A lot of people join a gym in hopes of losing some weight. If that’s the case for you, it’s important to consider where you can track your progress.
Before you join Planet Fitness, you should know if the club will have scales. If not, you’ll have to figure out where else you can weigh yourself if you don’t have a scale at home.
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Are There Scales at Planet Fitness?
Planet Fitness doesn’t have any scales in their clubs. The main reason for this is their mission to be a “judgment-free zone” for members. Having scales in the gym can make it easy for people to feel bad about themselves.
Also, weight isn’t the only marker of progress and health. Consider how you feel and if you’re building muscle rather than if your weight is going down.
Why Planet Fitness Doesn’t Have Scales
Planet Fitness doesn’t have scales, and there are a few reasons for that. Some of the reasons are more obvious, but others may surprise you.
Consider why you won’t find scales at your local Planet Fitness.
Potential for Judgment
One of the biggest reasons Planet Fitness doesn’t have scales is their slogan: “Judgment Free Zone.” The gym wants to cultivate a welcoming environment for people who are new to working out.
The presence of scales can make it easy to judge yourself or others to judge you. If someone walks by you as you weigh yourself, they may see the number. Even if it’s subconscious, the person may judge you.
You could also judge yourself, especially if you aren’t quite where you want to be. Not having scales lets you focus more on other things and minimize the feeling of being judged.
Avoid Fixation on the Number
When you weigh yourself, it can be easy to fixate on the number on the scale. Maybe you have a goal weight that you want to reach. Or perhaps you haven’t seen the number budge at all
If you have a scale at the gym, you may be tempted to weigh yourself often. You might even weigh yourself before and after a workout (which isn’t a good idea since you probably won’t lose weight that fast).
Even weighing yourself every day can be too often. Your weight naturally changes throughout the day, so you might not see a change. Or you could see an increase in your weight depending on when you weigh yourself.
Not the Only Thing to Track
Perhaps you decide to track your weight once a week or every other week. While having a scale at the gym makes that convenient, it can distract you. There are tons of other factors that you can track to determine if you’re making progress in the gym.
For one, a drop in weight may not always be healthy. You could have a health condition that causes the weight loss, or you might lose water weight.
On the other hand, weight gain isn’t always a bad thing. As you work out, you might lose fat but gain muscle, so your weight might stay about the same or increase.
The Cost
Another possible reason Planet Fitness doesn’t have scales is because of the cost. The scales that gyms have tend to be more expensive than one you’d have at home. Gym scales can measure your body composition as well as your weight.
If your local Planet Fitness had to stock up on those scales, that could cost the owner money. At Planet Fitness, the low membership fee is one of the best features.
Adding scales may cause Planet Fitness to increase its membership fees. That isn’t always worth it for the members.
What to Track Besides Your Weight
Fortunately, you can track more than your weight to see if you’re getting fit. Here are some other aspects to look at when reviewing your progress.
How You Feel
When you first work out after not being active, you might feel tired. You have to move your body in ways you aren’t used to. After a day, you might experience some pain.
However, as you get in the habit of exercising, you might feel better. That feeling can even extend outside of the gym. Some people find they sleep better after they do a workout, and that sleep can help you throughout the day.
If you find you have more energy or that walking up the stairs doesn’t take your breath away, that’s a good sign. The more you work out, the better you can feel, and things that were hard might be easy.
Your Skills and Endurance
Once you get used to exercising, you may get better at the exercises you do. If you use the treadmill, you might be able to go a bit faster or walk for longer.
You might find you can lift heavier weights or do more reps with lighter weights. Doing squats or situps may get easier, and you can go longer without resting.
Be sure to consider your skills and endurance. They can show a lot more about your health than your weight itself. You can then continue to challenge yourself with more difficult exercises to help lose weight or reach other health goals.
Your Measurements
As you weigh yourself, consider your measurements as well. You might not lose much in the way of pounds, but you could drop a pant size.
Depending on the exercises you do, you could build muscle. Muscle is denser than fat, so you could look smaller without necessarily losing a ton of weight.
When that happens, it can be easy to feel like you aren’t making progress. However, be sure to measure yourself and do a body composition test to see if you’re gaining muscle. It could be that you have more muscle and that’s why your weight hasn’t changed much.
Why Doesn’t Planet Fitness Have Scales?
Planet Fitness doesn’t have scales because they could take away from the gym’s mission to be free of judgment. The gym might also not have scales because the equipment is expensive, and membership fees are pretty low. Fortunately, you can track other things to determine if you’re getting fit.