A new Planet Fitness is now open and ready for use.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place on Thursday, September 17 to announce the grand opening.
The opening consisted of a live DJ, free food, raffles and a guest appearance by Biggest Loser contestant Danni Allen.
Allen was the winner of NBC’s Biggest Loser season 14 with a total loss of approximately 130 pounds.
She was at the event to help spread her tips and tricks on weight loss and staying healthy.
When asked about the freshman fifteen, Allen had some advice for first-year students. She suggested only visiting the ice cream machine a few times during the week.
“I don’t believe in cold turkey anything,” Allen said, suggesting that students shouldn’t stop eating the foods they love.
She also said she encourages students to be active on campus.
“Go biking, lay out on the lawn, get yourself moving more than just sitting at the desk inside the library,” Allen said.
“The one thing I don’t want to take away is a college experience. That’s one thing I want people to keep.”
Planet Fitness will be open 24 hours Monday through Friday. Their Saturday and Sunday hours will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Tim Smith // Photo Editor
The new facility can be found at 41 Ashbrook Road in Keene, New Hampshire.
The start-up fee is $1 and monthly dues start at $10 for a no-commitment membership. This means that the membership holder can cancel the membership at any time during the year.
The annual fee for a membership is $29 (billed one time per year) according to the Planet Fitness Facebook page.
The benefits of a no-commitment membership include unlimited access to home club, a free t-shirt and unlimited fitness training and classes.
According to the Planet Fitness Facebook page, the benefits of a black card membership include (but are not limited to) reciprocal use of all Planet Fitness franchise locations, unlimited guest privileges, use of tanning and half-price cooler drinks.
The monthly dues for a black card membership are $19.99 and $39 annually.
Black card memberships require 12 month commitment.
Owner of Keene Planet Fitness Shane Poirier said the planning of opening a new Planet Fitness had been in the works since October 2014 and he is very excited about the opening.
“The people here in the area have made it really exciting,” Poirier said. He said it was great to see people coming into a gym that they have been waiting for. Poirier said that he’s met people that have never worked out before and is excited to work with them. “There’s an energy to it,” he said.
Poirier said Allen’s visit to the gym was “the icing on the cake.”
“It gives a lot of people hope to see a real person like her make an incredible transformation,” Poirier said.
Allen said her favorite part of Keene’s Planet Fitness was getting inspired. She said she met a woman that had been fighting cancer and is now a member of Planet Fitness. “It’s amazing,” Allen said, “I got Goosebumps listening to her story.”
Allen said that famous celebrities are getting a “glorified treatment” but in Keene she said she sees people that work out every single day.
“If they can do it, anyone can do it,” Allen said.
Mackenzie can be contacted at mclarke@kscequinox.com
