# PlanetFitness has a 'philosophy' that is ignorant and potentially dangerous **URL:** \ **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:** 9
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/161 "2012-05-11T11:36:44Z")
Wonder what happens if you let a decent fart rip. I imagine klaxons like a submarine diving. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/162 "2012-05-11T12:44:33Z")
> [@Meyer6](#): > > Sorry, do you feel that you proved him wrong here? He clearly said he was wondering if they told your husband ‘you cannot join this gym because you walk funny’ _in those exact words_. Which they didn’t. He’s not wrong to point this out - even here you’re presenting this in the worst possible light to maximize the shock potential. As the statement in post #68 wasn’t in quotes it should have been obvious that it was a paraphrase. This is a fairly typical convention in English. Even the second statement, with the prelude of “something along the lines of”, was obviously a paraphrase. The expression of disbelief that those were the exact words is stupid to anyone who isn’t looking for crevice to dig into. In other words, he’s pointing out what is clearly obvious in a snarky manner. I responded in kind. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/163 "2012-05-11T13:09:36Z")
Jamie - Is it possible someone with the gym googled your name (after someone said “Hey… That guy was in the news.”) and found your posting history here? That might make them see you as a liability not worth keeping as a member. Just a thought. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/164 "2012-05-11T13:22:17Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Jamie - Is it possible someone with the gym googled your name (after someone said “Hey… That guy was in the news.”) and found your posting history here? That might make them see you as a liability not worth keeping as a member. Just a thought. There is clearly more to this story. At some point, I expect Jamie to come in with some more details on why he was kicked out. ---
**Author:** ![Bambro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df705f/32.png) [@Bambro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambro)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/165 "2012-05-11T13:29:31Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > As the statement in post #68 wasn’t in quotes it should have been obvious that it was a paraphrase. This is a fairly typical convention in English. Even the second statement, with the prelude of “something along the lines of”, was obviously a paraphrase. The expression of disbelief that those were the exact words is stupid to anyone who isn’t looking for crevice to dig into. > > In other words, he’s pointing out what is clearly obvious in a snarky manner. I responded in kind. God damn, you’re an annoying fucking twat. No one with half a functioning brain and more than 2 weeks of life experience is going to fucking believe the shit you spew. It just doesn’t fucking happen in the real world. The _only_ people who will even say they believe shit like your claiming ever happens are the happy bunny brigade from MPSIMS who want to come into the pit and get thier {{{huggie}}} on. STFU ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/166 "2012-05-11T13:47:24Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I wouldn’t be surprised if some of this had to do with the jury-rigging of machines to create new workouts. Raising machines on stacks of weights sounds like the kind of thing that any competent legal department would tell its gyms never, ever to allow. Something tells me this is the real reason Ambi was banned. But they likely just mumbled something about “Broke the rules… caused too many lunk alarms…” because they had never spoken to him before about it. But as soon as the big boss saw it (who Ambi thinks was in the gym that day), he booted him because that shit will get you sued. That said, I’ve been a PF member for a few years now and I like it. I’m definitely a lump of goo, but I’ve never felt intimidated by the serious lifters who go there and the lunk alarm doesn’t go off that often. Personally, I think it’s just on a random timer. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/167 "2012-05-11T14:45:26Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > I _did_ check out the gym beforehand and I was aware of their policies. I always thought such policies were silly but since my workout habits didn’t tend to violate the policies anyway, I joined nonetheless. The whole reason I joined PF was because I had nowhere else to work out and I was just looking for the closest, cheapest place I could find while I searched for a more permanent, higher-quality center that met all (or at least more) of my workout needs. When I did ultimately find that gym, I decided to keep my PF membership to do my back workouts, since their lat-pulldown equipment worked _much_ better for me than my new gym. So you wanted pizza but went to Mcdonalds because it was close and cheap and now you’re pissed because they won’t serve you pizza ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/168 "2012-05-11T14:48:28Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > So you wanted pizza but went to Mcdonalds because it was close and cheap and now you’re pissed because they won’t serve you pizza Aren’t you paying attention? Planet Fitness DOES serve pizza. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/169 "2012-05-11T15:06:59Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > That said, I’ve been a PF member for a few years now and I like it. I’m definitely a lump of goo, but I’ve never felt intimidated by the serious lifters who go there and the lunk alarm doesn’t go off that often. Personally, I think it’s just on a random timer. Are there serious lifters there? That is to say, people who squat and deadlift. Is it really the case that the heaviest dumbbells are 80 lbs.? I’ve never been to one. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/170 "2012-05-11T15:15:34Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > So you wanted pizza but went to Mcdonalds because it was close and cheap and now you’re pissed because they won’t serve you pizza PF actually is a fitness club, though. It’s more like he wanted pizza and went to Little Caesar’s and now he’s pissed that it was Little Caesar’s. Which only sounds petty if you’ve never had Little Caesar’s. ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/171 "2012-05-11T15:47:37Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > As the statement in post #68 wasn’t in quotes it should have been obvious that it was a paraphrase. This is a fairly typical convention in English. Even the second statement, with the prelude of “something along the lines of”, was obviously a paraphrase. The expression of disbelief that those were the exact words is stupid to anyone who isn’t looking for crevice to dig into. Okay, so if something isn’t in quotes, you can exaggerate as much as you want? Even when you use the term ‘he was flat out told he couldn’t join’? So I got kicked out of a restaurant the other night and they flat out told me that it’s because I’m fat and ugly. Actually, what happened is that they were closing for the night and I showed up too late. But, you know, I was paraphrasing. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/172 "2012-05-11T16:00:22Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Wait, is PF $10 a month out the door? And don’t have people hogging the equipment (I don’t mind the grunts so much)? I might have to check them out! I think it’s $29 to join and $10/month from there on out, but when I joined, they had a special where it was free to join. It costs $150/year and, after my health insurance reimburses me $150/year for belonging to a gym, well, that’s FREE. I had no idea I was supposed to be so embarrassed about being a PF-goer. Maybe I do get what I pay for (see above: free), but the attraction for me is that there are so many treadmills that I can run 10 miles in one gym session and still not be causing anyone to wait. At a lot of other gyms, including the Y I used to belong to, there was a 30-minute time limit when the gym was busy, and few enough treadmills that that would happen more often than not. 30 minutes of running isn’t worth it to me. So, since I’m not a hardcore bodybuilder, it works for me. Oh, and I was sweating a lot when I was there last night and didn’t get kicked out AND there was a disabled person on the treadmill next to me. So, I think the gym cutlure varies from location to location. I’ve never once heard that alarm thingy either. > [@Meyer6](#): > > So I got kicked out of a restaurant the other night and they flat out told me that it’s because I’m fat and ugly. Actually, what happened is that they were closing for the night and I showed up too late. But, you know, I was paraphrasing. This made me laugh. A lot. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/173 "2012-05-11T16:13:24Z")
Are you allowed to breathe hard on the treadmills, or do they max out at 2 mph? ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/174 "2012-05-11T16:20:51Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > Wonder what happens if you let a decent fart rip. I imagine klaxons like a submarine diving. Heh. And I wonder if they would use the legal precedent of Smelt It vs Dealt It for determining guilt and starting expulsion proceeding? ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/175 "2012-05-11T17:09:55Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Go soak your head. Sit on it, Potsie. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/176 "2012-05-11T17:11:26Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Are you allowed to breathe hard on the treadmills, or do they max out at 2 mph? I’m a 7mph-er myself. As I said, it sounds like the PF I go to is atypical, and I’m not the target demographic for their palns anyhow. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/177 "2012-05-11T17:17:08Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Sit on it, Potsie. If some calls the Fonz a chicken I am getting the fuck outa here. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/178 "2012-05-11T17:52:10Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Are there serious lifters there? That is to say, people who squat and deadlift. Is it really the case that the heaviest dumbbells are 80 lbs.? I believe the heaviest dumbbells are around 80 pounds, but I’m not sure. But there are serious lifters there. Guys that are built like Arnold and doing 300 pounds on a negative incline bench. ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/179 "2012-05-11T22:49:50Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > So, okay, what if you’re going to the gym just to get in better shape? Can you get cardiovascular, and general strength and health benefits, even if you’re not “building muscle”? Cardio is better for your cardiovascular system than weights, and better for burning calories. There’s an argument for building muscle to increase your BMR, but this discussion is about someone who doesn’t want to build muscle for some reason\*, so cardio blows weights out of the water. You can get stronger without building muscle. Most people who don’t lift weights are stronger than they think, but their brains learn to not activate all their muscle fibers, since they don’t need to use them. During the first 6 months of weight lifting, your numbers will rocket up if you push yourself, because your brain is learning how to use all of your fibers. - you should want to build muscle. It has a ton of health benefits, and you won’t “look huge” unless you put a lot of effort into specifically looking huge. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456/180 "2012-05-12T00:01:22Z")
> [@Taber](#): > > Cardio is better than weights for burning calories. > **[Does Lifting Weights Burn More Calories Than Cardio? | Livestrong.com](https://www.livestrong.com/article/295718-does-lifting-weights-burn-more-calories-than-cardio/)** > > Because both weightlifting and cardiovascular exercise burn calories, confusion arises over which is more effective in burning calories. The intensity of workouts and the exerciser’s body weight are two factors that play roles in determining rates of... You are partially correct in this assessment. After adjusting for variable factors such as intensity, duration, etc.,a cardio workout _does_ burn more calories _during the workout itself_ than a weight-lifting workout. However, the “post-workout metabolic boost” from a weightlifting exercise can last up to 48 hours after the workout is done; a cardiovascular workout’s metabolic boost is only something like 30 minutes post-workout. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456.md?page=10)