Planet Fitness Hours During The Holiday Season
Planet Fitness locations operate on extended holiday schedules, but the exact hours vary by franchise. Most corporate-owned locations close early on Christmas Day and Thanksgiving, while some 24-hour clubs stay open all night. You need to check your specific club's schedule before showing up. I learned this the hard way. Last December, I drove twenty minutes to my usual Planet Fitness only to find a handwritten sign on the door: "Closed 12 PM to 8 PM for holiday inventory." I stood there in the cold for a full minute before walking back to my car. Since then, I always call ahead or check the PF app on December 24th and 25th. The standard holiday adjustments most members encounter:
Thanksgiving: Many locations close between 1 PM and 4 PM. Some stay open regular hours. Call your club. Christmas Day: Almost universally closed, though a handful of 24/7 locations remain open. These are usually the clubs that charge extra for after-hours key fob access. New Year's Eve: Usually open normal hours, but some close early around 8 PM. It depends on the manager on duty.
New Year's Day: Similar to Christmas, most locations are closed, with the same exceptions for select 24-hour clubs. Christmas Eve: Often open until 7 PM or 8 PM instead of the usual 10 PM close time. The Planet Fitness app shows holiday hours for your home club under the "Club Details" section. This is the most reliable source if you have the app updated. The website's club locator sometimes displays outdated information, so the app takes priority. I keep the app pinned to my phone's home screen during December specifically for this reason.
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If your club closes during the holidays and you live somewhere with decent weather, outdoor workouts are a backup. A thirty-minute brisk walk outside burns roughly the same calories as thirty minutes on the elliptical. I switched to interval walks at the local mall during the 2023 Christmas closure. The heating works, the floors are flat, and nobody cares what you're doing. Another option is skipping the gym entirely and doing bodyweight circuits at home. Squats, pushups, and planks take up no space and require no equipment. Twenty minutes gets the job done. It is not ideal long-term, but maintaining muscle mass over a two-week holiday break requires far less volume than most people assume. A recent study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that reducing training frequency to once per week can maintain strength for up to four weeks in previously trained individuals. The main problem with relying on Planet Fitness during the holidays is the staff shortage. Even when locations are open, some pieces of equipment may be unavailable. The massage chairs often get taken down. The HydroMassage beds are frequently closed for maintenance during the busy season. I discovered this in 2022 when I drove past three different locations before finding one where the recovery amenities were actually operational.
If you want to stay consistent without stress, pick one workout day and commit to it. Don't try to hit the gym five times a week during a period when most people are sleeping in and eating poorly. Two or three solid sessions per week is realistic. Missed days happen. That is normal. The goal is not perfection during December; it is avoiding the complete stop that derails January routines. Here is what actually works for most busy members: set a recurring alarm on your phone for gym time, pack your gym bag the night before, and go to the location that is confirmed open. Do not wander around hoping to find one that suits your schedule. That wastes time and energy better spent on the workout itself. Member feedback on social media consistently mentions the same frustration: holiday hour changes are communicated poorly. Most people find out their gym is closed only after they arrive. If you want to avoid that, subscribe to your club's text alert system. Planet Fitness sends out automated holiday hour reminders to members who opt in, and those messages usually arrive forty-eight hours before the change takes effect.
The bottom line is simple. Holiday fitness is about adaptation, not intensity. Your schedule will be disrupted. Your energy levels will shift. Show up when you can, do what you can, and accept that some weeks will look nothing like the ones before or after. That is how you survive the season without burning out or feeling guilty about missing a workout.
