What About Free Weights?

If an extensive variety of is what you crave, you’re probably not going to love Planet Fitness.

They generally limit the number of available bench presses to three (less, in some locations), ban squat racks at the corporate level for all franchise locations, and limit dumbbells to 70-80 lbs. You won’t find traditional chin-up bars or T-Row Bars, either (although they may have a assisted pull-up station which is an acceptable substitute.)

They also seem to deliberately limit the amount of plates available for barbells and the to discourage heavy lifting. At the Northville location, you’re prohibited from using barbells for standard exercises like deadlifts, bent over rows, cleans or standing military presses. This seems to be a standard practice across all Planet Fitness locations. The size of the weight room at my gym is also limited, which is a bit ironic, because based on how crowded it usually is, it’s apparent that there is a demand among clients for more free-weight options.

For a beginning or intermediate lifter — and most women — the lack of weights above 80 lbs probably won’t be an issue. However, if you are serious about your training, it’s likely you’ll eventually max out on their weight selection. You can always switch to barbell moves, where it’s possible to pile on more weight, but in terms of dumbbells, you’ll be dead-in-the-water.