Planet Fitness removing squat racks? Aroo?

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Replies

  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    again, who cares what they do? it's a frwe country, 't go there. done. hang out with your brothers and sisters in iron at golds. everyone is happy. :o)

    that's exactly what I will do should I ever live in the USA

    as for who cares.... actually I do care about gym noobs health of cked into their BS fand d of regular gym users. I hope Golds and other gyms with a much more healthy attitude are doing what they can to attract noobs who want to overcome those fears and become the kind of fit strong regular gym users that PF teaches people to hate

    This isn't about some kind of magnanimous caring about the "noobs", It's just the usual looking down at people who aren't "real" gym users. It's tedious and boring. I don't miss the "lunks" even a little bit and I am grateful to have a convenient place to work out at a decent price. If folks start to become more advanced, they'll move on.

    yeah, having experienced the ****ty attitudes of some of the gym rats hanging around the free weight areas, I don't mind being judgemental. It's a two way street. It's not a matter of hate, just a matter of not having to deal with the crap.

    Whatever dude. I've been in and around gyms for 20 years and that's long enough to know that this attitude emanating from the lunks exists solely between your ears. If PF wants to create a business model of selling people low priced memberships to under equipped gyms I couldn't give a damn. Free country and everyone is free to waste time and money however they see fit. And at $10 a month, no harm, no foul.

    What is foul, however, is the poisonous bullspit that PF users for their marketing campaign. Noob have an irrational, unfounded fear about walking into a gym and PF preys on that fear, feeds that fear, and uses it to corral people into their purple coated cardio and preacher curl machine studio. Their whole business plan revolves around making an entire class of People, the ones at the most risk of I'll health, afraid to set foot into a gym.

    If a few of the people that they frighten throw a few nickels their way to do substandard exercise in a PF facility, great, and to hell with the rest of the people that they have scared off from ever trying to improve their health. but hey, who cares, right?

    ^^^^ this
  • Runner5AbelTownship
    Runner5AbelTownship Posts: 243 Member
    yet another reason to not go to planet fitness ..what a joke….

    whats next…no deadlifting..oh wait…you can't do that either..

    Wait, what? Why? What the reasoning behind that?! Do they come over and stop you?

    *still trying to wrap my head around the 'lunk' thing*
  • Joehenny
    Joehenny Posts: 1,222 Member
    Don't go to Planet Fitness, problem solved. The majority of you guys probably don't even go to that gym anyway.
  • Runner5AbelTownship
    Runner5AbelTownship Posts: 243 Member
    I don't see the problem here.

    People who want to use squat racks have lots of gym choices.

    People who don't want gyms with people who use racks have apparently only one choice. Why do you want to take that choice away from those people?

    I'm so confused, do bad people use squat racks? Are squat racks like, the gateway to steroid use? What is this insidious power the squat rack has.

    "With people who use racks."

    WJW.
  • Runner5AbelTownship
    Runner5AbelTownship Posts: 243 Member
    Don't go to Planet Fitness, problem solved. The majority of you guys probably don't even go to that gym anyway.

    I'm not sure thats the main complaint here, I think it's the whole hypocrisy. And being able to see how they manipulate fear and insecurities and the expense of other people.

    Imagine the outrage if the signage were mocking them.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    yet another reason to not go to planet fitness ..what a joke….

    whats next…no deadlifting..oh wait…you can't do that either..

    Wait, what? Why? What the reasoning behind that?! Do they come over and stop you?

    *still trying to wrap my head around the 'lunk' thing*

    I believe the reasoning is that it's intimidating to other gym goers.
  • Hezzietiger1
    Hezzietiger1 Posts: 1,256 Member
    lunk-alarm-640x250.jpg

    Well.. I drink out of a gallon jug, wear tanks to show off the back I've worked 2 years to create, AND.. I drop weights, daily. #crossfitter #olylifts Not a "lunk".. a beast. lol
  • Runner5AbelTownship
    Runner5AbelTownship Posts: 243 Member
    yet another reason to not go to planet fitness ..what a joke….

    whats next…no deadlifting..oh wait…you can't do that either..

    Wait, what? Why? What the reasoning behind that?! Do they come over and stop you?

    *still trying to wrap my head around the 'lunk' thing*

    I believe the reasoning is that it's intimidating to other gym goers.

    Is it the pelvic thrusting? I mean, it's just bending over and lifting something. Geeze, I could do without some of the hip aductor/abductor viewings Ive seen, but intimidating? How can someone be intimidated by someone else lifting anything unless it's them and they haven't consented? Unless the lifter is in your face the intimidation is In the person head, it's self imposed.

    And actual signage? If it were reversed it would be 'bullying' or 'shaming'. This is just so weird.

    How do these people get through life in general? Well, at least there will be zombie fodder for the apocalypse.
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQfmpXsLV_4

    That is me. I'm not ashamed to say I sit around with other friends and discuss how good/hot we're looking. What of it? Is that a crime? I'm working damn hard after all.

    I guess this means PF is against looking good/being proud of looking good/Daring to speak about how good those around you look?

    If PF doesn't want them....

    ...my damp, cold garage could do with brightening up!
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member

    If PF doesn't want them....

    ...my damp, cold garage could do with brightening up!

    IKR? I actually am currently in the market for some inexpensive squat racks and if they're just throwing those things out.....

    Anybody know of a good primer that will stick to powder coating?
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member

    If PF doesn't want them....

    ...my damp, cold garage could do with brightening up!

    IKR? I actually am currently in the market for some inexpensive squat racks and if they're just throwing those things out.....

    Anybody know of a good primer that will stick to powder coating?

    I was actually talking about those chicks from the ad, but yeah I'd take another squat rack if it was going free.

    ...unless you were talking about powder-coating the babes? That's like a weekend in Vegas, right?
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    yet another reason to not go to planet fitness ..what a joke….

    whats next…no deadlifting..oh wait…you can't do that either..

    Wait, what? Why? What the reasoning behind that?! Do they come over and stop you?

    *still trying to wrap my head around the 'lunk' thing*

    I believe the reasoning is that it's intimidating to other gym goers.

    Is it the pelvic thrusting? I mean, it's just bending over and lifting something. Geeze, I could do without some of the hip aductor/abductor viewings Ive seen, but intimidating? How can someone be intimidated by someone else lifting anything unless it's them and they haven't consented? Unless the lifter is in your face the intimidation is In the person head, it's self imposed.

    And actual signage? If it were reversed it would be 'bullying' or 'shaming'. This is just so weird.

    How do these people get through life in general? Well, at least there will be zombie fodder for the apocalypse.

    Preaching to the choir. :wink:

    I will say though that I don't fault PF members. It's the company and their marketing with which I have a problem.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member

    If PF doesn't want them....

    ...my damp, cold garage could do with brightening up!

    IKR? I actually am currently in the market for some inexpensive squat racks and if they're just throwing those things out.....

    Anybody know of a good primer that will stick to powder coating?

    I was actually talking about those chicks from the ad, but yeah I'd take another squat rack if it was going free.

    ...unless you were talking about powder-coating the babes? That's like a weekend in Vegas, right?

    Didn't watch the video.....but i like where this is going. Powder coated Vegas babes and free squat racks. I'll take two of each. I'm a large guy so if I can get a tall, study model of both that would be my preference
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    If you want a real no judgement zone join a YMCA. There is probably no other fitness center where you will seen teenagers working out along side octogenarians. And their pools have life guards. The Rush doesn't.
    YMCA may cost more per month but you get more too.

    BOOM!
  • Runner5AbelTownship
    Runner5AbelTownship Posts: 243 Member

    If PF doesn't want them....

    ...my damp, cold garage could do with brightening up!

    IKR? I actually am currently in the market for some inexpensive squat racks and if they're just throwing those things out.....

    Anybody know of a good primer that will stick to powder coating?

    I was actually talking about those chicks from the ad, but yeah I'd take another squat rack if it was going free.

    ...unless you were talking about powder-coating the babes? That's like a weekend in Vegas, right?

    Didn't watch the video.....but i like where this is going. Powder coated Vegas babes and free squat racks. I'll take two of each. I'm a large guy so if I can get a tall, study model of both that would be my preference

    Thanks, now I want a powdered sugar donut.
  • Runner5AbelTownship
    Runner5AbelTownship Posts: 243 Member
    yet another reason to not go to planet fitness ..what a joke….

    whats next…no deadlifting..oh wait…you can't do that either..

    Wait, what? Why? What the reasoning behind that?! Do they come over and stop you?

    *still trying to wrap my head around the 'lunk' thing*

    I believe the reasoning is that it's intimidating to other gym goers.

    Is it the pelvic thrusting? I mean, it's just bending over and lifting something. Geeze, I could do without some of the hip aductor/abductor viewings Ive seen, but intimidating? How can someone be intimidated by someone else lifting anything unless it's them and they haven't consented? Unless the lifter is in your face the intimidation is In the person head, it's self imposed.

    And actual signage? If it were reversed it would be 'bullying' or 'shaming'. This is just so weird.

    How do these people get through life in general? Well, at least there will be zombie fodder for the apocalypse.

    Preaching to the choir. :wink:

    I will say though that I don't fault PF members. It's the company and their marketing with which I have a problem.

    I don't fault the members at all, in fact, PF does them a great disservice with this whole us 'normal' people vs them. There are plenty of asshats to go around regardless of sport or preference. I've seen knitters go into rages that would rival any roid rage.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    again, who cares what they do? it's a free country, don't go there. done. hang out with your brothers and sisters in iron at golds. everyone is happy. :o)

    Why are you judging Gold's? Gold's was one of the best gyms I was ever a member at and they catered as much, if not more, to the cardio only or beginner than the "meathead" "gymrat".
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    again, who cares what they do? it's a free country, don't go there. done. hang out with your brothers and sisters in iron at golds. everyone is happy. :o)

    that's exactly what I will do should I ever live in the USA

    as for who cares.... actually I do care about gym noobs being sucked into their BS fear and hatred of regular gym users. I hope Golds and other gyms with a much more healthy attitude are doing what they can to attract noobs who want to overcome those fears and become the kind of fit strong regular gym users that PF teaches people to hate

    This isn't about some kind of magnanimous caring about the "noobs", It's just the usual looking down at people who aren't "real" gym users. It's tedious and boring. I don't miss the "lunks" even a little bit and I am grateful to have a convenient place to work out at a decent price. If folks start to become more advanced, they'll move on.

    yeah, having experienced the ****ty attitudes of some of the gym rats hanging around the free weight areas, I don't mind being judgemental. It's a two way street. It's not a matter of hate, just a matter of not having to deal with the crap.

    You're kidding right?
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    again, who cares what they do? it's a frwe country, 't go there. done. hang out with your brothers and sisters in iron at golds. everyone is happy. :o)

    that's exactly what I will do should I ever live in the USA

    as for who cares.... actually I do care about gym noobs health of cked into their BS fand d of regular gym users. I hope Golds and other gyms with a much more healthy attitude are doing what they can to attract noobs who want to overcome those fears and become the kind of fit strong regular gym users that PF teaches people to hate

    This isn't about some kind of magnanimous caring about the "noobs", It's just the usual looking down at people who aren't "real" gym users. It's tedious and boring. I don't miss the "lunks" even a little bit and I am grateful to have a convenient place to work out at a decent price. If folks start to become more advanced, they'll move on.

    yeah, having experienced the ****ty attitudes of some of the gym rats hanging around the free weight areas, I don't mind being judgemental. It's a two way street. It's not a matter of hate, just a matter of not having to deal with the crap.

    Whatever dude. I've been in and around gyms for 20 years and that's long enough to know that this attitude emanating from the lunks exists solely between your ears. If PF wants to create a business model of selling people low priced memberships to under equipped gyms I couldn't give a damn. Free country and everyone is free to waste time and money however they see fit. And at $10 a month, no harm, no foul.

    What is foul, however, is the poisonous bullspit that PF users for their marketing campaign. Noob have an irrational, unfounded fear about walking into a gym and PF preys on that fear, feeds that fear, and uses it to corral people into their purple coated cardio and preacher curl machine studio. Their whole business plan revolves around making an entire class of People, the ones at the most risk of I'll health, afraid to set foot into a gym.

    If a few of the people that they frighten throw a few nickels their way to do substandard exercise in a PF facility, great, and to hell with the rest of the people that they have scared off from ever trying to improve their health. but hey, who cares, right?

    the-rock-clapping.gif
  • hbrittingham
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
    again, who cares what they do? it's a frwe country, 't go there. done. hang out with your brothers and sisters in iron at golds. everyone is happy. :o)

    that's exactly what I will do should I ever live in the USA

    as for who cares.... actually I do care about gym noobs health of cked into their BS fand d of regular gym users. I hope Golds and other gyms with a much more healthy attitude are doing what they can to attract noobs who want to overcome those fears and become the kind of fit strong regular gym users that PF teaches people to hate

    This isn't about some kind of magnanimous caring about the "noobs", It's just the usual looking down at people who aren't "real" gym users. It's tedious and boring. I don't miss the "lunks" even a little bit and I am grateful to have a convenient place to work out at a decent price. If folks start to become more advanced, they'll move on.

    yeah, having experienced the ****ty attitudes of some of the gym rats hanging around the free weight areas, I don't mind being judgemental. It's a two way street. It's not a matter of hate, just a matter of not having to deal with the crap.

    Whatever dude. I've been in and around gyms for 20 years and that's long enough to know that this attitude emanating from the lunks exists solely between your ears. If PF wants to create a business model of selling people low priced memberships to under equipped gyms I couldn't give a damn. Free country and everyone is free to waste time and money however they see fit. And at $10 a month, no harm, no foul.

    What is foul, however, is the poisonous bullspit that PF users for their marketing campaign. Noob have an irrational, unfounded fear about walking into a gym and PF preys on that fear, feeds that fear, and uses it to corral people into their purple coated cardio and preacher curl machine studio. Their whole business plan revolves around making an entire class of People, the ones at the most risk of I'll health, afraid to set foot into a gym.

    If a few of the people that they frighten throw a few nickels their way to do substandard exercise in a PF facility, great, and to hell with the rest of the people that they have scared off from ever trying to improve their health. but hey, who cares, right?

    Wait. What? PF exists to keep people from joining gyms?

    Interesting take on it. I wonder why the PF I go to is slam packed full of people of all sorts of fitness levels.
  • LuLuChick78
    LuLuChick78 Posts: 439 Member
    again, who cares what they do? it's a frwe country, 't go there. done. hang out with your brothers and sisters in iron at golds. everyone is happy. :o)

    that's exactly what I will do should I ever live in the USA

    as for who cares.... actually I do care about gym noobs health of cked into their BS fand d of regular gym users. I hope Golds and other gyms with a much more healthy attitude are doing what they can to attract noobs who want to overcome those fears and become the kind of fit strong regular gym users that PF teaches people to hate

    This isn't about some kind of magnanimous caring about the "noobs", It's just the usual looking down at people who aren't "real" gym users. It's tedious and boring. I don't miss the "lunks" even a little bit and I am grateful to have a convenient place to work out at a decent price. If folks start to become more advanced, they'll move on.

    yeah, having experienced the ****ty attitudes of some of the gym rats hanging around the free weight areas, I don't mind being judgemental. It's a two way street. It's not a matter of hate, just a matter of not having to deal with the crap.

    Whatever dude. I've been in and around gyms for 20 years and that's long enough to know that this attitude emanating from the lunks exists solely between your ears. If PF wants to create a business model of selling people low priced memberships to under equipped gyms I couldn't give a damn. Free country and everyone is free to waste time and money however they see fit. And at $10 a month, no harm, no foul.

    What is foul, however, is the poisonous bullspit that PF users for their marketing campaign. Noob have an irrational, unfounded fear about walking into a gym and PF preys on that fear, feeds that fear, and uses it to corral people into their purple coated cardio and preacher curl machine studio. Their whole business plan revolves around making an entire class of People, the ones at the most risk of I'll health, afraid to set foot into a gym.

    If a few of the people that they frighten throw a few nickels their way to do substandard exercise in a PF facility, great, and to hell with the rest of the people that they have scared off from ever trying to improve their health. but hey, who cares, right?

    the-rock-clapping.gif

    I agree, well said.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    again, who cares what they do? it's a frwe country, 't go there. done. hang out with your brothers and sisters in iron at golds. everyone is happy. :o)

    that's exactly what I will do should I ever live in the USA

    as for who cares.... actually I do care about gym noobs health of cked into their BS fand d of regular gym users. I hope Golds and other gyms with a much more healthy attitude are doing what they can to attract noobs who want to overcome those fears and become the kind of fit strong regular gym users that PF teaches people to hate

    This isn't about some kind of magnanimous caring about the "noobs", It's just the usual looking down at people who aren't "real" gym users. It's tedious and boring. I don't miss the "lunks" even a little bit and I am grateful to have a convenient place to work out at a decent price. If folks start to become more advanced, they'll move on.

    yeah, having experienced the ****ty attitudes of some of the gym rats hanging around the free weight areas, I don't mind being judgemental. It's a two way street. It's not a matter of hate, just a matter of not having to deal with the crap.

    Whatever dude. I've been in and around gyms for 20 years and that's long enough to know that this attitude emanating from the lunks exists solely between your ears. If PF wants to create a business model of selling people low priced memberships to under equipped gyms I couldn't give a damn. Free country and everyone is free to waste time and money however they see fit. And at $10 a month, no harm, no foul.

    What is foul, however, is the poisonous bullspit that PF users for their marketing campaign. Noob have an irrational, unfounded fear about walking into a gym and PF preys on that fear, feeds that fear, and uses it to corral people into their purple coated cardio and preacher curl machine studio. Their whole business plan revolves around making an entire class of People, the ones at the most risk of I'll health, afraid to set foot into a gym.

    If a few of the people that they frighten throw a few nickels their way to do substandard exercise in a PF facility, great, and to hell with the rest of the people that they have scared off from ever trying to improve their health. but hey, who cares, right?

    this x 100
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    again, who cares what they do? it's a frwe country, 't go there. done. hang out with your brothers and sisters in iron at golds. everyone is happy. :o)

    that's exactly what I will do should I ever live in the USA

    as for who cares.... actually I do care about gym noobs health of cked into their BS fand d of regular gym users. I hope Golds and other gyms with a much more healthy attitude are doing what they can to attract noobs who want to overcome those fears and become the kind of fit strong regular gym users that PF teaches people to hate

    This isn't about some kind of magnanimous caring about the "noobs", It's just the usual looking down at people who aren't "real" gym users. It's tedious and boring. I don't miss the "lunks" even a little bit and I am grateful to have a convenient place to work out at a decent price. If folks start to become more advanced, they'll move on.

    yeah, having experienced the ****ty attitudes of some of the gym rats hanging around the free weight areas, I don't mind being judgemental. It's a two way street. It's not a matter of hate, just a matter of not having to deal with the crap.

    Whatever dude. I've been in and around gyms for 20 years and that's long enough to know that this attitude emanating from the lunks exists solely between your ears. If PF wants to create a business model of selling people low priced memberships to under equipped gyms I couldn't give a damn. Free country and everyone is free to waste time and money however they see fit. And at $10 a month, no harm, no foul.

    What is foul, however, is the poisonous bullspit that PF users for their marketing campaign. Noob have an irrational, unfounded fear about walking into a gym and PF preys on that fear, feeds that fear, and uses it to corral people into their purple coated cardio and preacher curl machine studio. Their whole business plan revolves around making an entire class of People, the ones at the most risk of I'll health, afraid to set foot into a gym.

    If a few of the people that they frighten throw a few nickels their way to do substandard exercise in a PF facility, great, and to hell with the rest of the people that they have scared off from ever trying to improve their health. but hey, who cares, right?

    Wait. What? PF exists to keep people from joining gyms?

    Interesting take on it. I wonder why the PF I go to is slam packed full of people of all sorts of fitness levels.

    That's not what he said, but eh...let's go with it. :yawn:
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    again, who cares what they do? it's a frwe country, 't go there. done. hang out with your brothers and sisters in iron at golds. everyone is happy. :o)

    that's exactly what I will do should I ever live in the USA

    as for who cares.... actually I do care about gym noobs health of cked into their BS fand d of regular gym users. I hope Golds and other gyms with a much more healthy attitude are doing what they can to attract noobs who want to overcome those fears and become the kind of fit strong regular gym users that PF teaches people to hate

    This isn't about some kind of magnanimous caring about the "noobs", It's just the usual looking down at people who aren't "real" gym users. It's tedious and boring. I don't miss the "lunks" even a little bit and I am grateful to have a convenient place to work out at a decent price. If folks start to become more advanced, they'll move on.

    yeah, having experienced the ****ty attitudes of some of the gym rats hanging around the free weight areas, I don't mind being judgemental. It's a two way street. It's not a matter of hate, just a matter of not having to deal with the crap.

    Whatever dude. I've been in and around gyms for 20 years and that's long enough to know that this attitude emanating from the lunks exists solely between your ears. If PF wants to create a business model of selling people low priced memberships to under equipped gyms I couldn't give a damn. Free country and everyone is free to waste time and money however they see fit. And at $10 a month, no harm, no foul.

    What is foul, however, is the poisonous bullspit that PF users for their marketing campaign. Noob have an irrational, unfounded fear about walking into a gym and PF preys on that fear, feeds that fear, and uses it to corral people into their purple coated cardio and preacher curl machine studio. Their whole business plan revolves around making an entire class of People, the ones at the most risk of I'll health, afraid to set foot into a gym.

    If a few of the people that they frighten throw a few nickels their way to do substandard exercise in a PF facility, great, and to hell with the rest of the people that they have scared off from ever trying to improve their health. but hey, who cares, right?

    Wait. What? PF exists to keep people from joining gyms?

    Interesting take on it. I wonder why the PF I go to is slam packed full of people of all sorts of fitness levels.

    I think you missed the point..
  • tnicmorris
    tnicmorris Posts: 144 Member
    again, who cares what they do? it's a frwe country, 't go there. done. hang out with your brothers and sisters in iron at golds. everyone is happy. :o)

    that's exactly what I will do should I ever live in the USA

    as for who cares.... actually I do care about gym noobs health of cked into their BS fand d of regular gym users. I hope Golds and other gyms with a much more healthy attitude are doing what they can to attract noobs who want to overcome those fears and become the kind of fit strong regular gym users that PF teaches people to hate

    This isn't about some kind of magnanimous caring about the "noobs", It's just the usual looking down at people who aren't "real" gym users. It's tedious and boring. I don't miss the "lunks" even a little bit and I am grateful to have a convenient place to work out at a decent price. If folks start to become more advanced, they'll move on.

    yeah, having experienced the ****ty attitudes of some of the gym rats hanging around the free weight areas, I don't mind being judgemental. It's a two way street. It's not a matter of hate, just a matter of not having to deal with the crap.

    Whatever dude. I've been in and around gyms for 20 years and that's long enough to know that this attitude emanating from the lunks exists solely between your ears. If PF wants to create a business model of selling people low priced memberships to under equipped gyms I couldn't give a damn. Free country and everyone is free to waste time and money however they see fit. And at $10 a month, no harm, no foul.

    What is foul, however, is the poisonous bullspit that PF users for their marketing campaign. Noob have an irrational, unfounded fear about walking into a gym and PF preys on that fear, feeds that fear, and uses it to corral people into their purple coated cardio and preacher curl machine studio. Their whole business plan revolves around making an entire class of People, the ones at the most risk of I'll health, afraid to set foot into a gym.

    If a few of the people that they frighten throw a few nickels their way to do substandard exercise in a PF facility, great, and to hell with the rest of the people that they have scared off from ever trying to improve their health. but hey, who cares, right?

    For the most part, I can 100% see where you're coming from. There are a few point that I can't, however.

    1. Calling the fears that "noobs" have unfounded or irrational. It comes down to an issue of personal confidence and and self-consciousness. And those two things exist in EVERY arena in life. The gym is no different. Overweight people often are self conscious and think that they will be gawked at... especially if they are seen doing something that makes them uncomfortable and that they feel they look stupid, awkward, and uncoordinated doing. It actually does happen, believe it or not. It's not paranoia if it's actually true. It probably doesn't happen as often as people think it does, but that's a human nature trait. That's not exclusive to new people in the gym. Now, maybe all of the amazing people in this thread have never stared at someone who looked a little foolish in public (the gym or anywhere else). And maybe they have never laughed at someone who was uncoordinated and looked struggling, but there are people who have and who do. I heard a story just the other day about a heavy girl who wanted to get into jogging. She was jogging around her neighborhood and this car full of teens driving by rolled down their windows to ridicule her because of her size. Trust me, the fear is not irrational and unfounded. Perhaps the more "noobs" go to the gym and the more comfortable and confident they feel at the gym working out, the less self-conscious they will become and the more the fear will go away. I can understand if you don't have this fear or even if you don't understand it. But please don't dismiss those of us that do have that initial fear or make us seem ridiculous for having some reservations about certain things.

    Secondly, PF may very well not have everything for everyone, but no gym does. I have been to many different chains of gyms and I have never found one to have EVERYTHING that I wanted...at least not for a price that I could afford. And if my only options are to go with a gym that has most of the things I need (or meets all of my needs because I'm still a beginner) or turn down my nose at the "substandard equipment" and go back home and do nothing until a worthy gym with ALL the right equipment at the price I need becomes available, I'll take option A. At least I'm doing something.

    So, PF may not be enough for a lot of you. That doesn't mean it has no value for anyone. Crappy slogan aside, it fills a niche and that's good enough for me.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member

    For the most part, I can 100% see where you're coming from. There are a few point that I can't, however.

    1. Calling the fears that "noobs" have unfounded or irrational. It comes down to an issue of personal confidence and and self-consciousness. ........

    you basically just defined "irrational". fearing that something that never happens, or rarely ever ever ever happens is an irrational fear. avoiding something that has a 100% chance of improving your health because there is a .00003% chance that someone will mock you is not the best way to approach things.
    Secondly, PF may very well not have everything for everyone, but no gym does. ....

    totally true. no one entity can be all things to all people. but PF goes in the opposite direction and does everything in it's power to alienate a particular class of people. from ads that openly mock fit people and outright call them names to actively removing anything a person of average fitness would find of value. PF is basically staging a No Blacks, No Jews, No Women policy but instead of those groups it's promoting the segregation of fit people.
  • tnicmorris
    tnicmorris Posts: 144 Member

    For the most part, I can 100% see where you're coming from. There are a few point that I can't, however.

    1. Calling the fears that "noobs" have unfounded or irrational. It comes down to an issue of personal confidence and and self-consciousness. ........

    you basically just defined "irrational". fearing that something that never happens, or rarely ever ever ever happens is an irrational fear. avoiding something that has a 100% chance of improving your health because there is a .00003% chance that someone will mock you is not the best way to approach things.

    It's not irrational if it does happen. And it does happen. It has happened to people that I know. And because it has happened to people that I know it would make sense that I fear it could happen to me in a similar situation. And if I have seen it happen to other people, than it would make sense that I would think it could also happen to me. Also, if I've been guilty of judging or laughing at someone else in a similar situation, it would make sense that I would think that other people would and could do the same to me. Me having a fear that my treadmill will explode would be irrational. Me having a fear that I am uncoordinated (which is a fact) and could look stupid (which I actually opine because I've seen myself workout in a mirror and it's not a cute sight. lol) to other people is perfectly rational.

    And when I said it comes down to personal confidence, I meant that you get to a place where you don't care if you look stupid or not. I was that person in the beginning who thought that people would look and stare. But as I continued to go, I felt more confident in my abilities and I cared less at the possibility of other people potentially mocking me. I still do foolish looking things while working out and it still crosses my mind that someone could have seen that and is probably amused. I just no longer care.

    Edited to add that I agree with you and everyone else that the marketing is rude. The only thing I take issue with is the idea that there is no value in PF for anybody and anyone who does find value in it is less than or not serious about working out or is to stupid or brainwashed to know that PF is not the pinnacle of all that is working out. Maybe that's not what everyone meant to convey, but that's how it came off to me.
  • KeithAngilly
    KeithAngilly Posts: 575 Member
    Hi folks,

    First of all, I would like to apologize for the name calling I engaged in earlier. There was no call for that.

    PF has clearly identified a need and set a price point that works. The gyms I go to are generally busy, so while the marketing may be offensive to some, their customers seem to appreciate what is being offered. I certainly appreciate the lack of yelling, dropping weights, etc. If that makes me judgemental, then so be it.


    Good luck,
    Keith
  • _chiaroscuro
    _chiaroscuro Posts: 1,340 Member
    My mistake in starting this discussion was thinking that more people would want to confront that fear, to actually venture beyond their own notion of what they were capable of, and come away with a f-ckng win.

    Last year, the moment I crossed that invisible line in the gym was terrifying. I was the dumpy, middle-aged mommy who had been getting in my own way for years. I was a throwaway, in my mind. Not even worth ridiculing. I was a monument to unrealized potential, paralyzed by fear of failure, and of success. Sound a little dramatic for someone making a choice to just walk over to the weights section? Judging by the lengths to which people will go to avoid it, I don't think so.

    My life has been absolutely transformed by that moment, that one decision. I was manic for the next several days. Then over the next year I began to test my capabilities in other arenas of my life, and soon found a love of moving that self-set limitation farther and farther away, until I just don't think about limits anymore. This has completely revived my career, made me a better partner to my husband, a better mother, daughter, friend. Now, I only think of what I want to do next, come up with a plan to get there, and execute. No wolves at my heels, no meanies in my head. If there are real people making fun of what I do, *shrug* I can't see 'em from up here.

    And it all started with a squat rack and a little girl who didn't want to be comfortable in her safe-bet life anymore.

    When you have that moment, the first thing you want to do is make sure every other person on the planet gets to have theirs. Even, and I'd venture especially, someone taking those first steps in Planet Fitness. The idea that anyone could miss out on their moment because they're never in a position to be scared, but do it anyway, makes me sad. Seeing those same people cling willfully to and argue for their right to be deprived of the chance to be brave and awesome pisses me off. So,
    2wqhi60.gif
  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
    My mistake in starting this discussion was thinking that more people would want to confront that fear, to actually venture beyond their own notion of what they were capable of, and come away with a f-ckng win.

    Last year, the moment I crossed that invisible line in the gym was terrifying. I was the dumpy, middle-aged mommy who had been getting in my own way for years. I was a throwaway, in my mind. Not even worth ridiculing. I was a monument to unrealized potential, paralyzed by fear of failure, and of success. Sound a little dramatic for someone making a choice to just walk over to the weights section? Judging by the lengths to which people will go to avoid it, I don't think so.

    My life has been absolutely transformed by that moment, that one decision. I was manic for the next several days. Then over the next year I began to test my capabilities in other arenas of my life, and soon found a love of moving that self-set limitation farther and farther away, until I just don't think about limits anymore. This has completely revived my career, made me a better partner to my husband, a better mother, daughter, friend. Now, I only think of what I want to do next, come up with a plan to get there, and execute. No wolves at my heels, no meanies in my head. If there are real people making fun of what I do, *shrug* I can't see 'em from up here.

    And it all started with a squat rack and a little girl who didn't want to be comfortable in her safe-bet life anymore.

    When you have that moment, the first thing you want to do is make sure every other person on the planet gets to have theirs. Even, and I'd venture especially, someone taking those first steps in Planet Fitness. The idea that anyone could miss out on their moment because they're never in a position to be scared, but do it anyway, makes me sad. Seeing those same people cling willfully to and argue for their right to be deprived of the chance to be brave and awesome pisses me off. So,
    2wqhi60.gif

    Oh my God, I think you just won MFP.