I never knew there were so many fat asses and weaklings that were not only intimidated by those of us that work out with heavy weights correctly and enthusiastically but actually work up enough hate to go to a pussy place like planet fitness to escape us. What actually bothers you people about heavy breathing or grunts? AND you’re too sensitive to hear weights drop? Wow just Wow. WE are the ones that don’t judge, we know everyone has to start somewhere and we welcome fat and/or skinny people to our palaces of body building.
But on reflection, a business plan that caters to people that like to pretend to work out while staying fat and actually instilling a belief that muscles are bad, is a perfect place for most americans.
I will stick to a place like the “Steel Mill” and places like it.
Did you see the first link in post #34? What type of person do you think would fit into a gym environment where outward signs of of exertion are highly frowned upon?
I have belonged to, or worked at over 30 gyms over the years…“please don’t drop weights” is pretty standard, along with not wearing flip flops, not breaking into someone’s circuit, and the plea to “wipe down the machines after each use.” Grunting and moaning is as subjective as some of the stuff that goes down here–it’s largely in the eye of the beholder and like someone said the other day “bad mood leads to bad modding.” Maybe some members complained to the staff? Maybe someone from corporate was secret shopping? Who knows-who cares. Go somewhere that allows and supports serious weightlifters and doesn’t care if you drop and grunt.
Okay, let me get this straight. Guy who is serious about weightlifting and has the body of a bodybuilder goes to gym that clearly and specifically does not cater to that clientele. Not only do they not cater to it, they actively discourage those people from joining and try to make them uncomfortable when there. After joining, this guy proceeds to break at least one rule over and over and over again, by dropping weights noisily (even if only a few inches). Not only that, guy also ignores the alarm that goes off when he does break the rule, and just keeps on doing it.
Eventually, someone comes along and tells guy that he and the gym will be parting ways because of his unacceptable behavior. He also tells this to a bunch of other people.
Seems straightforward enough to me. But no, it must be because of his disability! People just can’t stand those ‘uppity gimps’, can they. Life is so unfair!
You know, the other day I went to the library and while I was there I had a conversation on my cellphone and then yelled at the top of my lungs for a bit. And they asked me to leave, can you believe that? It was only a short conversation, and I had to yell at my friend, who was across the room. I couldn’t go over there, they don’t understand! I know, I bet it was because I’m a woman! They just don’t want women reading and learning things. I bet they wanted me to have sex with them too! :rolleyes:
This is what I don’t quite get, and why I think places like Planet Fitness intentionally exacerbate the fear that people who aren’t “bodybuilders” are going to be mocked, stared at, or intimidated if they visit a regular gym. I’m not a shill for my gym, but I’ve been to several locations in my city and seen people of all body types, from bodybuilders to the obese, people who are elderly and (yes, even) disabled, and never once seen any gawking, laughing, or intimidation. People are there to work out, not to give a shit whether your ass looks fat in Spandex or whether you’re lifting 5 pound dumbbells instead of 100 lbs. I’m sure there are “meat market” gyms out there but I’ve never been in one, and I think they’re easily enough avoided.
I was just trying to find this great pic of Richard Simmons with “ahhhhh! Don’t drop the weights! It startles and frightens me!” written on it. I love that.
I actually think that any loud sudden noise would potentially be dangerous, as evidenced by my own startle when someone drops a weight. I belonged to a Planet Fatass for a few years and never once heard it go off. I think I saw the light go on once but I can’t remember for sure, but then again, in general, I practice the art of misanthropy at gyms.
It is an interesting theory though, to think that maybe that’s a secondary gain of putting it there in the first place? Like, “don’t scare the marshmallows” has more than one meaning? Let me think about this in terms of behavioral theory and conditioning.
The gym I go to has a cross-section of every group trying to maintain or improve their physical condition; HOOOOJ bodybuilders, yoga moms aligning their chakras in everything from Lululemon to tattered sweats, beginning swimmers sharing the pool with those who seem to be raining for an English Channel crossing, old fat ladies in another pool working on group water therapy, Zumba fanatics, elderly men trying to outsteam and outschvitz each other, and ordinary people like me working on C25K. Every shape, every size, every age, every level. The balcony housing the bikes and treadmills looks out over the large machine and free weight area. If I’m running on a treadmill, right over the freeweight area, I don’t hear any loud grunting, yelling, or groups of meatheads cheering each other on. Just the occasional clank, the infrequent groan that doesn’t sound especially obnoxious, and the usual conversation that takes place elsewhere at the gym.
I think Ambivalid is looking for a kind of gym that just doesn’t exist; a “serious” place where he can grunt and yell and drop heavy freeweights and greet his fellow serious bodybuilders with a loud “AYY YO WHASSUP BRO YOU’RE LOOKING FRIGGIN’ EUUUJ TODAY YO!”, yet still a place that is handicap-friendly. How about this: take advantage of the void in the marketplace, and start a gym that caters to the underserved serious disabled bodybuilder bro crowd? Minimal sound-absorbing surfaces. Minimal ventilation, too, so it’s stuffy and stinky, and therefore serious. Make all the parking handicapped, and all the bathroom stalls wheelchair accessible. Maybe call it “Wheels”.
The weight of the snatch doesn’t matter, it could be 20 kg or less, but being able to drop the weight is an important part of safely performing the exercise. The point is that PF’s policies put a limit on the effectiveness and sometimes the safety of exercise.
To my eyes, it seems more X-TREEM! than hardcore. That would be a name like “Mac’s Gym” or “Rocco’s Gym”. How can a guy with a name like named Rocco not be EUUUJ?
Eh, I think that if they make these policies and who they cater to that public, it’s on you if you went there expecting something else. It’s like a female body builder going to Curves and expecting a hard core atmosphere. Not going to happen.
I don’t understand all the hate for the type of people that attend establlishments like Planet Fitness (apart from the pizza thing - that’s just weird). At least they’re doing *something *somewhat active.
I just texted the exact same thing to my friend, re Curves. Exercise is exercise, and while us gym rats can support others’ desire to get fit, it doesn’t mean that where those people go is a good match for us. I don’t think it’s any different for anyone with a passion or experience for anything: chefs don’t use cheap knives, painters don’t use starter paints, runners don’t wear “sneakers”…doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate those who do, and maybe they were there once, but now they are in a different place.
For $10 a month I guess you get what you pay for, but just looking around the web reveals an ugly hypocritical judgemental side to this franchise, even in their ads - because anyone who wants tone abs is a jerkass, right fellas. No judgement, unless you’re actually serious about your fitness? What kind of logic is that, for a gym?! According to a NY corrections officer he was booted out for breathing heavily. Kicking someone out of a gym for being out of breath? What’s next, kicking someone out of a toilet because they slash in a urinal?
Absolute insanity. This is the first I’ve ever heard of this franchise so I’ve no axe to grind, but a bit of research and I’m 100% on Ambivalid’s side. See also this review which reveals more foolishness, including no scales and 80lb limit on dumbbells.
Having said that, a word in their defence, I’ve been a member of 3 different gyms all with different feels and they all had a ‘don’t bash the weights’ rule; that’s just common courtesy to avoid damaging equipment and causing alarm. So I can’t get worked up about that. Everything else though…
I honestly don’t know anything about weight training but I’m more than a little surprised to learn that you don’t get any benefit from lifting weights unless you’re pushing to the point of muscle fatigue every time.
You have to fatige them to *some * extent. Muscle growth occurs because the muscles are damaged and have to repair themselves. Granted that does not mean that you must fatigue the muscles to failure in order to realize a benefit.
I don’t remember what thread it was, but somebody not too long ago related a story about seeing a woman on the chest machine doing reps of 15 lbs., with zero effort and a bored look on her face. It seems to me the PF is catering to that type of person.
