Planet Fitness Open for Business

If you’ve been driving Douglas Road this week, and you’ve noticed the Settler’s Landing parking lot looks quite a bit more full than usual, you’re not imagining things.

, the new 21,650-square-foot fitness center at 1842 Douglas Road, is open for business. And according to co-owner Chris Kouros, business has been good.

The Montgomery Planet Fitness opened on Monday at 7 p.m., Kouros said, and there was a line outside waiting. Pre-sales, which occurred over the last two months, went well, Kouros said, and even at 3 p.m. on Thursday, there were people running on treadmills, using elliptical machines, lifting weights and hitting the ab workout station.

Planet Fitness has more than 75 pieces of cardio workout equipment, with room to add more. It sports two full circuits of weight training equipment, and an array of free weights. It has five tanning booths, massage chairs, a hydro-massage bed (which allows users to direct high-pressure jets of water across their bodies), a red light therapy booth (an anti-aging treatment designed to reduce wrinkles and lines), about 30 LCD televisions, and areas for 30-minute workouts and 12-minute abdominal training.

The gym also has certified trainers on staff, offering sessions at no additional cost to members. The chain, which has more than 500 locations and three million members, is known for its “judgment free zone” philosophy – it’s not a home for hardcore weight trainers, but a comfortable workout destination for anyone, of any skill level.

The Montgomery location even features a “lunk alarm,” a piercingly loud siren activated whenever someone “grunts, drops weights or judges,” according to the sign. Kouros demonstrated the alarm on Thursday, and it caused several customers to stop their workouts and look to see what was going on.

Montgomery’s Planet Fitness is the first new business to open in Settler’s Landing in years. The shopping center was built in 1984, at the corner of Douglas Road and Route 30, and was once one of the largest of its kind in Kendall County. It housed a Kmart, Dominick’s, Big Lots and Walgreens, as well as several smaller stores.

But within the past 10 years, both Dominick’s and Walgreens moved out of the center, and nothing has moved in. Three stores remain–, and restaurant–with Taco Bell and occupying outlots.

According to new owners RCG Ventures, who last year, roughly 30,000 of the 176,000 square feet of retail space in Settler’s Landing now remains vacant.

Planet Fitness is open 24 hours a day during the week. It opens at midnight on Mondays, and close at 9 p.m. on Fridays, with Saturday and Sunday hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Click here for more information.