# PlanetFitness has a 'philosophy' that is ignorant and potentially dangerous
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [May 10, 2012, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456 "2012-05-10T01:28:43Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 13
### Author:  [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2012, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/241 "2012-05-13T20:57:42Z")
> [@DSeid](#):
>
> What happened to the fitness center you joined the other month that had the trainer and the kickboxing class? (The class you got very sore after?)
Jamie, what happened with that charity fitness place you were suing? Did you decide to let it go or did you go ahead with it?
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### Author:  [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2012, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/242 "2012-05-13T21:18:19Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#):
>
> I can do just as well there as I could anywhere else, at least until I can lift a dumbbell more than 80 pounds.
And then they’ll turf you for being too buff.
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### Author:  [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/243 "2012-05-13T21:20:40Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#):
>
> Maybe Planet Fitness should issue workout clothes that are the only authorized clothing in their facility. Then no one will be offended by someone else’s shoes.
>
> If you are so socially broken that you can’t handle someone else’s running shoes you have much larger problems than being out of shape.
The issue with Vibrams is not that someone else won’t be able to handle them. They are [“barefoot running”](http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/index.htm) shoes and some gyms may consider wearers at higher risk for injury.
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### Author:  [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/244 "2012-05-13T21:24:42Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#):
>
> And it seems that they are getting an awful lot of bad PR from their ‘policies’, so their profitable business-model may not be sustainable. We’ll see.
Bad pub from who?? You? No dude.. you are an outlier my friend.. On your side in one aspect (6’4 245) but let’s be real.. your average this is the year I’m gonna get into shape gymgoer doesn’t want to share a bench press with you.. They just opened a PF down the street and me and the lady were thinking of hittin it together.. LA Fitness has a reputation as a meat market.. If PF is offering fitness lite.. hell that’s more than most people are doing.
Very few are using the 120lb dbells..
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### Author:  [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2012, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/245 "2012-05-13T21:25:42Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#):
>
> Sounds like an ingenious business model to me. Kind of like health insurance that discourages everyone but the young and healthy.
Or a “weight loss clinic” / pizza and ice cream buffet that prohibits scales, mirrors, and BMIs under 30. _STRING BEAN ALERT!_
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### Author:  [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2012, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/246 "2012-05-13T21:31:24Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#):
>
> Ahh, but there’s the rub. They actually _do_ have that control. It is totally and completely in their control to decide when you (general ‘you’) have broken a rule. It is up to PF staff to determine if a noise made by a member is deemed “excessive” or not. If they think you _look_ like a “lunk”, you are starting off at a disadvantage when it comes to being able to work out without breaking the rules.
That’s really true of any business. They make rules and they make judgement calls to make you leave. There’s no objective standard to measure someone being disruptive/inconsiderate/dangerous in many situations.
For example, my (non-PF) gym has an owner who has explicitly told me that he’s asked people not to return because of a) being really loud during weightlifting sets and b) dropping weights loudly. He’s a trainer with many years of experience and a degree in his field, and he just doesn’t think this is appropriate for a small gym that he intends on using largely as a personal training studio. There are other places more appropriate for such workouts but he wants a small, quiet gym and expresses this when you sign up; the rules are largely about being sensitive to others (e.g. don’t play music out loud, use headphones on the TVs, put away weights), safety, and not destroying equipment. If someone drops things as a safety issue, it can be determined on a case-by-case basis – just like if someone trips and falls on the treadmill. These things happen. But there are things that increase risk – for example, he found a lot of falls were caused by people doing weights and weird calisthenics and stuff on the treadmill - so finally he made a rule, no weights on the treadmill, just use them for walking or jogging and that’s it. I’m sure someone was put out by that, but it’s his business. For this reason he also chooses the type of weight equipment he makes available – I know, for example, he puts away the Olympic bars to be used only with supervision, and that’s because of his insurance in large part. He is focusing on a particular market and doesn’t need to increase his liability to attract 1 or 2 powerlifters, who tend to also work out at the expense of 10 or 15 casual gymgoers who basically just want a place to run out of the rain or go use some weight machines for 20 minutes, because the latter feel disrupted and occasionally intimidated.
You seem to be under the impression that there is no way to be fit without being really loud and potentially disruptive, and that somehow anyone who wants to maintain a reasonably quiet and unjarring environment for their customers is anti-fitness. That’s just not true. I won’t say that there aren’t reasons to drop weights, you’d know better than I would, but certainly that isn’t needed for all workouts at all skill levels. If you truly need to do that, pick an appropriate venue.
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### Author:  [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/247 "2012-05-13T21:33:32Z")
> [@Chicagojeff](#):
>
> LA Fitness has a reputation as a meat market..
…Seriously? The rep that always comes to mind with LA Fitness is that it’s a women’s gym, or at the very least a white-collar gym.
Neither is true, though. The LA Fitnesses I’ve worked out at have all been a good mix of casual exercisers and heavier bodybuilders. I never felt out of place there, and nobody cared about what I did. I’d place it smack dab in the middle of the continuum defined by Planet Fitness and a stereotypical meathead gym.
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### Author:  [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2012, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/248 "2012-05-13T21:45:00Z")
> [@Bosstone](#):
>
> …Seriously? The rep that always comes to mind with LA Fitness is that it’s a women’s gym, or at the very least a white-collar gym.
>
> Neither is true, though. The LA Fitnesses I’ve worked out at have all been a good mix of casual exercisers and heavier bodybuilders. I never felt out of place there, and nobody cared about what I did. I’d place it smack dab in the middle of the continuum defined by Planet Fitness and a stereotypical meathead gym.
Maybe its an Atlanta thing.. the one in dunwoody.. tucker etc.. i mean.. hot chicks wearing makeup lifting bars with no plates on them.. yeah.. okay.. right.. lol
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### Author:  [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2012, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/249 "2012-05-13T23:23:56Z")
> [@PlainJain](#):
>
> No. Not agreed.
>
> Most marketplaces are saturated with the standard gym business model. These people saw a market for people who (for whatever reason) are reluctant to sign with standard gyms.
>
> It’s an investment that is making money. It’s not idiotic.
Well, PF isn’t publicly traded, so we don’t know what their books look like. And even if their books are great, we don’t know what share of their revenue comes from people who very rarely use their facilities, but get $10 deducted out of their bank account every month. For those folks, PF isn’t adding a lot of value.
I agree that their idea of expelling lunkheads has its advantages, though it makes me squeemish.
> [@olivesmarch4th](#):
>
> I don’t care about their philosophy. I care about cheap access to exercise machines. I checked it out today. It actually exceeded my expectations - more equipment and training opportunities than expected. I think the lunk alarm is stupid…
The lunk alarm sounds like a good way to irritate people sufficiently so that they stay out of the gym, but keep paying lucre. I would be curious to know what olive thinks about PF in another year’s time and whether _in practice_ she’s been able to overcome inertia and maintain a solid fitness regime.
Fear Itself:
“Sounds like an ingenious business model to me.”
Well known in the industry, IIRC. PF is just taking it to the next level, perhaps.
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/250 "2012-05-14T00:54:37Z")
> [@fluiddruid](#):
>
> You seem to be under the impression that there is no way to be fit without being really loud and potentially disruptive, and that somehow anyone who wants to maintain a reasonably quiet and unjarring environment for their customers is anti-fitness. That’s just not true. I won’t say that there aren’t reasons to drop weights, you’d know better than I would, but certainly that isn’t needed for all workouts at all skill levels.
Really?! That is the impression I"ve been giving off?? 😕 Because that is most certainly _not_ what I have been trying to say. **No** gym should allow disruptive behavior; and the excessive grunting found in many dumb-ass, ego-inflated men lifting weights is not needed _anywhere._ Neither is reckless dropping or slamming of weights; typically the two behaviors (grunting and dropping) are found together in the type of person who is likely to commit them.
What I am saying is that PF has taken this _concept_-which sounds great on paper-and made it into such a draconian policy that any one who uses the facility in an attempt to get into the best shape of his/her life is, by default, risking their very membership to the facility.
I’ll admit; from a _purely_ financial standpoint of selling as many cheap-ass monthly memberships as possible (with the hope being that the membership will be renewed as long as possible and used as little as possible), PF has quite an ingeneous little plot hatched. They are looking at the _entire population_ (damn near) as their potential customer-base; with the relatively tiny subset of people who are serious about fitness as ‘expendable’. Even further, since they ultimately don’t really even want anyone in their gym (at least not regularly), they look at _anyone_ even _interested_ in fitness as expendable. They want the money of the people who have no real desire to get in shape; who will ultimately rarely, if ever, use their membership; and when/if they do, will do so half-heartedly.
When or if that ‘half-hearted’ member actually starts seeing results and begins to get motivated about his/her fitness and health and becomes a more regular visitor of the gym, with more intense workouts; well, then it’s time to let that member go. PF isn’t the place for them. Besides, it’s just one lousy $10/month membership; the next “regular person” will fill that void.
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/251 "2012-05-14T01:06:08Z")
> [@Chicagojeff](#):
>
> Bad pub from who?? You? No dude.. you are an outlier my friend..
>
> Very few are using the 120lb dbells..
Bad PR from word-of-mouth from all the (deservedly) disgruntled people kicked out; or the Bad PR from the former employees; and the bad PR that is spread out all over the internet.
Oh, and you are right: VERY few in PF are using the 120lb dumbbells; considering they would have to bring them from home and PF probably wouldn’t look too kindly on that. 😃
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/252 "2012-05-14T01:28:16Z")
nm
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/253 "2012-05-14T02:47:09Z")
> [@stpauler](#):
>
> Even when I did some goofy exercises including the rows the OP talked about, but for some reason I didn’t need to lift up the bench and I’m 6 feet tall, I never dropped or slammed a weight.
You also have use of your legs and lower body; this allows you to position yourself up against the bench at a higher point than someone who must position their chest against the inclined bench while on the bench’s seat. From the starting point of the seat (as opposed to using your legs to raise your body up and making that starting point higher up on the bench), there is not enough room to fully extend one’s arms. And you call rows goofy? Ok. And since I don’t have any control of my lower body, I must tightly strap it in by my waist around the bench. When I am finished with the set, the “dropping” is silent, and it’s virtually motionless once it hits the ground. Being strapped in, I can’t move any way at all until I let go of the dumbbells.
Letting go of a dumbbell as your hand hovers an inch over the floor is NOT akin to “slamming weights” or dropping a dumbbell from waist-high. Give me a freakin’ break. What I did with that exercise was NOT outside the bounds of their rules; just because I used the _word_ “dropped” when I described the exercise is not reason to cry foul and determine me guilty.
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/254 "2012-05-14T03:10:14Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#):
>
> I’ve heard these rules that PF has, and while I do think they take them a bit farther than they need to, they are good rules to have at the gym. I’ll be happy to tell you why I agree with them.
>
> Excessive grunting. Yes, grunting is sometimes important for getting out a rep or two. When I’m hitting that last rep or two on a set of heavy squats or presses or I’m nearing the end of a burn out set, I’ll grunt a bit. I don’t have a problem with that, and I don’t think most gyms do. However, I have seen people who will grunt on every single rep of every single set or when they don’t so much grunt as they scream at the top of their lungs and it was beyond obnoxious and extremely distracting.
>
> Dropping weights. There are times when this is necessary. Some exercises it’s safer to drop the weights when failing than to try to rack it, particularly with power movements. But beyond that, it just isn’t necessary.
>
> The siren. I will agree that is completely stupid and unnecessary. Even if not pushing myself 100%, I could see a siren being distracting enough to lose focus and hurt myself.
See, I could have written this post myself: I feel _exactly_ the way you do and would agree that it wouldn’t be bad policy for a gym to have _if it actually worked that way!_ But it doesn’t. They (PF) have a zero-tolerance policy for these things. Their use of the term “excessive” is misleading, evidently, because if my actions qualified as “dropping weights” then just about _anything_ can be slapped with that charge.
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/255 "2012-05-14T03:28:06Z")
> [@fluiddruid](#):
>
> \<_snip_\> pretending like bodybuilders are all perfectly knowledgeable, polite, and kindhearted is clearly fantasy land.
Insightful. I’m sure you pierced many a bubbles with that dagger.
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### Author:  [@Beastly\_Rotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beastly_Rotter)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/256 "2012-05-14T03:53:01Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#):
>
> Letting go of a dumbbell as your hand hovers an inch over the floor is NOT akin to “slamming weights” or dropping a dumbbell from waist-high. Give me a freakin’ break. What I did with that exercise was NOT outside the bounds of their rules; just because I used the _word_ “dropped” when I described the exercise is not reason to cry foul and determine me guilty.
“I’m _not_ touching him, my hand is clearly hovering 1/4 inch away”. Never worked in childhood, either: “no dropping” means _place_ the weights, not “only drop them a little”.
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### Author:  [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/257 "2012-05-14T04:54:50Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#):
>
> Letting go of a dumbbell as your hand hovers an inch over the floor is NOT akin to “slamming weights” or dropping a dumbbell from waist-high.
I’m unfamiliar with PF, is there no rubberized floor in that area? My local gym has most of the free weight area covered in rubberized flooring. Really cuts down on the noise. Anywhere there are free weights there will be drops intentional or unintentional.
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/258 "2012-05-14T04:59:04Z")
> [@Hbns](#):
>
> I’m unfamiliar with PF, is there no rubberized floor in that area? My local gym has most of the free weight area covered in rubberized flooring. Really cuts down on the noise. Anywhere there are free weights there will be drops intentional or unintentional.
Yes, _all_ of the flooring is either rubber matting or carpeting; either way it makes for a shock-absorbing surface. The free-weight area in front of the dumbbell racks have the rubber-matted floors.
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### Author:  [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/259 "2012-05-14T05:31:31Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#):
>
> Well, PF isn’t publicly traded, so we don’t know what their books look like. And even if their books are great, we don’t know what share of their revenue comes from people who very rarely use their facilities, but get $10 deducted out of their bank account every month. For those folks, PF isn’t adding a lot of value.
That’s true of all gyms.
> [@Ambivalid](#):
>
> Really?! That is the impression I"ve been giving off??
Sort of. That and your posting history in general. When all of the facts of an incident eventually bubble up to the surface you hand wave away or deny. You have a strong personality. Nothing to be ashamed of mind you but a bit much for PF, imo, and I still think you should have known it after your tour, your need of that particular equipment not withstanding.
Take this gem (get it!? ha ha)[for example](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15061583&postcount=12):
> [@](#):
>
> You strut right up and say, “This banjoist don’t play that tune” and punch 'em in the throat.
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/260 "2012-05-14T05:53:30Z")
> [@PlainJain](#):
>
> That’s true of all gyms.
>
> Sort of. That and your posting history in general. When all of the facts of an incident eventually bubble up to the surface you hand wave away or deny. You have a strong personality. Nothing to be ashamed of mind you but a bit much for PF, imo, and I still think you should have known it after your tour, your need of that particular equipment not withstanding.
>
> Take this gem (get it!? ha ha)[for example](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15061583&postcount=12):
Way to take something totally out of context. That was humor. Humor.
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