Both are 20 bucks a month, both have showers, both have workout equipment, both have thousands of gyms, thats all i really care about. so it comes down to which one works better for expediting, in other words which ones are more likely to be found near interstates? This is a long shot i know but someone may be able to answer. Thanks.
Planet fitness or Anytime fitness better for expediting?
- Thread starter dc843
- Start date
Dont quote me on that, thats just what someone told me. But even if it was more it would be worth it to have them closer to interstates.
It kinda seems like planet fitness is winning this from the little bit of research ive done. Plus those massage beds sound very nice on my back after a 16 hour drive.
It kinda seems like planet fitness is winning this from the little bit of research ive done. Plus those massage beds sound very nice on my back after a 16 hour drive.
I would go to PF between the two. I only thing about PF is they want a direct withdrawal from your checking account. Can't pay with credit card.
This evening I wasn't near a truck stop. I wanted to take a shower and called PF. They wanted $20 and my drivers license. That was a one day pass. I check around and LA Fitness charged me $15 and didn't ask for any info. If I'm in the area, I'll check them out again.
This evening I wasn't near a truck stop. I wanted to take a shower and called PF. They wanted $20 and my drivers license. That was a one day pass. I check around and LA Fitness charged me $15 and didn't ask for any info. If I'm in the area, I'll check them out again.
On a side note,,, gyms are great and when used are good for your health,,, but in years ago it seemed many would stand around and talk while wearing their latest imported gym shorts of many colors and niche shoes and brag and prance around in front of the mirrors...but I guess folks don't do that these days. I just use my elliptical machine and Im good,,, yes I wear my PJ's ,,,I am a classic,,lol....
Thank you, Lawrence, for the plug.
I have a bias, of course, since Diane and I (former expediters) now own and operate an Anytime Fitness gym. While on the road we were AF members because of their many locations (now thousands more than Planet), 24 hour access (not all Planets are open 24 hours every day of the year), showers and, most of the time, easy straight-truck parking.
Planet has a price advantage, though you will need their higher-priced black card to access multiple locations. AF has private showers. Planet has locker rooms. If you join AF through our club (Port Orange, FL) you get customer service from people who know the expediter's life and needs. We know of no other club in the brand that is run by a former expedite team.
Whatever club you join, you run the risk of falling off the wagon because the expedite schedule is so variable and it takes real effort to find your way into the gym on a regular basis. Consistency is key to fitness success and it's hard to be consistent when your schedule is not.
That said, it is easier to get into an AF gym than any other because of our many locations and 24/7 access in every one.
Something new has come out that can help expediters maintain consistency. It is the Anytime Fitness app. There are over 30,000 fitness apps available now. Our gym members have tried many of them and, almost to a person, report this app is the best they have used.
The app is available free of charge to key-carrying AF members. It integrates your diet and fitness activities inside the gym and out. It includes over 1,100 workouts, which appear beautifully on your phone or tablet with written and video instructions. You select your fitness level, type of workout, etc. and follow the instructions. Workouts are included for use in the gym and many can be done in the truck or parking lot.
This app introduces a whole new product line for us called virtual training. While you can have and use the app free with your membership, you can also use it to interact with a personal trainer who will design your workouts, monitor your progress and communicate with you two or three times a week about your fitness. Our trainers are true professionals who understand the human body well. Whatever your fitness objective may be, virtual training may be especially beneficial to expediters because your trainer is literally in your pocket wherever you go.
We charge $60 per month for virtual training. The ideal VT scenario would be for you to get started at our club so our trainers can get to know you personally and take you through some workouts to get you started. They will put you through some exercises the will tell them your strengths and weakness and help them design workouts that are perfect for you.
That's probably the main difference between AF and Planet; we put a great deal of staff time into our members that Planet does not. If price is most important, Planet is the way to go if you feel they have sufficient locations and hours to meet your needs. If fitness results are most important, I believe you will find AF to be the better value, especially if you are open to the coaching we can provide.
It's really, really hard to eat well, sleep well and exercise consistently when you are an expediter. But if you have a plan and a professional in your corner, it will be easier to choose a gym visit over a truck stop meal with expediters at a truck stop and more likely that you will get the results you want.
Make no mistake. It won't happen if you don't do the work. But if you are willing, the benefits of a healthy and fit body can be yours.
I have a bias, of course, since Diane and I (former expediters) now own and operate an Anytime Fitness gym. While on the road we were AF members because of their many locations (now thousands more than Planet), 24 hour access (not all Planets are open 24 hours every day of the year), showers and, most of the time, easy straight-truck parking.
Planet has a price advantage, though you will need their higher-priced black card to access multiple locations. AF has private showers. Planet has locker rooms. If you join AF through our club (Port Orange, FL) you get customer service from people who know the expediter's life and needs. We know of no other club in the brand that is run by a former expedite team.
Whatever club you join, you run the risk of falling off the wagon because the expedite schedule is so variable and it takes real effort to find your way into the gym on a regular basis. Consistency is key to fitness success and it's hard to be consistent when your schedule is not.
That said, it is easier to get into an AF gym than any other because of our many locations and 24/7 access in every one.
Something new has come out that can help expediters maintain consistency. It is the Anytime Fitness app. There are over 30,000 fitness apps available now. Our gym members have tried many of them and, almost to a person, report this app is the best they have used.
The app is available free of charge to key-carrying AF members. It integrates your diet and fitness activities inside the gym and out. It includes over 1,100 workouts, which appear beautifully on your phone or tablet with written and video instructions. You select your fitness level, type of workout, etc. and follow the instructions. Workouts are included for use in the gym and many can be done in the truck or parking lot.
This app introduces a whole new product line for us called virtual training. While you can have and use the app free with your membership, you can also use it to interact with a personal trainer who will design your workouts, monitor your progress and communicate with you two or three times a week about your fitness. Our trainers are true professionals who understand the human body well. Whatever your fitness objective may be, virtual training may be especially beneficial to expediters because your trainer is literally in your pocket wherever you go.
We charge $60 per month for virtual training. The ideal VT scenario would be for you to get started at our club so our trainers can get to know you personally and take you through some workouts to get you started. They will put you through some exercises the will tell them your strengths and weakness and help them design workouts that are perfect for you.
That's probably the main difference between AF and Planet; we put a great deal of staff time into our members that Planet does not. If price is most important, Planet is the way to go if you feel they have sufficient locations and hours to meet your needs. If fitness results are most important, I believe you will find AF to be the better value, especially if you are open to the coaching we can provide.
It's really, really hard to eat well, sleep well and exercise consistently when you are an expediter. But if you have a plan and a professional in your corner, it will be easier to choose a gym visit over a truck stop meal with expediters at a truck stop and more likely that you will get the results you want.
Make no mistake. It won't happen if you don't do the work. But if you are willing, the benefits of a healthy and fit body can be yours.
Last edited:
It varies with the gym. Some brands are specifically designed to encourage the prancing and preening you mention. Others are quite different. Some cater to loud, grunting body builders. Others (like ours) prohibit grunting in the gym. Even within brands, each gym develops a unique culture of its own.
One thing that seems to muddy the waters is AF seems to list world wide gym numbers and PF lists the 48 state number. While certainly more I think the claim of thousands more locations could be a reach. On showers PF shower stalls themselves are seperate but your dressing area is not.
Planet recently topped 1,000 locations in North America. When Diane and I became AF franchisees three years ago, there were about 1,800 AF clubs in North America (including a small number of clubs in Canada, where expediters also go). At present, there are over 2,300. I do not know how many locations Planet had three years ago.
No fitness company has more gyms in North America than Anytime Fitness. Snap Fitness has 1,052. Regarding North American locations, there is the leader, AF with 2,300. Then come Snap and Planet with about 1,000 locations each. Then come all the rest and the independents ... and there are many thousands of them.
In Florida, where our gym is, there were about 150 AF locations when we entered the business. There are 215 now. At present, Diane and I operate one gym. We're on our way to five. In North America, the top franchisee by number of locations has over 30 clubs. While the majority of club owners operate one gym, the trend is toward multi-club ownership.
Worldwide, AF has over 3,500 locations. We topped 3,000 not long ago and will top 4,000 soon. AF growth has been explosive overseas because of the master franchisee model being used. Now that the AF concept has been proven, AF is offering and wealthy business people in foreign countries are buying the franchise rights for an entire country. AF works with that master franchisee which develops the brand in its respective country. Because they have capital and a great business model to follow, they open dozens if not hundreds of new clubs a year, and additional countries are being added each year.
Last edited:
OK. 1,300. The numbers change fast. My "topped 1,000" number came from an article a saw about this a few months back. It's not a big deal for this conversation, but if we want to start picking the fly doo doo out of the rice, a thing to look at is the number of announced locations that are actually open vs. the number of locations that are open and are "coming soon."
In the industry, Planet is rising fast and Snap has stagnated. Planet has recently taken to opening smaller gyms in smaller markets. The fitness business is very dynamic. Brands come and go. Those that remain morph into different models. In the U.S., markets are becoming saturated.
Some expediters may have visited Muscle Beach in California. That's where the U.S. gym business began. In our lifetime, the U.S has gone from virtually zero gyms to many thousands today and more are being built all the time. Nationwide saturation is now a fact. While the number of gyms is growing, the number of members per gym is declining.
Planet competes by price and survives by enrolling thousands of members per club. You see their TV ads all the time, "join for $10, no commitment." AF competes with results and customer relationships. We don't advertise on TV because we are not a volume provider. A "full" AF club will serve from 500 to 1,500 members, depending on square footage size. We put staff time into our members that Planet would not dream of doing.
In our market, our gym is 1/4 the size of Planet and our price is four times higher. When someone calls us looking first and foremost for the best price, we refer them to Planet. We do not regard Planet as a competitive threat because we offer a different product.
Unknown until locations are selected and leases are signed. Our present location is straight truck accessible but overnight parking is prohibited by our landlord and the city.
For me, using the gym for a few minutes to a hour and the main thing is a shower. I don't like the locker room showers, but for the price I say PF. Just hate the dang checking withdrawal thing. I would like to use my CC.
Our Port Orange facility allows monthly dues payments by credit card but we will soon add a surcharge for that option. The trend is away from credit cards and toward EFT (electronic funds transfer - drafts made from bank checking or savings accounts) because EFT is less expensive. Some Anytime Fitness clubs accept EFT only. It may come to that one day in Port Orange but not yet.
Merchants pay processing fees for every credit card or or EFT transaction. EFT fees are lower. Also, credit cards have expiration dates that EFT does not. When you are servicing hundreds or thousands of accounts, it is an ongoing customer service task to call members who neglect to update their info when their card expires. That task disappears with EFT.
Finally, bank account data theft happens far less often than it does with credit or debit cards. In our club, it is almost a daily occurrence that a member has to update his/her credit or debit card info because the bank deactivated their card, often without the prior knowledge of the card holder. They do that because the information was stolen or compromised in one way or another.
Some people find it intolerable to give their credit card, debit card or bank account information to anyone. They choose to pay their one-year memberships in full up front. The disadvantage of that is you part with your money up front. The advantage is privacy is maintained that much better.
Last edited:
I am a member of Anytime Fitness, after 30 days I could use my key to get into any AF location at... anytime.
My first reason was for showers. A shower anytime I want, how awesome is that, I feel I left my homeless on the road status, lol.
My second reason is my health, going into a gym, you feel you must do something before taking a shower, so you do.
My third reason is internet access in a cool place. Can't tell you how many times I walked my laptop into a Anytime Fitness and sat in a comfortable chair and watched tv, or got on my favorite Expediting Forum Here!
Anytime Fitness has become my home away from home, it's far more than a gym to me, it's a refuge from the Truck Stops, that's for sure.
My first reason was for showers. A shower anytime I want, how awesome is that, I feel I left my homeless on the road status, lol.
My second reason is my health, going into a gym, you feel you must do something before taking a shower, so you do.
My third reason is internet access in a cool place. Can't tell you how many times I walked my laptop into a Anytime Fitness and sat in a comfortable chair and watched tv, or got on my favorite Expediting Forum Here!
Anytime Fitness has become my home away from home, it's far more than a gym to me, it's a refuge from the Truck Stops, that's for sure.
Wait....after 30 days? So if i went with af i have to wait 30 days to use a club other than the original sign up?
And does af have private dressing rooms since someone said pf doesnt? Thats a little wierd to me ill just have to find a way to get dressed in the shower or something.
I really need to go ahead and get one ive been trying to consistently workout in my van but obviously I have to get pretty creative at times especially when I have a load. Also I'm lacking the motivation that you get from having a bunch of people working out around you in a gym environment versus me trying to do it prison cell Style with my comfy bed and snacks staring me in the face
And does af have private dressing rooms since someone said pf doesnt? Thats a little wierd to me ill just have to find a way to get dressed in the shower or something.
I really need to go ahead and get one ive been trying to consistently workout in my van but obviously I have to get pretty creative at times especially when I have a load. Also I'm lacking the motivation that you get from having a bunch of people working out around you in a gym environment versus me trying to do it prison cell Style with my comfy bed and snacks staring me in the face