The Planet Fitness Report v.001

August 6, 2015
5 things to know about Planet Fitness

Planet Fitness, Inc. priced its initial public offering at $16 a share late Wednesday, the high end of its guidance range. The company sold 13.5 million shares to raise $216 million. Shares will start trading later Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PLNT.”

I used their local facilities in the past a few times as a guest (my girlfriend had a membership). As far as gyms go, I liked it.

I joined last week. Including taxes, the start up fee, the annual membership fee, and monthly fee, it will cost me roughly $200 for the first year. I think it is a pretty good value, especially if it keeps me motivated. I can't say if my particular membership will be a good value for them though.

I've used their exercise equipment for 10 hours in one week. Assuming I keep the pace (definitely not a given), that's 520 hours in a year. I have never resold a piece of exercise equipment. I use them until they die. I paid roughly $2000 for a high quality stair climber about 15 years ago. It was a good investment but it's dying. It developed a squeak and nothing I have tried has fixed it. I bring this up because 520 hours on exercise equipment is a lot of wear and tear.

One thing that always motivates me is getting my money's worth when I buy something.

I intend to do just that at Planet Fitness. It's four miles from where I live. It will cost me about $4 each visit (wear and tear, gasoline). That expense dwarfs the membership costs. I wonder how many factor that in? In order to justify the trip, I want to exercise a lot when I am there. That's why I intend to use their equipment for two full hours.

I also intend to visit often. I'm paying Planet Fitness whether I use their facilities or not. I'm therefore choosing, as a night owl, to visit at 3am in the morning each weekday. Or does that make me a morning person? Beats me, lol. But hey, it's working. I've been 5 times and enjoyed it. I do 30 minutes on a recumbent bike (moderate resistance), 30 minutes on the treadmill (2 mph, 11% incline), 30 minutes on the bike, and then 30 more minutes on the treadmill. The routine burns between 900 and 1000 calories in total. Should improve as I lose weight and get into better shape, not that it should matter. That's a lot of exercise and a lot of calories. I feel it.

The real savings will come in other ways though. It's been a rough two years. First, I had that horrible ankle sprain two summers ago. Last year I got Shingles. This year I was just plain lazy. So began the blood pressure medication. Enough is enough. I want off of it. I refuse to become obese. At my age (51), nothing good could come from that.

So anyway, that's my plan. One week down. I'm 6'3" and 230 pounds. Barring injury or illness, I'm not stopping until I see 200. No excuses. I figure if I put it in writing here, then I will feel obligated to do it. Thanks support team!

I don't know what my other long-term goals with Planet Fitness are. This may be just a one year and done situation. I may just be using them as a motivating kick start. Next summer I hope to be doing more hiking. The treadmill should prepare me well for that.

And lastly, I feel really good about this. Hello exercise endorphins. Seriously, I just got back from exercising this morning. Riding the wave, baby. That's what I'm talking about. Life is good. :)