New Planet Fitness opens

Oregon City’s new Planet Fitness athletic gym just opened at 19003 South Beavercreek Road, two minutes down the street from Clackamas Community College. Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, the only exceptions include a few specific holidays. Ironically enough, Planet Fitness sits adjacent to both Shari’s and Taco Bell. According to the Planet Fitness owner, Dan Afrasiabi, this new gym could be the perfect place to start reforming your fitness life if you describe yourself as an “average” person.

“Planet Fitness is a fitness club that has brought this concept of a ‘no judgment zone’ to the average person,” Afrasiabi said. “Generally speaking, the fitness industry has marketed itself to the people that are hardcore athletes. You see it in their ads; it’s always models and really sexy ads. Everyone always forgets about the everyday people and so Planet Fitness set out to create an environment where the everyday person can feel comfortable working out. Come here once a week or once a day, it doesn’t really matter. No judgments.”

If you’re interested in joining the Planet Fitness club here in Oregon City, it’s relatively easy to join. There are now three plans to choose from: $10 a month with a 1 year commitment, $15 a month with no commitment, and $22.99 a month with a 1 year commitment, known as the Black Card. There is also a $29 startup fee for the $10 and $15 plans.

“That number 10 is really something that people associate with Planet Fitness,” said Afrasiabi. “So the base membership, with all of the equipment here, that’s $10 a month that you get to use. The next level is $22.99 a month, which includes the Black Card, but you also have other benefits. You can bring a guest an unlimited number of times, you can use any other Planet Fitness in the country, you can use Black Card Spa, which has tanning and hydromassage beds and things like that, so that’s only an extra $13 a month.”

The club even offers a special event called “Pizza Mondays” every month where they serve free pizza as part of their “no judgement zone” agenda, acknowledging that it’s okay to have a slice of pizza after working out.

“Pizza Mondays are the first Monday of every month where people can come in during the evening and have pizza,” Afrasiabi said. “We don’t act like someone who comes to the gym should never have a slice of pizza. So we’re bringing it all up front and saying there is nothing to be embarrassed about and it’s okay to celebrate your accomplishments. People freak out about that but it’s really what makes Planet Fitness so special.”

However, if you plan on taking your “new year, new me” resolution seriously, Planet Fitness says their gym probably isn’t the right fit for you.“If you look at the types of equipment we have, it’s a lot of cardio equipment. It’s all geared towards people that just want to become healthier and take care of themselves,” Afrasiabi said. “Not necessarily people who are triathletes. Even if you look at the weights, they are limited to a certain amount because we don’t want people here that are huge bodybuilders that are gonna lift and drop huge weights and make a lot of noise and intimidate other people who are working out for the first time.”

Planet Fitness is marketed as the perfect place for anyone who has little experience with working out in a gym or fitness club and they offer specific amenities to help make it a comfortable environment for anyone that struggles in a gym setting.

“We have a lot of our members where this is their first time ever joining a fitness club or gym. We actually have trainers on-site that actually teach them how to use the equipment. So it takes all of these things, anxiety and intimidation, the reasons why people generally don’t join or keep a membership, we take all of those away,” Afrasiabi said.

When asked why Clackamas Community College students should go to the new Planet Fitness to work out, Afrasiabi said that the price is cheap, which is convenient for college students paying a lot of money for school, as well as the fact that “you can also use it any other Planet Fitness, so if a lot of students, especially at [Clackamas] are commuters, and there’s another Planet Fitness somewhere else, they can be a member here and as long as they’re a Black Card member they can use it at any other Planet Fitness as well.”

Not sure if you want to commit to a plan at Planet Fitness? They offer a free workout that you can take advantage of at https://www.planetfitness.com/gyms/oregon-city-or. You’ll be emailed a free day pass to any Planet Fitness of your choice. You can check out all of the amenities for each plan and fitness sessions on the website listed above.