The Black Card Experience & Why I Am Downgrading | Real Talk
Good day ladies and gents of the X-Army, I hope your week is off to a flying start. Today’s Real Talk post is going to be focusing on my experience with the Planet Fitness Black Card, the coveted membership in the land of purple and gold. So without further ado, let’s get to it.
What Is The Black Card Membership? |
The Black Card membership is the highest membership available at Planet Fitness. It allows you exclusive use of the amenities in your home club or elsewhere. This was the second time this year I used the word “ amenities “ in a sentence, nice job on me. Anyway, you get the opportunity to use the Tanning equipment for your tanning needs, the Body Enhancement Chamber to enhance your body and maximize your workout, and the famous Hydro-massage beds for that relaxing massage experience. There is also the Massage Chairs, but in some they are easily accessible with the basic membership based on the club. So ladies and gents this is the infamous Black Card membership’s breakdown. Does it look good?
Now…Why Did I Get It? |
Simple, I was leaving the state. I was heading to see my family in Mississippi and didn’t want to pay X amount of dollars to use the Planet Fitness there. Spending Christmas with my family is important to me, and I am sure others, but I am not breaking the bank again to use the gym I am trying to leave. You can say getting the most expensive membership in a gym I am working to leave is counterproductive in my efforts. Why further fund a gym you are leaving and you just pay $10 a month in the first place? Well I was curious to be fair. Because I go to the gym so early in the morning, the guys at the front desk always try to up-sell me on getting the membership. I turn them down obviously and I keep it moving, but seeing that I was getting close to “Going Home” I wanted to try it. Was told about a trial before the 10th of January so I figured perfect. I get to see what’s behind the front desk and what all the cringe-worthy commercials were talking about. It’s a win on all levels.
Was It Worth It? |
Yes and no. Yes in the sense that I did enjoy one of the amenities, the Hydro-Massage Bed. I don’t tan, I’m black so yeah, and I didn’t see the point in getting radiation poisoning from that chamber thing. The massage bed to me was interesting my first time and as I progressively used it after every workout I did enjoy it. Now for the No to that opening statement. I would be paying $22.99 a month to use the same gym that I have been using for half that and a 10 minute massage after a workout. Doesn’t bode well with me nore my budget. If I was a fan of the gym I currently go to I would more than likely enjoy wasting my money on it just for the hell of it, but I don’t. One of the reasons I want to leave this place is the people and paying more money for the pleasure of seeing the ego maniacs that come here is not something I can write off on my tax return.
The card does allow me to go to other Planet Fitness facilities in the area I am at, but to me that’s a waste of time. I would be avoiding a majority of the jackasses I see at 4 in the morning and maybe I could find one that is not as busy at the time I go, but that would involve paying more in gas money and losing the effects of my pre-workout items. Currently it takes me 3 minutes to get to the Planet Fitness from my current temporary residence. To go to the two other locations would take 10 and 15 minutes respectively. The original gym in the previous town I lived in would take 25 minutes to get to and come back. So economically you see that the gym I do go to makes sense. So in short, no paying $20 plus dollars to experience the same garbage people and just to use a bed for a few minutes is not worth it. It’s a hell of a bed though.
Do I Still Want To Leave? |
Hell yes! Man I have been looking for a new gym, LOOKING, but it’s hard to find one that is affordable. One of the reasons why I have had this membership is the price I pay per month which is $10. With how I try to be self-reliant and sufficient, I do my best to live within my means and be strict with my wants and needs. I have other more pressing things to pay for and throwing away more money a month would be foolish. Gold’s Gym, L.A. Fitness, and some local gyms are there, but it’s more cost heavy. The logical move would be to build my own home gym…but I need a home to do so. As shameful as it is I still live with a parent and I am making every stressful effort to get out of that situation, so that will be accomplished in time. I do have gym items, but I do enjoy working around people and taking in that atmosphere. Being an INFJ it blows my mind how I love doing things outside and being around people, am I really an introvert? Point is I love the atmosphere. Since getting into fitness in high school I found the gym to be a soothing place and being around like-minded people a bonus. So me being in a gym hitting my own goals with people doing the same is fun for me. So I want to be in a gym that doesn’t kill me financially.
Final Thoughts |
It’s a shame that no other gym wants to go to a Planet Fitness model and charge a base membership fee of just $10 a month. Imagine paying that to go to a gym that has more respectable members. I get that there is no perfect place nor perfect people, but I do want to be in a place that has some sense of respect. Far too many times I see people come to this gym and thinks they are God’s gift to us mere people who want to live healthy and maintain fitness. A guy once asked me why do I come to the gym and the answer was simple for me. Both my parents had cancer and I want to do all I can to make that statistic a minimum one of me getting it. Maintain my weight, work on my physical appearance, further my confidence and healthy body image, and most of all be around people that have the same goal.
It’s weird that my old Planet Fitness and the Mississippi location had decent people in it. People who mind their own business, doesn’t judge other for doing simple or basic workouts, and just well mannered. I am sure what I am doing currently will come off as judging them, but here me out. What I am doing is mentioning tasteless behavior I had to tolerate for years going to this location. I am not talking about their bodies, their volume of weight they use in a given workout, or even trying to coach you when you simply want to do your own thing. This has happened to me and I ignored it because they are not me. I am find with a level of imput if I know you, ask for it, or just simply doing the work wrong. But when you come up to me as a dick and tell me that because I am a man I need to do more weights than that, that’s when I have a problem.
Critisism is fine to a degree in many avenues of life yes, but when I am having fun and learning about this gym thing on my own is where I draw the line with certain things. For a judgement free place the guys who come here sure like to tell other men their bodies aren’t up to par. Newsflash dude, you aren’t hot cheese either. We are both at the gym. I think I look fine and I am working on being the best I can be. I don’t come here to see you. This is the reason why I go to the gym at 4, to avoid these people who like to give their opinion of others and tell you what to do. My only question when I see these self important people is Why are you here? If you are so good, go to a real gym. The inflated egos that come here is impressive and it’s a shame that the demographics that do come here are so ill-mannered.
So to sum up this entire long-winded section, I did enjoy the membership. Thursday is the last day I will be using this and going back to my non-commitment membership. I do hate this gym with a passion, but it’s the one that fits my financial structure at this stage of my life. In the future I hope to find a gym that more fits what I am looking for. The Black Card is an exclusive membership for those who like to flex and pretend they are more important than they are. You feel a sense of laziness and an inflated point of view when you enter the place, like you run it. I saw this from my perspective from the Black Car members that came in the morning and with myself. Going back to a more humble and basic membership in a place I hate works for me right now. I get to see the small number of people I like to waste a few seconds with, I do a workout that tests me physically and emotionally, and I push myself at my own rate while having fun. This is fun after all and a hobby. The second I take it too serious will be when I lost that enthusiasm or when I further build a distaste for the assholes that come in the morning to jump ship to a real gym.
This was my minimum Black Card experience at Planet Fitness, I hope you enjoyed it. Please like, share, follow, and comment. Please stay tuned for more content and stay safe out there. Take it easy!
Originally published at http://xagonspeaks.wordpress.com on January 6, 2020.
