Planet Fitness to open in high-traffic area of Phenix City

Planet Fitness, which has been in the Columbus market since 2014, is preparing to open a location in Phenix City before the end of this year.

The new 18,000-square-foot fitness center is going into a strip shopping center that is now undergoing a major renovation at the intersection of U.S. Highway 280 and 80, a high-traffic area of Phenix City. The center’s size will be on par with the two existing Planet Fitness facilities at 4519 Woodruff Road and 5596 Milgen Road in Columbus.

Planet Fitness marketing manager Anthony Roberts, in an email exchange Friday, said the scheduled date for opening is Dec. 17, which is not long before local residents make their New Year resolutions to get back into shape and stay there. He said the fitness company has been scouting the Phenix City market for about three years.

“To better serve the market, the expansion in Phenix City gave us the best opportunity to provide a convenient location to residents,” Roberts said. “We also are excited to be involved in revitalization of the shopping center. Phenix City has been an area of interest since 2014 when we opened our first club in the Columbus market. We were awaiting the right opportunity with the right landlord and location that was the best fit.”

Hiring for the new location at 1413 U.S. Hwy. 280 is expected to begin in mid-October, with those interested in applying for positions asked to visit the online site at www.planetfitness.com/careers, then search by zip code for job listings.

The upcoming Planet Fitness will have a few extras that the others locally do not, Roberts said. It will be the first of the franchise ownership group’s 31 clubs to have Row GX trainer and Pro 1000 upper body ergometer machines, which are used primarily by elderly customers and “de-conditioned” individuals, he said. The new club also will have more hydromassage beds than in Columbus.

The franchise group’s managing partner, Eric Dore, said his company aims to grow from its 31 current locations to 50 within four years.

Hampton, N.H.-based Planet Fitness was founded in 1992 and has grown to more than 1,400 centers in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada and the Dominican Republic. As of June 30, it had about 10 million members.

Planet Fitness touts its “Judgement Free Zone,” which it says is meant to foster a hassle-free environment without intimidation. That includes a “Lunk Alarm,” a purple and yellow siren on the wall “used to gently remind people that grunting, dropping weights or judging others is not permitted.”

Membership, it said, includes unlimited small-group fitness instruction by certified personal trainers, with access to express workout circuits. As a “member appreciation gesture,” the centers also offer free pizza on the first Monday of each month and free bagels the second Tuesday every month.

This story was originally published October 6, 2017 at 5:11 PM with the headline "Planet Fitness to open in high-traffic area of Phenix City."