Tag: working out

Planet Fitness Membership

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily BlogLeave a comment

20150912_195052What has 2 thumbs and a Planet Fitness Black Card membership? This guy!

Yes, I finally went to Planet Fitness and bought a membership. My partner and I both walked around the gym to see what machines they had and what the massage chairs and hydromassage beds and tanning bed look like. We also saw the Total Body Enhancement “chamber” as I like to call it. I asked what that was and the guy said everyone asks the same question. Well I mean, it begs to be answered. He said it vibrates your body, increases blood flow, opens your pores and does something with the red light to help burn fat. I don’t know exactly what he said, but I certainly want to know more about this machine.

Now when he mentioned the red light, of course what came to mind was watching the Real Housewives of Atlanta when Kim rented some machines with a red light, and oddly enough an attendant who rubbed this lotion on its skin… oh sorry, had a flashback from the Silence of the Lambs. Anyway, it rubs the lotion on its skin or it gets the hose again. Ugh darn it, I’m sorry, it’s a jerk reaction. Anyway, the red light was a totally different light from what I saw in the Total Body Enhancement chamber in Planet Fitness. Theirs is just a thing you stand in and it has red lamps and from the video I saw on YouTube you have to stand there for 12 minutes or so depending on the level you are on. I honestly don’t know how to work the machine because I haven’t been there yet, but a woman on a video shows you how to work the control panel and it was so fast I had to watch the video 3 times and I’m still not sure how to use it, but all I know is with the pain I feel in my back, standing there for 12 minutes is going to be torture. Another woman said she does it before she does her workouts.

The guy at Planet Fitness who registered me today told me that I have unlimited guest privileges and I pointed to my partner, and he mentioned that as a guest he can use the facilities with the exception of the massage chair, hydromassage bed, tanning bed and torture chamber, er um I mean Total Body Enhancement torture chamber. He didn’t care, but I kind of felt bad because how awful would it be if he were sitting there waiting for me to finish my massages while he’s sitting there like gee thanks for nothing. I mean, I wouldn’t be too happy, but then again he doesn’t really care to go to any gym at all. We are polar opposites. I like exercise, he doesn’t. I like science fiction, he prefers documentaries. I like Facebook, he likes Fox News.

He told me that he would not mind going if the doctor told him it was ok, and naturally when we went to the doctor on Friday, he “forgot” to mention going to the gym, so of course I mentioned it to the doctor and he said that he is 100% in favor of both of us going to the gym. So there you go, the doctor said do it, but start out slow for the both of us and work our way up to whatever you are comfortable with.

Anyway, I am totally excited. I made a new keychain (image above) that is purple and yellow to match the colors and I went to the store and bought some empty shampoo and body wash containers so we can shower after our workouts. I also bought 2 new puffy thingamabobs. That’s the technical term. They’re both purple for Planet Fitness’ colors lol. I also bought a brand new combination lock for $5 and 2 sports bottles so we can drink some water during our workouts. Oh and I also bought new purple shoe laces lol. My old red ones from Bank of America were worn out and I needed a change anyway.

Tomorrow when I go to the gym, and I am going to the gym tomorrow even if I have to ride my bicycle in the heat, I want to go to the cashier to buy a new gym bag with the Planet Fitness logo because they are $10 on the website. I’m assuming they are $10 there too. At least I am hoping. They have a neoprene armband for your phone, which I’m going to use because I don’t want to keep my phone in my pocket during my workouts. I have a new pair of headphones from the Sears outlet right next door to the Planet Fitness with a cool flat wire and a volume control on the wire along with a on/off mute button. It has a mic, so maybe it’s a mute for when I’m on the phone, but when I’m just listening to music maybe it turns the volume on/off. I really dig that flat cable though lol. The headphones are also for listening to the TV while I’m doing cardio.

I’m excited to go to the gym and I plan on taking a buttload of pain meds just in case. Right now I’m in absolute agony. No, seriously, it’s torture. I used the shiatsu massager that I have that sits in my desk chair 3 times today and I’m still in pain. I can’t wait to use the hydromassage bed and the massage chairs. I really do need those and I am really glad I got the black card membership instead of just a regular membership.

Planet Fitness

On By Michel McDonaldIn BullyingLeave a comment

planet fitness bakersfieldAs a child I dreaded going to gym class. I hated sports, but the exercise part didn’t bother me. I actually enjoyed the exercise part because it didn’t involve me being hit in the head by a dodge ball, or a baseball, or a football, or a tennis ball. I just really hate being hit in the head by balls. Well…

I used to go to the gym when I was in my early 20’s and I loved it. I stopped going for many years, but I started going to the gym again in 2005. It took me 2 1/2 hours to get there on the bus because we didn’t have a car. I only went there for maybe 3 or 4 months. I stopped going because I went to a friend’s wedding in Colorado Springs and I got my right ear pierced. My left ear was already pierced, so I evened myself out and started wearing earrings again on a regular basis in both ears now. When I came home and went to the gym, one of the female trainers who was so friendly with me that we were practically best friends asked me why I pierced both my ears and I told her the story of having my left ear pierced when I was 17. I also divulged some personal information that she wasn’t expecting. I told her I was gay. I made a joke about it and said “well I am gay…” and you would think that someone had just shot her dog. After that she stopped talking to me, she wouldn’t even look at me. That was when I decided to stop going to the gym.

So fast forward 10 years and I saw an advertisement on Twitter for Planet Fitness. I’m thinking of what happened to me at the last gym and I don’t ever want to have to go through that ever again. It was so depressing to be judged like that by someone who I considered to be a friend. I am very guarded and naturally want to go to Facebook and ask if anyone in the Bakersfield gay community has gone to that gym and one person told me that she hasn’t had any bad experiences. I’m taking her word for it, and I trust her, so I might take a chance. The only problem is, the plan I want will lock me in a 12 month contract.

Planet Fitness has 2 plans. Their $10/mo plan has no commitments, but you get very little benefits from it. This is what you get with their $10 plan.

  • Unlimited access to home club
  • Includes T-Shirt
  • Unlimited fitness training

Their $20 plan seems to be more what I am looking for because you get so much more.

  • Reciprocal use of all Planet Fitness® Franchise Locations
  • Unlimited guest privileges at any Planet Fitness location
  • Unlimited Hydromassage
  • Use of Tanning
  • Unlimited Total Body Enhancement
  • Unlimited Use of Massage Chairs
  • 1/2 Price Cooler Drinks (Restrictions may apply)
  • PF Black Card T-Shirt
  • PF Black Card Key Tag
  • Unlimited Fitness Training

I really like the hydromassage and the massage chairs. Well, my back will like them more. I have scoliosis and I am in constant pain every waking minute. I’m in absolute agony right now as I type this. I have a shiatsu massager that you put on a chair, and that does work, but when I am at a gym working out, I want to get in the shower and then sit in a massage chair. If I’m paying $10 a month and I can’t sit on that massage chair, I’m going to regret even being there. I would much rather pay the extra $10 every month to be able to get a few more benefits. I also wouldn’t mind getting a tan every now and then. Oh and half price cooler drinks? Yes please! I don’t know what total body enhancement means, but if it’s unlimited I’m so in. Oh and a black card t-shirt and key tag? Yes please!

I just want to be able to walk in and get on the treadmill or elliptical or even the stair climber and do cardio for an hour and then start building muscle which will help me burn fat faster. I also REALLY need to work on my butt. When I lost 70lbs a couple of years ago, I looked at my butt in the mirror when I got out of the shower and it was flat as a board. I don’t want to ever see a flat ass on myself again. If I am able to lose some weight, I want to have a nice bubble butt that is all muscle and no fat. Although, if I do get fat again, I’m gonna have a HUGE ass.

This $20 a month deal includes a $39 a year membership fee, which I honestly don’t mind, and a 12 month commitment. If I am committed to a year, then I will have no excuse to not go, in fact, I will feel obligated to go. And the $20 plan includes a unlimited guest pass which I am hoping will get my partner in there for free. So we’ll be working out for the price of one. Although, he may not get the benefits from the massage chair and bed or tanning bed. I’ll have to see how that works.

I’m really looking forward to going to the gym now. I’ve seen pictures and they have TV’s, so you can watch TV while you are doing your cardio. I was thinking of buying a bluetooth transmitter for my Dell DJ. I have bluetooth headphones for my phone, but my phone’s bluetooth doesn’t work. I’m sure I won’t need to listen to my own music if they have TV’s. And I’m sure they have very loud music, so you may not even be able to hear the TV’s lol. Then again, I haven’t gone in there yet, so I don’t know how they work. They may have headphones for the TV’s. Who knows. Maybe someone can enlighten me.

Anyway, I really want to go and I hope I have the opportunity. I’m broke this month, so I’m afraid I will have to miss the special they have now. I hope they will have this sale next month.