Planet Health doesn’t get the very best fame among the many lifting neighborhood.
They’ve free pizza on the primary Monday of the month and free bagels on the second Tuesday of the month (most likely not one of the simplest ways to go about carb-loading).
There’s a “Lunk Alarm” if any health club rats grunt too loudly, drop their weights, carry a gallon jug of water, and even put on a tank high (Translation: You need to lay low for those who plan to go onerous).
And there’s no bench press.
That final level—the shortage of a bench press—makes the $10/month Planet Health membership just about ineffective for anybody severe about bulking up or weightlifting, typically.
Let’s discuss why Planet Health doesn’t have a bench press.
A Little Background on Planet Health
Planet Health is a wildly well-liked health club chain with over 2,000 places throughout the U.S. (and 4 different nations) and greater than 10 million members worldwide.
At simply $10/month, it’s probably the most inexpensive gyms within the U.S. health business. There’s additionally a Black Card membership that prices extra however consists of further perks, like entry to all PF places.
Often known as the “Judgement Free Zone,” Planet Health has a little bit of a singular consumer base.
Relatively than tailoring the ambiance towards health club rats pumping iron and setting PRs, the Planet Health model is all concerning the common Joe and rookies.
Which means no dropping weights, no water jugs, no tank tops, and no free weight barbells—all of which will be intimidating for those who’re a real newbie.
As a substitute, Planet Health gyms have numerous rows of cardio machines (i.e., treadmills, ellipticals, and bikes), power coaching machines, dumbbells as much as 80 kilos, and some adjustable benches. Additionally they provide private coaching for these model new to the health club ambiance.
It’s an honest set-up, particularly for rookies wanting to enhance their total well being. But it surely’s clearly not designed for these severe about lifting and desirous to bulk, because the tools is considerably restricted.
Wait. So What Defines a Bench Press?
The bench press is a crucial compound train that can practice the higher physique “push” muscle tissues, together with the chest, shoulders, and arms (particularly the triceps).
Right here’s a short run-through of the right way to bench:
Lie down on the load bench together with your ft flat on the ground and your eyes just under the rack supporting the barbell. With an overhand grip and arms a bit additional than shoulder-width aside, take away the bar from the rack and maintain it with arms outstretched over your chest. Decrease the bar down in a straight line towards your chest till your arms hit a few 45-degree-angle. Exhale deeply and push the bar immediately upward till you’re again in your beginning place.
PF doesn’t have a barbell bench press station. Luckily, you don’t want a correct bench set-up to do a bench press variation, although that is the “gold commonplace.”
You may as well bench with a standalone barbell, two dumbbells, a Smith machine, or a bench press machine.
Why Does Planet Health Not Have A Bench Press?
Planet Health Caters to the Non-Athletes
In some unspecified time in the future, Planet Health did have at the very least squat racks and even a bench press or two in a few of its health middle places.
However good issues can’t final without end.
These racks have been rapidly achieved away with round 2014 or 2015 after repeated member complaints that this tools was “intimidating” to different gym-goers.
Why?
When you’ve bench presses or squat racks in any health club, you’re additionally going to attract in a crowd of lifters severe about coaching. $10/month for a health club is reasonable and having this tools makes it a “steal.”
And since Planet Health caters to the 85% of people that don’t obsess over their good points, preserving this tools meant probably discouraging clients from preserving their memberships.
The bench press and squat rack’s elimination put much more distance between PF and locations like Gold’s Health club.
And nothing retains Planet Health members coming again extra to train than the sensation that they’re not understanding alongside hardcore lifters.
A Lawsuit Ready to Occur
One other obtrusive difficulty with having this sort of tools in a health club like PF is security.
The majority of members are rookies, model new to train, and have little to no expertise with free weight barbells.
Benching or deadlifting at Planet Health with weights which are too heavy or not utilizing a spotter is a lawsuit ready to occur, particularly for a health club that solely expenses members $10 a month to maintain their membership.
All it takes is a newbie dropping the bar on their chest or tipping the bar and having plates roll into different gym-goers to trigger a extreme harm and a lack of thousands and thousands in income.
As such, this sort of tools additionally comes with substantial insurance coverage insurance policies that may practically damage the regular stream of revenue that Planet Health pulls in yearly.
The reality is, like every part in life, it seemingly comes right down to cash.
4 Bench Press Options at Planet Health
Though benching was added to the record of workouts Planet Health doesn’t permit, that doesn’t imply you’ll want to bounce ship and discover one other (dearer) health club altogether.
You simply should be prepared to get a bit inventive and quit the usual bench press that you understand too nicely.
Listed below are some bench press options for a great exercise at Planet Health.
Smith Machine Bench Press
Most PF places have at the very least two or three Smith machines the place you’ll be able to crank out every part from squats and deadlifts to bench presses and calf raises.
The Smith machine is the closest you’ll get to the actual flat bench press at Planet Health.
It’s additionally far safer.
The one draw back to utilizing the Smith machine for the bench press is that it forces you to depend on the machine greater than you must.
You’ll nonetheless be hitting your chest muscle tissues immediately, however the Smith machine’s management system means your stabilizing muscle tissues get overlooked, which may stall progress.
Chest Press Machine
Planet Health often has a military of weight machines, and the chest press is one in every of them.
This train hits the identical muscle tissues as common bench presses however and not using a free weight movement like barbells.
Nevertheless, this machine lets you deal with understanding one aspect of your physique at a time, which may also help forestall harm by lowering pressure on joints and ligaments.
You’ll additionally get extra vary of movement since you gained’t have any weight pushing down in your shoulders or higher again like when benching.
Pre-Loaded Barbell Bench Press
Although PF doesn’t have loadable barbells like your run-of-the-mill health club, most places do have a small rack of pre-loaded barbells.
These are often in 10-pound increments as much as 60 kilos.
Now, for those who’re model new to lifting, utilizing this 60-pound barbell on the flat bench at Planet Health is a good way to start constructing your higher physique push muscle tissues.
However you’re seemingly already well-past 60 kilos, so this will not be an possibility for you.
Dumbbell Bench Press
The shortage of bars at Planet Health is an actual bummer, however the health club does have a reasonably respectable inventory of heavy dumbbells: as much as 75 or 80 kilos, in most locations.
Most guys go for the dumbbell bench press for chest coaching rather than the usual bench at PF. This makes the dumbbell rack very crowded for those who go to at peak hours.
Wrapping Up
Planet Health doesn’t have a bench press as a result of this health club chain’s focus is on the typical individual, not the intense bodybuilder.
As such, having gear like a bench press, squat rack, or energy rack is intimidating to the standard Planet Health member and solely encourages “lunks” to overrun the health club. (Therefore the Lunk Alarm to ward them off.)
A bench press in a health club the place only a few individuals have expertise lifting may also be a possible security hazard and set off lawsuits if accidents have been to occur.
Luckily, Planet Health does have Smith machines, pre-loaded barbells, and dumbbells weighing as much as 75 kilos, so that you do have options regardless of not having an actual bench set-up.
Regularly Requested Questions (FAQ)
Does Planet Health have bench press machines?
No, there’s no bench press machine at Planet Health. The corporate supposedly eliminated the bench press as a result of it was too intimidating and probably harmful for many of its clients.
The place can I bench press at Planet Health?
Though Planet Health doesn’t have a bench press, you’ll be able to nonetheless carry out another train that targets the identical muscle teams, just like the smith machine bench press, chest press, or dumbbell bench press.
How A lot is the Bench Press Bar at Planet Health?
The bar on the Smith machine at Planet Health most likely weighs round 15 kilos. Smith machines require counterweight for the bar to maneuver slowly contained in the monitor so the total barbell weight (25-45 kilos) isn’t the efficient weight on the machine. If you wish to preserve monitor of your whole weight lifted on the Smith machine, it’s protected so as to add 15 kilos to your lifts.
How Do You Alter the Bench at Planet Health?
Planet Health makes use of adjustable benches so you’ll be able to modify the angle to accommodate the train you select to carry out.
Right here’s the right way to alter the backrest of the load bench:
Seize the highest of the backrest with one hand and the yellow pin beneath the backrest with the opposite hand. Pull the yellow pin in direction of you so it releases from its present slot. With the pin nonetheless pulled out, transfer the backrest up or down together with your different hand. Launch the yellow pin and permit it to snap into the slot nearest the specified angle.
These steps are very comparable for adjusting the bench seat too.
