Kayla Young
Planet Fitness is focused on making you healthier, with no fuss, no pretense, and no nonsense. It’s a Judgement-Free Zone, a place where you can improve your health and your physique. They are essentially a gym, but they certainly have a different take than many competitors, and consider themselves a “Fitness Club”.
If you include using weights in your workout routine, you first have to ask “Does Planet Fitness have free weights?”
The short answer is yes, Planet Fitness has free weights in their gyms, but their free weights only go up to about 50 lbs. PF does not have a power rack or larger free weights.
Below, we will discuss the different free weights that they have, and we’ll also touch on some related topics.
Contents
Does Planet Fitness Have Free Weights?
Planet Fitness is a gym that targets beginners and those who want to start on their road to fitness. They’re America’s gym and are not about jacked-up dudes powerlifting.
To be a gym for the rest of us, they offer well-rounded, but basic gym equipment. And that would include free weights… up to a point.
Almost all Planet Fitness Gyms have free weights. They are versatile exercise equipment that can be used in a variety of ways.
You can use barbells or dumbbells at Planet Fitness to help with your biceps. You may also use them to improve your balance or make your squats more challenging.
Free weights are also beginner-friendly gym equipment and anyone can use them, especially lighter weights. They don’t take up much room, and you don’t usually have to worry about crowds waiting for them.
What Free Weights Does Planet Fitness Have?
The free weights that you’ll find at planet fitness would include barbels and dumbbells. Their barbells usually have weights from 10 to 50 lbs or so. Additionally, they also have dumbbells that range from 2.5 to 50 lbs.
The weights will available will vary from one Planet Fitness gym to another.
If you would really like to know the particulars, it is best to call up your local Planet Fitness or you can even take a tour and physically see what they have available.
Most members find the weights heavy enough for their use. But gym enthusiasts will find them limiting.
Regardless, lighter weights are very useful. They are ideal for beginners, which many Planet Fitness members are.
By starting with lighter weights, you are less likely to get injured. There is also a lesser risk of an accident.
Even experienced lifters can benefit well from lifting light. The secret is to do more reps. Even if you lift lighter if you do it more, then you would also be able to grow your muscles.
Additionally, the lighter weights allow for a full range of motion. This is great because you get to do proper lifts without dying with each lift. It can better help you master the technique of lifting before you focus on lifting heavier ones.
Those who want to become better at other sports like basketball will benefit greatly from free weights. Extra muscle makes a huge difference (even though you’re not playing basketball at Planet Fitness).
What Free Weights Are Not Available At Planet Fitness?
More serious weight lifters, Crossfit-types, and bodybuilders could be disappointed to know that Planet Fitness doesn’t have heavier weights. Most Planet Fitness gyms also do not have a regular bench press where you can lift heavier barbells, nor do they have a squat rack.
Instead of the squat rack, PF provides the multi-functional Smith machine, which many consider as an exercise machine rather than free-weight equipment.
If you want to challenge your muscles further, you can also opt to use their exercise machine. There are plenty of exercise machines at Planet Fitness and each can be used to target different areas of the body.
As most Planet Fitness members know, you want to be careful pushing too hard, grunting, etc. You don’t want to trigger the lunk alarm.
Weight machines were chosen instead of free weights at Planet Fitness due to safety reasons. They are better for beginners than free weights because members can use them even without much assistance from fitness trainers.
They also challenge your body while still lessening the risk of injuring yourself accidentally.
Free Weights vs Machines
Planet Fitness offers both free weights and weight machines for members to use. However, their free weights are limited to the lighter weights. Those who want heavy weights would have to use their weight machines.
The use of either free weights or weight machines will improve the body if you use them properly. They are definitely better than not doing any workouts at all!
If you are unsure about using or getting the most out of the free weights and the weight machines, don’t forget that you can always ask the fitness instructors.
They are there to help you get started on your fitness journey. They can also help you take your workout routines to the next level if that is what you prefer.
Final Thoughts
Planet Fitness has free weights available for their members to use. However, most PF gyms do not have heavier free weights, maxing out at around 50 lbs. Beyond that, they have weight machines that could be safer and more beginner-friendly.
Using either free weights or weight machines can improve the body’s fitness and health as long as you use them properly.
Planet Fitness is a somewhat unique fitness club that targets the common person, as opposed to gym rats or fitness buffs. There are no scales, no saunas (usually), no pools, no punching bags, and not a lot of frills. But the price is low, and you can always opt for the Black Card membership if you’re interested in the Hydromassage, Total Body Enhancement, and other spa-like offerings.
