This isn’t Planet F*cking Fitness

I have to rant for a minute.

I’ve been hearing ads for Planet Fitness everywhere lately. I’m hanging out in a bunch of coffee shops these days and for some reason – they are plastering the radio with their ads (and somehow showing up in my instagram feed too).

I hate Planet F—king fitness.

They are everything wrong with the fitness industry.

They purport to be a judgement-free-zone (registered trademark).

What they are is a call to mediocrity.

$10/month membership and the company couldn’t care less if you use it or not.

Their entire business model is set on getting more people in the door to sign the contract – then not giving a whit (yes a whit) if they show up OR get results.

It’s probably why they have pizza Mondays (and bagel Tuesdays now) – seriously this is a thing.

Great.

I’m glad business is good for them.

But I have to let you know something.

This is not f**cking planet fitness.

They want to be judgment free.

They want to indulge every now and then (or every Monday and Tuesday).

They want to create a place without standards.

But here’s the thing.

Standards make you strong.

Judgement – despite what society says – tells you when you hit the mark (and when you missed it – so you can get better).

One of the things I’ve learned over the years is that people typically perform to expectations.

Want someone to be strong? Put them in positions where they have to be strong.

People are much, much stronger than they know. Most just never have to find out?

On the other hand, want to turn someone into a weak, incapable punk?

Baby them. Lower your expectations. They’ll probably disappoint you even further. You’ll make them weak and get frustrated with them.

Let me be clear.

There’s nothing wrong with starting where you are. Even if that’s scared, weak and intimidated.

Welcome aboard.

What I do have a problem with is staying there.

Codifying that fear, weakness and intimidation into who you are – rather than who you are at the moment.

Planet fitness wants to keep you there. To feel good about signing up with your membership and be okay saying (“yeah, I haven’t been in a while, but I was there 3 weeks ago for pizza day”).

They’re cool if you want to stay weak. Not show up. Give up when it’s hard.

They don’t care as long as they get their $10.

But I do.

So heads up – if you want to put up a fight to stay where you are – this is going to be a very uncomfortable place for you.

Because here – at IMPOSSIBLE – staying put is not an option.

I want you to push your limits. I want you to do some impossible things you’ve never done before.

I want you to be something more.

Not because I’m a jerk. Not because I don’t care about your feelings. Not because of whatever psychological diagnosis you’d like to give me.

But because of one thing:

Because you can be more.

But you can’t do it alone.

You need someone to hold you to that standard. The way of life.

Most people won’t do that. It’s too tough. Too uncomfortable.

That’s why planet fitness does what planet fitness does.

This is not f—king planet fitness.

Hold yourself to a higher standard.

That’s what The Initiation is about.

I’d love to see you on the inside and see what you can become.

Joel

IMPOSSIBLE