Planet Fitness now open

By DOMENIC POLI

Staff Writer

Published: 03-01-2019 11:14 AM

GREENFIELD — Letting those New Year’s resolutions fall by the wayside just got a bit more difficult, as a Planet Fitness franchise has opened in the Big Y plaza.

Tom Sullivan, who has owned a Planet Fitness in Gardner for five years, said the new location on the Mohawk Trail has seen a steady stream of customers since business started at 3 p.m. on Feb. 15.

“I’m very excited to be opening it,” he said this week. “I feel like we’re right on target for where we want to be.”

Sullivan said opening the new location is a roughly $2.5 million investment. The gym, which sits between Staples and Dollar Tree, covers 19,900 square feet.

General Manager Adam Hey said the franchise employs 13 people and operates 24/5 — opening at midnight on Mondays and closing at 10 p.m. on Fridays. The gym will also be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The original goal had been to open in January.

“People are excited. It’s been going good and it’s been consistently getting busier. It’s been really, really good,” he said in the gym Tuesday, pausing periodically to greet new customers by name. “Business has been steady, getting a lot of new memberships each day.

“It’s pretty cool because we’re helping people’s lives a lot,” he added.

Hey said January, February and March are the gym industry’s busiest time of year.

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The new gym, decked out in Planet Fitness’ trademark purple and yellow, has at least 80 state-of-the-art pieces of cardio equipment and a strength and free weights area. There is also WiFi, locker rooms with showers, tanning booths and beds, hydro-massage loungers and massage chairs, and at least 25 55-inch wall-mounted plasma TVs customers can listen to by plugging in headphones or earbuds to the cardio equipment they are using.

The new gym offers no-commitment and black card memberships. The no-commitment membership, which can be canceled at any time, is $10 a month and comes with unlimited access to the equipment, locker rooms and fitness training. The black card membership is a 12-month program that allows customers access to the gym’s black card spa, which includes the hydro-massage lounges and massage chairs, as well as unlimited tanning. It costs $1 down and $21.99 a month, but customers can bring a guest each time and can visit any of the 1,500 Planet Fitness locations worldwide 10 times a month.

Both memberships have annual $39 fees. All fees are withdrawn automatically from customers’ accounts.

Reach DomenicPoli at: dpoli@recorder.com or
413-772-0261, ext. 262.

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