Summer provides a great opportunity for teenagers and adults to focus on their mental and physical well being. Working out is an excellent way to grow as a person, physically and psychologically, whether it be visiting your local gym to get a few reps in, or practicing at home. Working out may boost concentration and mood, leading to less stress and overall healthier mental well being. The renowned Planet Fitness is organizing a promotional event, lasting May 16 – August 31, called “High School Summer Pass”. This promotion gives high school students in the United States aged 14-19 the opportunity to workout at Planet Fitness as much as they would like, whenever they would like. Giving high school students an opportunity to refine themselves both physically and mentally, which is of great importance.

The Planet Fitness app makes using the summer pass even easier. By just signing up with an email address, you can keep track of your workouts, and access the key tag which contains your designated High School Summer Pass. Registering is completely free, and exceptionally easy. Everyone who signs up is entered for a chance to win a $500 scholarship, one per state, and a grand prize scholarship of $5000, there is, however, a limit of one prize per person so you would be unable to win both the grand prize scholarship and the $500 one. This is all the more reason to consider doing this. It is bound to make you feel better overall, and grant you an opportunity to better yourself. Another side-promotion by Planet Fitness is a social media feature using the hashtag “#PFSummerPass.” Using this hashtag grants the opportunity to be featured on one of Planet Fitness’s social medias. 

The main disadvantage, however, is that Planet Fitness only offers dumbbells and Smith machines as opposed to free weights, bench press, and squat rack. The Smith machine essentially consists of a barbell that is fixed within steel rails allowing only vertical movement, this is nice as this machine can be used safely without a spotter. Though not having access to other methods of weight training is undesirable to most, especially because working on lifting is fairly common and practiced while working out; therefore restricting that makes the desire to workout less prevalent. Despite the lack of options, Smith machines are extremely effective and still a good method of workout. There are still plenty of ways to workout and enjoy working out at Planet Fitness this summer!