Comparing Planet Fitness And Family Fitness

Planet Fitness and Family Fitness are similar gyms where all, from the professional athlete to the overweight couch potato, can find equipment to suit their needs and workout style. In both venues, a plethora of cardiovascular equipment as well as machines to target every area of the body are on offer. Generously supplied free weight sections cater to lifters intent on packing on serious muscle, and each gym possesses a host of other amenities such as tanning and massage. At first glance, both training centers appear to be evenly matched; however, subtle yet significant variations in equipment selection make all the difference in the world to older individuals attempting to defy Father Time and increase muscle mass in their later years.

To …show more content…
By design, a single weight stack is tethered to a cable, which threads through a series of pulleys and terminates at the handle or grip. This necessitates both sides of the body working together in unison to move the weight. It is awkward or often impossible to isolate the muscles on one side of the body at a time. This results in strength imbalances going undetected, for the stronger side is permitted to compensate for the weaker side, leading to uneven muscle development. If an injury has been suffered in one half of a muscle group, the exercise cannot be performed at all. Conversely, the Hammer Strength equipment at Family Fitness combines the convenience and stability of the Cybex machines with the versatility and function of free weights. With plates loaded individually onto arms attached to fulcrums, each hemisphere of the body can be exercised either in unison or independently. Strength imbalances are evident and can be corrected by adjusting the weight for the weaker side, thereby mimicking the function of free weights, yet the load moves in a fixed plane of motion, eliminating both the need to balance the weight and the danger of dropping