Planet Fitness — Attraction in Cary

It’s a great gym that got newly renovated because it’s typically very busy, staff are awesome and pretty chill people.

A couple of things though:

If it had to be renovated, it’d be great if the entry/exit had automatic doors. Because it’s so busy you can get stuck at the front door holding it open or you would crash into people exiting / entering. It’s kinda annoying, like I’ll sometimes see a group of people bombarding the exit/entry and I’ll just wait for that crowd to clear so I could just leave lol

They got a second water fountain station (finally this is a common problem in ALL gyms having ONE area to get water) BUT it’s located in the far back side “yoga” stretching area so if you want to avoid the main water fountain by the restrooms because most of the time there’s some annoying person there filling a giant jug of water and you’re forced to wait behind them for 5 minutes then your other option is to climb over the people stretching and on the ground to get water since it’s in an obscure area. Not the best design choice for a gym, should’ve put it by the front if possible could’ve saved money that way and with 4 fountains people likely could get a drink and keep it moving

Leg day machines almost always are either broken because people can’t use them properly or there’s lazy people just sitting on them for hours. Not minutes, but hours. Just do your workout and again keep it moving. It’s also awkward when you’re by the bench area using dumbbells and you have a flock of people just watching you workout and they’re sitting on those machines for too long, I honestly try to ignore it but still don’t be creepy just workout and move along honestly sometimes I do it anyway, move my weights and focus on what I’m doing.

People not lifting and just talking taking up space and equipment. It’s cool to socialize but don’t be standing in an area forever talking to your friends like go outside or something, cause your in the way or worse occupying equipment that could be used but isn’t because you’re in the way. Workout and talk, get something done for your body

Influencers recording with those tripods. Like no, I don’t want to be recorded, honestly come super early or super late at night when the gym is DEAD honestly this one is uncomfortable and it’d be great for Planet Fitness to ban this altogether because are people actually recording themselves or others? Like I had to move myself away from someone who setup a tripod and phone next to me and I’m just like “go away” honestly it’s just rude, would you like to be caught up in a recording and to have no say cause it randomly happened? Doubt it

It would be cool if the showers area could be more private compared to Crunch Fitness, where crunch has a more closed off shower area in Cameron village and creedmoor crunch where urinals and restrooms, changing / locker areas are closed off somewhat by walls, the men’s locker room at least, I can’t speak for women’s, is very open. They changed the tile to a whiter color so combined with the lights it’s uncomfortable to just change in the locker room or shower because you feel more exposed and in the open. Really bad design decision there like there’s less privacy you feel. I leave sweaty and change at home and shower there but if you want to shower and feel more hygienic it’s not here. Plus barely any guys know how to wash their hands so I’m sure most guys aren’t bothered but if you don’t want to smell like sweaty balls sorry you’re under a spotlight ngl but ignore it well and you still could with the paper thin shower curtains and lack of privacy

Otherwise it’s a good gym with several pet peeves but it’s got everything you need to get the job done and...

I was a member at PF Western Blvd. since 2005. I just cancelled my membership because I was robbed in the locker room (Nov 2012). My locker was broken into, all the cash was stolen out of my wallet and my new iPhone was stolen. It cost me over $1000 to replace what was stolen and I'll never go back to that gym knowing theres a thief in my midst.

Over the years its been a fairly decent gym. The main advantages are price, of course, and the fact that its more or less at 24 hour gym. Theres plenty of cardio equipment, but nothing terribly fancy. Recently (October 2012), all of the free weight equipment and machines were exchanged for new equipment. After 7 years training on the "old stuff" I was a little sad to see that they replaced it with Fisher Price versions of modern "big gym" equipment. The machines themselves are smaller than "regular" machines and the weight stacks only pack roughly half the weight of standard commercial machines. Worst of all: there are no benches for free-weight bench press. There is no machine assisted or standard pull up station or bar anywhere in the gym. There are no squat racks and no standard 45lb Olympic bars. If these items are absolutely essential for your workout, don't even bother to come in to tour-- this isn't your gym.

Here are a few other qualms I have as a long-time member: There is a junior high swim club that works out here every Wednesday at 6:30. They come in like a pack of wolves at the absolutely busiest time of night in the gym and make it ABSOLUTELY impossible to train. The overall membership has poor gym etiquette, add a dozen or so pre-teens to the mix and it becomes a zoo. It's not unheard of to have to wait in line for a treadmill at these hours too.

I am a member at Fitness Connection (Cary) -- I have also been a member there since around 2008. Overall its a much better gym. It has REAL equipment and the essentials that any gym should have (Squat racks, olympic bars, bench press, etc...) It's also the same price as Planet Fitness. If you want to train at a real gym, in a nicer neighborhood with better equipment, come to...

Overall this gym is pretty decent. There are some definite turnoffs for me personally, but I won't let personal bias make the overall rating bad due to a few annoyances.

The pros: This gym as new equipment and is really clean. Very spacious and a ton of cardio equipment. The staff is all fairly nice and definitely approachable. The locker rooms are really nice and a lot of the small extras for the black card membership are justifiable for the price.... Speaking of the price, I really don't think you can beat it. I think the price is great for what you get. There's also a couple unorthodox perks like free pizza and bagels once in awhile. There's also tanning and hydro massages for black card members.

The cons: One of my biggest issues with this gym is how overcrowded it gets for the equipment I need/want. I normally go to the gym after work, but if you're going from like 5:30-9pm during the week, there's a decent crowd.There are a million treadmills, but I wish they'd take some out and add more equipment for heavier lifting. There are no actual squat/bench racks. It's either use the smith machine or you don't do either. I ALWAYS have to wait to use a smith machine and the dumbbells under 50lbs are used pretty frequently. I'm not a big fan of using machines for heavy lifting or exercising in general, so for me personally this gym does not carry the ideal equipment.

Conclusion: In retrospect, this gym is good if you're not looking to do some heavy lifting. If you're new to working out or are mainly concerned with cardio, this gym is perfect. This gym is not for body builders or powerlifters, and I feel like the vibe in the gym is that they're proud of that. Nothing wrong with this sentiment, just something that should be noted. It's a solid gym and a really nice facility, just wish I didn't have to wait 15 to get whatever equipment I need for the next exercise. Although my impatience grows while waiting for a smith machine to open up, I can calm myself down quickly when I remind myself I'm only paying about $20/month. In my opinion, the price and state of the facility outweigh the few...