Planet Fitness Boston Downtown
17 Winter St, Boston, 02108.
Opening Times: Open and staffed 24/7. No excuses then!
Cost: free pass on their website
Location and Entry
This Boston gym is well-located right next to Boston Common on the east-side. Register for the free pass on their website – it appears you can register for one at each branch of their gyms. Great news, travellers!
Whilst their correspondence implies you’ll get a sales spiel upon arrival, I didn’t. She literally scanned the code on my phone and ushered me through with no attempt to tell me anything at all. Great, but where do I go?!
Planet Fitness Boston Downtown is centrally located just a couple of minutes’ walk from Boston Common and Park Street ‘T’ (metro) on the red line. It was well air-conditioned, very well-spaced out and clean.
Facilities
This is a large gym set over two floors. You’ll find an excellent spacious cardio room on one floor with (amongst other things) crosstrainers, more treadmills than ever and stairclimbers (where you climb actual steps, as opposed to the stepper). This is something I’ve noticed is a popular feature in cardio rooms in the USA. There is also a HUGE number of resistance machines – possibly more than I’ve seen anywhere else (or that most people would ever need)! All in good condition.
My favourite thing about the gym was probably the 30 minute workout zone with gym equipment – something original not offered by most gyms. 30 machines were labelled 1-30 and the area was clearly designated only for the purpose. Several pieces of equipment were simply in the form of step-boards and alternated with resistance machines.
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My understanding was that you would therefore do the machines in order (they are numbered) and spend one minute on each. You are effectively therefore doing a class without an instructor, alternating cardio with resistance training. My main concern would be people using incorrect technique if they hadn’t used the machines before, although this would of course be an issue with any piece of gym equipment. There were however plenty of gym staff around engaging with clients, though it’s unclear from my visit how proactive they are in monitoring this area.
Weights and Functional Equipment
I found a good number of weights and numerous resistance machines, along with a synergy area in addition to the 30 minute zone. This boasts TRXs, medicine balls, Swiss balls and ample floor space amongst other things. There is also a stretching area with even more floor space.
What surprised me was despite the huge amount of space and machines, there were not more chin up bars. There was only one set that I could find and it was poorly designed, with the bars too close to the rest of the unit in front of you. So for those who struggle to keep perfect vertical form at all stages, there’s not really space to bring your knees up to make life easier! Nor could I find any assisted chin-ups machines. And despite the numerous fixed weight barbells, the ones I wanted were never on the rack, although I didn’t see anyone using them either. Perhaps they were on their lunchbreak?
Summary of Planet Fitness Boston Downtown
Overall Planet Fitness Boston Downtown is a top Boston gym and there are motivational messages up about it being a non-judgmental environment etc. This gym in downtown Boston certainly has a good atmosphere. Definitely recommended for a free pass!
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