALLY if you want to lose weight. They have about 44 treadmills & ½ as many elliptical machines. They also have a ton of cycling machines. There is also a 12 Minute AB Room which is basically an abdominal circuit where you’re timed on about over ½ a dozen ab machines.
They’ve got a handful of cable machines, more smith machines than my gym, free weights, a few leg machines, 3 – 5 hip machines, and machines for your back.
There’s also tanning & a hydro massage thingy.
Best of all, this place is ²⁴⁄₇ & has tons of parking space. It’s also right next door to a Farmers Market I like to go to. Pathmark is also right around the corner. There’s an AYCE Buffet in the same plaza too, but if you’re at a PF, you’re not trying to get gains.
Which transitions us quite nicely into the second half of this review
Before, I said Planet F was cheaper than my gym & had all the right equipment for you to start out. Key words… start out.
This place is awesome if it’s your 1^st gym. But at some point, you’re gonna get tired of crawling & you’re gonna want to run.
Get tired of Dominos & want a slice of that NY pizza.
Planet Fitness is middle school & one day, you’re gonna have to say bye to mom & dad & go to college.
Going from middle school to college would be pretty crazy. Planet Fitness is high school, let’s go with that.
This place is designed for low weight workouts with an emphasis on cardio.
I love cardio.
I’m probably the only guy at my gym not trying to be a body builder.
However, the treadmills were nothing like the ones at my gym.
They felt hard to run on & there were no quick keys. This means that if I’m at 9 MPH & want to drop down to 4 MPH, I have to hit the down button 50 times. Whereas at my gym, not only is there a down key, but there are also three separate buttons for 2, 4 & 6 MPH. Am I nitpicking? I doubt it. For a gym that babies you, how do they not have this?
There’s also no scale in the gym.
«There is no need for scales here at Planet Fitness.»
But there are lines to use the one piece of equipment you can do a pull up on.
Back to the treadmills: you plug your headphones in & have access to audio coming from 15+ or so televisions up ahead. I think there were 4 different stations playing amongst all of them at the time. At my gym, you have your own television attached to the treadmill & can watch whatever you want.
Locker rooms were huge & had bathrooms/​showers in them. There were 2 water fountains in the back of the gym. Also, you’re not expected to wipe down your machine after you’re done apparently because they’ll do it?
Oh, yeah, my friend got yelled at for putting dumbbells on a bench for a second.
Let’s wrap this joint up:
If you’re trying to lose weight, Planet Fitness will do the trick. This seems to be the main focus here; cardio. You can sprinkle in some weight training, but nothing serious. If you’re just starting out, you probably aren’t going to do anything super challenging anyway. After work, this place doesn’t get crowded by the weight machines. I think most people aspiring to get bulky are aware of the fact that this is not the place to do it (there’s a Lunk Alarm by the way. No grunting, dropping weights or judging others).
Cardio machines fill up, but there are so many of them that there is no way you won’t be able to snag one in the sea of runners & cyclists.
For $ 10 per month you get access to the gym & a t-​shirt. For $ 20 a month (Black Card status) you get access to the gym, a shirt, guest privileges at any location, unlimited tanning & hydro massage, access to any PF location & ½ off on some cooler drinks.
So yeah, sign up if you’re new to the gym thing. Or like cardio. I do. But prefer modern treadmills. And a mature staff that works out too.