Does Planet Fitness Have a Scale?

Scales are essential fixtures in most gyms as they help you track your progress as you strive to reach your body fitness goals. However, you may be considering registering at the nearest Planet Fitness gym to lose those pounds or gain those muscles. This brings us to the question, does planet fitness have weights? This article will delve into Planet Fitness’s scale policy to help you familiarize yourself with the fitness chain. 

Right off the bat, Planet Fitness gyms do not have a scale. 

For some, the reasons for this decision are admirable; for others, it is quite a stretch. Generally, using your gym’s scale is convenient, and it helps you monitor your baseline. Furthermore, you can employ the scale to determine how much weight you want or need to lose; then, you can come back after a couple of weeks or months to see how much progress you have made. This is the standard and healthy way to use scales. However, Planet Fitness believes most people do not use gym scales that way, that they use them in a way that detracts them from their goals. Here are some of the reasons.

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Disheartens their members

The fitness franchise believes that when its members use the scale and realize that they have yet to make as much change as they hoped, they may get discouraged from achieving their fitness goals. This idea is especially prevalent among beginners, who often expect significant weight changes after a few days or weeks of potential hard work. As a result, they tend to get bummed out when they erroneously believe they cannot reach their intended weight. Because of this, Planet Fitness prefers not to have scales in its gyms to prevent its members’ loss of motivation and discouragement.

Overreliance on scales and numbers

If you apply it well, scales are an effective tracker of progress when trying to gain or lose weight. However. Planet Fitness tries to discourage the culture of overreliance on the scale as the only measure of progress. As a result, the fitness chain removes scales from its gyms to play a part in pushing its members to measure their progress through other means. Fitness experts advise that rather than using scales alone, you can also use changes in strength, muscle mass, and appearance to reach a more accurate reading on your progress. 

Change is not immediate

This ties into the reason for trying to prevent its members from discouraging themselves. The first places people typically lose fat is the region around organs like the liver and kidneys. Furthermore, losing internal fat will not make any noticeable difference on scales despite losing significant weight. 

As a result, because measuring scales do not show apparent changes, members may lose motivation and give up on achieving their goals. 

Daily weight use

Another reason Planet Fitness believes the presence of scales in their gyms may affect its members’ confidence and resolve is how beginners use the scales very frequently. Many gymgoers obsess over scales and their readings, so they measure themselves almost daily. Naturally, not many changes happen in a few days, so they get bummed out that they have not made any progress. 

Furthermore, there are several reasons why daily reading may do more harm than good. Your weight can fluctuate as your body gets fitter. The gained or lost pounds the obsessed weight checkers notice during their daily checks may simply be due to water weight. Likewise, you may not notice weight loss due to fat loss because while doing weight training, you have also gained muscles in the process. Because muscles are heavier than fat, you may see little to no change when you weigh in. However, your clothes may already be fitting better than before.

The jury is out on Planet Fitness’s reasons for excluding scales in their gyms, but you can learn one or two things about using scales to measure your fitness progress. That being said, here are some machines that can help you lose general body fat.

Elliptical machines

Elliptical machines are very useful pieces of equipment for losing considerable calories and reducing overall body fat. They are also suitable for people with joint injuries or mobility issues as they are low-impact machines.

Elliptical machines work as you push their handles and pedals with your feet and arms. This replicates a running movement as you push the pedals with your feet and the handles forward with your arms. The machine engages all your muscles and concurrently tones your lower and upper body. This extra toning and muscle development, combined with the general fat from using the elliptical machine, will see you looking fit if you use it consistently and watch your diet. For a comfortable elliptical session, check out the Rogue Black Ops Shorts 6.5″ 2.0 or the Nike Romaleos 4 – Men's.

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Rowing Machines

Rowing machines are suitable for losing general body fat because they incorporate a cardio element, raising your heart rate. This consequently burns considerable calories lowering general body fat. As a bonus, you also develop your back, as the rowing movement is good for building a strong back because it recruits your upper and lower back muscles. 

The machine is easy to use. You start by sitting on its seat and grabbing the handle or bar in front of you. After that, you drag the bar towards you till it is just in front of your lower chest. You should support yourself by pushing your leg against the support below the handle. After waiting briefly, slowly release your pull on the bar to return it to its starting position to complete the rep. About thirty minutes of high-intensity rowing will help you up your heart rate to burn fat. If this exercise catches your fancy, I recommend the Black Concept 2 Rowerg Rower – Pm5.