# 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:** 15
### Author:  [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/281 "2012-05-14T16:11:11Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#):
>
> 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.
But here’s the problem. You admit to dropping the weight, albeit from an inch off the ground. It’s possible that your view of the exercise you were doing and their view aren’t going to line up. It’s also simply possible that because of their business model, even if what you were doing wasn’t that bad, they decided that having a serious bodybuilder in their gym just wasn’t worth it and they were just looking for an excuse within the rules to boot you.
But here I am, very serious about fitness myself and I am understanding of the need for some grunting and dropping weights on occassion, and am pretty patient, but when I’m literally on the other side of the gym and can hear a particular juicehead (not an exaggeration, he told me as much himself) hollering for every rep and dropping the weight with a loud clang at the end of the set and won’t chill out even after I ask him directly, I did have to complain. After enough complaints from lots of members, I saw one of the guys tell him point blank if he did it again he’d lose his membership, and then I didn’t see him for a year because he’d been suspended. And this is at a Gold’s, which is extremely friendly to bodybuilders. Coincidentally, his name is Hiro, so it’s amusing that he fit the whole “gym hero” stereotype, so when I first heard people addressing him as Hiro, I actually thought they were calling him Hero to make fun of him.
Anyway, my point is, even in a serious gym, there’s going to be over-the-line behavior, and while I’ve never heard a positive thing about PF, I wouldn’t be surprised if even relatively normal bodybuilding activities would look much the same to someone who is just there to make themselves feel good and probably looks at anyone in decent shape as a likely juicer. So, yeah, they’re a crappy gym, and you’ll probably be happier elsewhere anyway.
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### Author:  [@Snow\_Pea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snow_Pea)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/282 "2012-05-14T16:55:10Z")
I smell roid rage.
---
### Author:  [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/283 "2012-05-14T16:58:01Z")
> [@Acsenray](#):
>
> This isn’t exactly Facebook.
\*\*
Vinyl Turnip\*\* cannot like this.
---
### Author:  [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/284 "2012-05-14T17:46:45Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#):
>
> If you are so soft as to be intimidated by someone else’s shoes in the gym you should fuck off and lock yourself in your basement for the rest of your pathetic life.
If you don’t mind I’ll ask you to pass that request on to the army:
> **[U.S. Army Bans Vibram FiveFingers](https://gearjunkie.com/endurance/running/us-army-bans-vibram-fivefingers)**
>
> As reported around the barefoot-minded blogosphere this week, the U.S. Army has banned Vibram FiveFingers and all other "toe-shoes" because they "detract from a professional military image."
---
### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/285 "2012-05-14T17:57:45Z")
Yeah, the Vibram thing is more likely a liability issue. I have a colleague who sold athletic shoes for a while and he told me that he always tried to steer people away from them because unless you were used to running barefoot, then you were very likely to injure your heel with a heel-toe stride.
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### Author:  [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/286 "2012-05-14T18:02:12Z")
> [@Acsenray](#):
>
> This isn’t exactly Facebook.
ah, that explains why there are so few ads…
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### Author:  [@Snow\_Pea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snow_Pea)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/287 "2012-05-14T18:16:46Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#):
>
> Way to take something totally out of context. That was humor. Humor.
What was funny about advising someone to punch another person in the throat? 😕
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/288 "2012-05-14T18:44:03Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#):
>
> I’ll bet the employees didn’t want to (or couldn’t be arsed to) confront you, so they just entered warnings into the computer system without actually speaking to you.
>
> What are your plans? You mentioned this is one of two gyms you were attending, do you think you’ll just go to the other gym full-time now?
>
> Have you ever given serious consideration to setting up your own gym? You are clearly passionate about fitness/training and you understand the needs of wheelchair users. I don’t know where you live so maybe you’re not in a place with enough population to support a gym tailored to those needs.
As far as the warnings being entered into the computer, I reject that notion because when I asked to see the warnings when they were brought up, the manager said that was “not possible at this time”. Uh huh, ‘not possible’ because those warnings _didn’t exist._
And yes; my plans are to simply work out at my other gym full-time. While I won’t have quite the options for my back that I previously had, just about all of my other needs are met quite satisfactorily.
And I have given much thought to opening up a gym that meets the needs of wheelchair-users; but I live in Flint, Mi. The population of wheelchair-users is sparse, to say the least. And I have thought about setting up a workout area in my own home but getting out into a social scene is a big part of working out for me. In addition to aiding (immensely) in motivation to work out, being in a social setting found in a public gym is important to me because I am not around a lot of people otherwise. It’s important to me.
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### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/289 "2012-05-14T18:48:53Z")
> [@Gary\_Kumquat](#):
>
> If you don’t mind I’ll ask you to pass that request on to the army:
> [U.S. Army Bans Vibram FiveFingers | GearJunkie](http://gearjunkie.com/us-army-bans-vibram-fivefingers)
The army banned the shoes, not the wearers.
---
### Author:  [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/290 "2012-05-14T20:36:12Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#):
>
> And I have given much thought to opening up a gym that meets the needs of wheelchair-users; but I live in Flint, Mi. The population of wheelchair-users is sparse, to say the least.
So what you’re saying is that, were you to run a business, purchasing equipment to be used exclusively by those with handicaps would be an unprofitable decision?
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### Author:  [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/291 "2012-05-14T21:20:33Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#):
>
> It takes an hour to get there from my new job, so I froze the account until September. In September they will be launching a new site in the town that I live, hopefully resolving the distance problem.
Ah. Makes sense.
A few months of what PF sounds like may be fine for you and cheap enough (although given that the weather is nice what’s wrong with running or biking outside, or jumping rope, and/or calisthenics?), but the contrast between your other gym and PF seems stark. You had (and will again have) access to a professional staff who were actually encouraging you to become as fit as you could in a safe manner, and who seemed to want you to be there often. I’m sure it costs more than PF but it seemed (from how you described it) like there was some value being gained in return.
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### Author:  [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/292 "2012-05-14T21:35:47Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#):
>
> … but I live in Flint, Mi. The population of wheelchair-users is sparse, to say the least. …
Maybe more than you think. I’d guess that there is a reasonable population of disabled vets in the area who might be reasonably interested in having a place to work out. It might be worth researching out.
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### Author:  [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2012, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/293 "2012-05-14T22:32:42Z")
> [@Enderw24](#):
>
> So what you’re saying is that, were you to run a business, purchasing equipment to be used exclusively by those with handicaps would be an unprofitable decision?
This made me chuckle.
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### Author:  [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2012, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/294 "2012-05-15T01:05:42Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#):
>
> And I have given much thought to opening up a gym that meets the needs of wheelchair-users; but I live in Flint, Mi. The population of wheelchair-users is sparse, to say the least.
Seriously, dude. You ought to look into that. As someone else said before me, you might be surprised. And you’d be an inspiration to them. I’ve seen the pix of you that people have linked to. Except for the wheels, you look _buff_. You’d show them that disabled doesn’t have to mean worthless or weak.
And as for your OP and the subject of this thread, you and PF are _both_ better off without each other. They were looking to dump you the day you walked (OK, _wheeled_) in. And not because of the wheels. It’s because you look _buff_. You intimidate the jelly-donuts (their target demographic) just by your mere presence. Their rules are specifically _designed_ to be subjective enough that they can get rid of people like you, just by taking a hyper stand on them, but only against the buff crowd. I’d get considerably more lenient treatment under those rules, because I look like a merely well-toned average.
You are trying to sell “the best shape of your life” as a really _buff_ shape. Most of the Jelly-Donuts will have achieved _that_ if they merely achieve _my_ shape. I can lift my own weight off the couch and go take a piss, and get some nachos.
_I’m_ the _ideal_ they are selling the jelly-donuts they are selling to, on being able to become. _You_ are a muscle-bound monster (in the j-d’s eyes) who’s going to run them down, steal their lunch money, and give them a wedgie, besides, _despite_ the wheels. They were looking to dump you from day one. Only the management dude who actually dumped you, however, had the authority to go _that_ far beyond “reasonable interpretation” of the rules to snuff your membership.
This isn’t a surprising result. The only surprise is that you actually think that this was a surprising result of their rules.
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### Author:  [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2012, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/295 "2012-05-15T01:23:46Z")
Could be worse. He might be worried about a lost doggie.
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2012, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/296 "2012-05-15T03:16:42Z")
> [@Acsenray](#):
>
> Yeah, the Vibram thing is more likely a liability issue. I have a colleague who sold athletic shoes for a while and he told me that he always tried to steer people away from them because unless you were used to running barefoot, then you were very likely to injure your heel with a heel-toe stride.
I would imagine they’d also have rules about certain types of shoes (open-toed sandals, for example), in case you dropped a weight on your foot – you’d be much, much more likely to do more harm. That and loser clothes that might get caught in gym equipment, or shoes that ruin the flooring.
Kinda like swimming pools require you to wear a bathing suit, or bowling alleys require bowling shoes?
---
### Author:  [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2012, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/297 "2012-05-15T03:21:48Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#):
>
> I would imagine they’d also have rules about certain types of shoes (open-toed sandals, for example), in case you dropped a weight on your foot – you’d be much, much more likely to do more harm. That and loser clothes that might get caught in gym equipment, or shoes that ruin the flooring.
>
> Kinda like swimming pools require you to wear a bathing suit, or bowling alleys require bowling shoes?
Hey don’t knock the swim suit optional pools until you try them.
---
### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2012, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/298 "2012-05-15T03:30:49Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#):
>
> That and **loser clothes** that might get caught in gym equipment
(my bold)
Yeah, that’s the name PF has for tanktops. 😃
---
### Author:  [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2012, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/299 "2012-05-15T04:23:41Z")
> [@DSeid](#):
>
> Maybe more than you think. I’d guess that there is a reasonable population of disabled vets in the area who might be reasonably interested in having a place to work out. It might be worth researching out.
Presumably the disabled vets go to the first gym that Jamie was kicked out of - IIRC, that was associated with a hospital/physical therapy place and catered specifically to the handicapped.
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2012, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/300 "2012-05-15T04:36:27Z")
> [@Meyer6](#):
>
> Presumably the disabled vets go to the first gym that Jamie was kicked out of - IIRC, that was associated with a hospital/physical therapy place and catered specifically to the handicapped.
LOL. Wrong. There were several older members at HHFC but as far as wheelchair users-vet or otherwise-I was the only regular member there. I saw a handful of other wheelchair users come and go in my ten years there but no one ever lasted too long. And do you wonder why???
And HHFC gave _lip service_ about catering to those with special needs; they like to present that image. But when it comes to actually backing up that image with any sort of action, they are an embarrassment to the community.
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