Planet Fitness removing squat racks? Aroo?

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  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    I have a black card here in CT. I I use 4 locations and only one has a squat rack. I am okay with that. Having been a member of many different gyms over the years, I don't miss the meat heads at all. PF fills a specific niche, which is people who just want to get a workout in without all the bs attitudes displayed in this thread. I slap on my yurbuds, get into my own world and get what I need to get done without a bunch of phony gym rats around. I have never heard the "lunk alarm" used and the atmosphere in the gyms I use are always friendly, clean and easy to use. So, all you "real" fitness and bodybuilding types feel free to hang out at golds and I will be happy to work out in my little PF world. It's okay.

    so anyone who goes to a non-pf gym is a meathead or fake gym rat???? How unjudemental of you…

    nope, I didn't say that..but whining about pf removing squat racks is just silly. If you don't like it, don't go there. And yes, I am being judgmental. I have no problem with that. That's the point of the thread, isn't it? I think PF's free weight arrangements are a joke. But they are not there for the folks who pick things up and put them down. They are very explicit about that. And, it is something that I really appreciate.

    It is just a discussion …the point being that "newbies" will never get the benefits of training with squats and deadlifts which are two essential lifts with great benefits for strength and fat loss…i wish I had started squatting and deadlifting years ago ...

    I don't disagree in the least...but the point of the thread is to make fun of PF, is it not? It's thirteen or so pages of being judgemental. Trust me, the folks I see on a regular basis at PF are not missing a squat rack. They are folks who would never walk into a "real" gym. Personally, I think they have hit a on an unfilled niche and have an excellent business model. Why people care about whether they have a squat rack or not is beyond me. Don't go there...it's really very simple. It's strictly a beginners place...they have to start somewhere. And, yes, not having a bunch of gym rats around makes for a more welcoming environment. I don't really care if that's judgmental or not.

    Individuals being judgmental on a forum is slightly different than a business being hypocritically judgmental about it. I, for one, have never said I operate in a "judgment free zone."

    Also, yes, everyone has to start somewhere...but the problem that some of us have with this decision is that PF is taking away one of the tools...nay, one of the most important tools...to help individuals graduate from beginner to advanced beginner (and beyond). I can't necessarily blame them from a business perspective as that progression almost certainly necessitates them leaving the "gym" at that point, but from a personal development perspective, it doesn't sit well with me.

    Many of my "brothers and sisters in iron" started with a few minutes on a treadmill...or with a tiny stack on a smith machine...but eventually discovered the scary free weight section with its one or more squat racks, and learned that there was more to fitness...more to their personal development...than they had experienced before.

    Relax, my opinion on this won't matter one bit, because I'm not PF's target market. Nonetheless, I'll still express my opinion on this matter here in the forums. It's okay if you don't agree with me. I won't judge you for it.
  • KeithAngilly
    KeithAngilly Posts: 575 Member
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    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)
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    It's not nice being called a lunk and the lunk alarm is just wrong. But even for their targetted demographic their coddling of irrational fears isn't going to do anyone any favours. If someone's afraid to go to a gym because they feel intimidated by people who look fit or make noises when lifting weights, then really that's something they should get over, because there's no reason to feel intimidated by that, and the vast majority of already fit gym users actually like to see beginners getting in the gym and demonstrating that they have the staying power to stick at it and get fit, and in fact many find it inspiring. And the fatter you are when you start, for most people, just makes it all the more inspiring. It's depressing how many new years resolutioners just drop out after less than a month, so anyone who goes in there and shows they have the determination to stick at it no matter how unfit they are at the start, is going to get the respect of the majority of gym users. Planet fitness however does the opposite, it has its lunk alarm and strongly gives out the message that new gym users are in danger from experienced gym users and need to be protected from them. By coddling the fear, you actually make the fear worse, rather than dissipating it...... but I'm sure that's what their business model is based on. By keeping people afraid of going to other gyms, they get a loyal clientele. Maybe I'm being extremely cynical, but it seems like giving people free pizza and removing all the equipment that's likely going to make them develop muscles, they're trying to keep them from ever becoming fit and strong looking enough that they'd be considered a "lunk". And then there's all the people who pay membership and don't go.... even better.... they want people to keep on paying for their membership but never actually get fit enough to get sick of the "lunk" BS and go and join another gym.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    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
  • KeithAngilly
    KeithAngilly Posts: 575 Member
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    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.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
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    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

    I see what you are saying, but I think you are overstating the lunk thing. Find one commercial that has someone you feel like you are like. They even name some of the 'lunks' (yeah, I know). So which one are you (and everyone else who feels targeted by that)?

    I would apparently be the yoga gal, but if you notice, the looks they give the non-yogi are incredibly condescending. I'd never do that in a yoga class! So they don't mean me. I also don't really talk about toxins :D I don't know why folks take it all so personally.

    http://youtu.be/IXiQ4zGIrUw
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
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    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

    I see what you are saying, but I think you are overstating the lunk thing. Find one commercial that has someone you feel like you are like. They even name some of the 'lunks' (yeah, I know). So which one are you (and everyone else who feels targeted by that)?

    I would apparently be the yoga gal, but if you notice, the looks they give the non-yogi are incredibly condescending. I'd never do that in a yoga class! So they don't mean me. I also don't really talk about toxins :D I don't know why folks take it all so personally.

    http://youtu.be/IXiQ4zGIrUw


    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?
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    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?
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
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    LOL! Those are the ones to be, I think, except for their awful voices :D Those girls weren't mean at all.

    I thought the ad was funny, though. I don't know; I just don't get offended by ads like that. The people are overdone in a humorous way.
    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

    I see what you are saying, but I think you are overstating the lunk thing. Find one commercial that has someone you feel like you are like. They even name some of the 'lunks' (yeah, I know). So which one are you (and everyone else who feels targeted by that)?

    I would apparently be the yoga gal, but if you notice, the looks they give the non-yogi are incredibly condescending. I'd never do that in a yoga class! So they don't mean me. I also don't really talk about toxins :D I don't know why folks take it all so personally.

    http://youtu.be/IXiQ4zGIrUw


    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?
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    Options
    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

    I see what you are saying, but I think you are overstating the lunk thing. Find one commercial that has someone you feel like you are like. They even name some of the 'lunks' (yeah, I know). So which one are you (and everyone else who feels targeted by that)?

    I would apparently be the yoga gal, but if you notice, the looks they give the non-yogi are incredibly condescending. I'd never do that in a yoga class! So they don't mean me. I also don't really talk about toxins :D I don't know why folks take it all so personally.

    http://youtu.be/IXiQ4zGIrUw

    the presence of a lunk alarm that they'd set off any time anyone drops a weight would classify me as a lunk. because I lift heavy enough weights that sometimes they get dropped on the floor. And when they do, it makes a really loud noise.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    Options
    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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?

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