Planet Fitness removing squat racks? Aroo?

Reading some of the posts, it's apparent that people are taking their own discomfort and somehow assigning blame for it on other people at the gym. Just because fit people make you uncomfortable, doesn't make them 'lunks', doesn't make them bad, and doesn't make them responsible for your discomfort. Perhaps what you should really be doing is overcoming your self-consciousness. That would make you a better person.

That's the real problem here. Planet Fitness could open an elliptical only gym and no one would give much of a damn - if they didn't call us all lunks. Heck, I weight 160 pounds and would set off the lunk alarm because on my fifth deadlift rep I generally let out a grunt of effort, and invariably put the weight down pretty heavy. Wait, deadlifts aren't allowed at all, because apparently just doing them makes me a lunk.

Let that sink in. A 5'11, 160lb guy is a 'lunk' because he is pushing himself to get stronger and fitter.

*shrugs*

I like Planet Fitness. It's (relatively) close to where I live and it's cheap. My husband has the black card so I get to go for free as his guest. Any other gym we'd have to either get separate memberships or the "family pack" which isn't that much cheaper. The people who work there are wicked nice and friendly. Always saying hi when they see us on the floor and stopping to chat for a second. While I'd like to have a squat rack it's not really necessary. Neither is a billion pounds of free weights. If my goal was to bench 2x my body weight than yeah, I'd have an issue but that's not my goal. I lift heavy (for me) but I'm not aiming to be a power lifter or someone who struts around and asks how much others bench and then brag about how much I can lift. Don't get me wrong I think it's awesome that people can lift huge amounts of weight but what's the point but it's not about the amount that you lift but your form and really targeting the muscles that you're working (and FWIW that advice came from my huge body builder friend who was working out with us one day).

As for the removing of the squat racks again, it depends on the PF location as they're independently owned it's up to the owners as to what they want to do.

I also can deadlift at my PF without getting yelled at. I've done it in front of the owner and the manager and they've never stopped me.

I've barbell squatted in the past at the fitness center I used to go to where I worked. I've also squatted with the smith machine. I never felt I had to "relearn" the movements. If my gym were to put in a squat rack I'm pretty confident that even though I've been squatting with the smith machine that I'd be able to squat in a squat rack with perfect form.

We can squat and deadlift at our PF too.... only whatever I see frm staff is saying stuff to the folks that aren't wiping down (YAY) since in a session I got asked by the trainer why I wipe before and after.... go figure now they're enforcing more! Hope it's not a corporate thing and just that some are doing since it would stink to lose those

I just wasn't ready before.

Whoever told you that was lying to you, probably for their own profit.

we're at the level that they are offering.

That doesn't really mean anything, honestly. There's no "level" you need to be at to do squats and deadlifts. I'm not sure what weight training you're doing at PF, but they clearly fail to offer the most effective tools out there for people in your situation.

There are levels. And the first one is "beginner". At least that's how it was for me. I didn't stay at the beginner level. I've progressed beyond that and I plan to progress beyond the level I am now to more advanced things. And working my way up slowing and adding different activities as I go is how I build discipline. It would mean nothing for me to start at a more advanced level, get frustrated with myself, and then quit. Which I have done in the past. But, when I started off slowly at a beginner's level, I gained confidence, strength, and discipline. And, when I outgrew the beginner's level activities, it made me want to push myself to more. That's all I'm saying. Joining PF helped me do that. I NEEDED that to get myself where I am to day and to help motivate me to more in the future. I will probably outgrow PF soon. And when I do, I'll move on to something else. And that's fine too. As a matter of fact, that was always my goal. The fact that I can say that I am outgrowing PF is a HUGE accomplishment for me when two years ago, a twenty minute walk was painful for me.

Are these Planet Fitness "levels"? These don't make any sense.

The absolute first thing I would teach an absolute, know-nothing newbie is how to squat. Period, end of story. It's the single most effective and efficient exercise you can do for fat loss, strength, and muscle development.

I'm happy for your progress and all, but you're really selling yourself short by convincing yourself (or letting other people convince you) that you're not ready for "real" exercise or something.

I know how to squat but due to several hernia surgeries I choose not to lift at all. My father is having knee replacement surgery and my mother has leg problems and they do not want or need to do squats. It is just not for everyone........

I've said this before, I think it's an absolutely a brilliant business model and they know exactly what they are doing. They are not after people who want a gym experience. They are after people that will pay $10 a month and never show up. It doesn't matter to them. They are not after most people here. It's not really a gym, you guys. It's so obvious. It's a membership to a "gym". So, someone can tell their friends, "I joined a gym", and then never go. The $10/month is so small that no one cancels. And, they have lots of people continuing to pay monthly fees that never show up. It's absolutely brilliant. They don't want you and me there because we use the *kitten* out of the place and put wear and tear on the equipment. You and I are not part of their business model.

It's is brilliant. I wish I thought of it first.

Same point I tried to make....business model as they are a business and can still help some...

I belong to 2 gyms, one of them being PF. The *only* reason I have the PF membership is because it is where by boyfriend and I work out together on the weekends; due to his work schedule, he needs to be at the gym earlier than most open for the day so the hours are best for him. That being said.....I cannot stand PF. The one I go to has about 5-6 Smith machines (no squat racks) and we have done deadlifts there without any hassle. BUT it is dirty, the equipment is old and crappy, and when it does break they are slow to get it fixed or it doesn't get fixed at all. The DB's only go up to 75lbs which is not a problem for me (yet) but is for my boyfriend (who also belongs to a gym near his office).

The madness with the pizza, bagels and Tootsie Rolls has caused me to rename it.....PLANET FATNESS.

I've said this before, I think it's an absolutely a brilliant business model and they know exactly what they are doing. They are not after people who want a gym experience. They are after people that will pay $10 a month and never show up. It doesn't matter to them. They are not after most people here. It's not really a gym, you guys. It's so obvious. It's a membership to a "gym". So, someone can tell their friends, "I joined a gym", and then never go. The $10/month is so small that no one cancels. And, they have lots of people continuing to pay monthly fees that never show up. It's absolutely brilliant. They don't want you and me there because we use the *kitten* out of the place and put wear and tear on the equipment. You and I are not part of their business model.

It's is brilliant. I wish I thought of it first.

Same point I tried to make....business model as they are a business and can still help some...

And this is all perfectly fine. But they can do it without calling us 'lunks' (still can't quite believe I can consider myself part of a group identified as 'lunks'). While at the same time claiming to be judgement free. I don't care whether it's good or bad business. I'm peeved by the hypocrisy.

I've said this before, I think it's an absolutely a brilliant business model and they know exactly what they are doing. They are not after people who want a gym experience. They are after people that will pay $10 a month and never show up. It doesn't matter to them. They are not after most people here. It's not really a gym, you guys. It's so obvious. It's a membership to a "gym". So, someone can tell their friends, "I joined a gym", and then never go. The $10/month is so small that no one cancels. And, they have lots of people continuing to pay monthly fees that never show up. It's absolutely brilliant. They don't want you and me there because we use the *kitten* out of the place and put wear and tear on the equipment. You and I are not part of their business model.

It's is brilliant. I wish I thought of it first.

Same point I tried to make....business model as they are a business and can still help some...

There are many situations where heavy lifting is not something one can do. If you are in some sort of rehabilitative state or something, it might be perfect because it's super cheap, and you can hop on a stationary bike, or treadmill or whatever and do your exercise. So, it does have a place, for sure. There are probably thousands of people at my gym that have never touched a single weight, ever. And, my gyms kinda pricey. For those people, why not hit up PF?

Sure, why not? There is no problem with people using PF. The problem is with PF characterizing a group of people as 'lunks' and then reinforcing that stereotype in the mind's of it's members. That's just plain rude.

we're at the level that they are offering.

That doesn't really mean anything, honestly. There's no "level" you need to be at to do squats and deadlifts. I'm not sure what weight training you're doing at PF, but they clearly fail to offer the most effective tools out there for people in your situation.

There are levels. And the first one is "beginner". At least that's how it was for me. I didn't stay at the beginner level. I've progressed beyond that and I plan to progress beyond the level I am now to more advanced things. And working my way up slowing and adding different activities as I go is how I build discipline. It would mean nothing for me to start at a more advanced level, get frustrated with myself, and then quit. Which I have done in the past. But, when I started off slowly at a beginner's level, I gained confidence, strength, and discipline. And, when I outgrew the beginner's level activities, it made me want to push myself to more. That's all I'm saying. Joining PF helped me do that. I NEEDED that to get myself where I am to day and to help motivate me to more in the future. I will probably outgrow PF soon. And when I do, I'll move on to something else. And that's fine too. As a matter of fact, that was always my goal. The fact that I can say that I am outgrowing PF is a HUGE accomplishment for me when two years ago, a twenty minute walk was painful for me.

Are these Planet Fitness "levels"? These don't make any sense.

The absolute first thing I would teach an absolute, know-nothing newbie is how to squat. Period, end of story. It's the single most effective and efficient exercise you can do for fat loss, strength, and muscle development.

I'm happy for your progress and all, but you're really selling yourself short by convincing yourself (or letting other people convince you) that you're not ready for "real" exercise or something.

Are you purposely misunderstanding me? Seriously, I'm not sure. Of course there are levels; there are levels of activity, levels of skill, levels of abilities, levels confidence. When I first decided that I wanted to get healthy, I couldn't do more than 7 minutes on an elliptical. I couldn't do free weights because I didn't know the form. I also hadn't done squats, lunges, planks, etc. But I slowly learned. I learned what exercises, like squats, lunges, planks, etc, were good for me and how to do them. And I started doing them regularly. And I would add on new exercises slowly. Over the course of a month or two, I gained stamina and strength. I could do cardio longer and could do more reps of strength training activities. And I gained more confidence in my ability to do even more. Also, my desire to learn bigger and better things increased. I was no longer a beginner in working out. I had advanced. That is what I mean by levels.

For the record:

I CAN do squats. I DO squats. Often. I don't particularly like them, but they ARE a part of my workout routine.

I HAVE used free weights. I had a friend teach me how because I didn't know the right form in the beginning. She taught me at PF

I HAVE used weight machines. In the beginning, I used them exclusively until a friend told me that free weights were better because you got a more complete core workout instead of just targeting certain muscle groups with the weight machines. She taught me at PF.

I HAVE and DO incorporate different kinds of strength training in with my cardio. I've done yoga, pilates, tai chi, free weights, etc. But I didn't always. In the beginning, I couldn't. I had to build up to this.

Is it just me or does this look like one of the rooms in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory?

I've said this before, I think it's an absolutely a brilliant business model and they know exactly what they are doing. They are not after people who want a gym experience. They are after people that will pay $10 a month and never show up. It doesn't matter to them. They are not after most people here. It's not really a gym, you guys. It's so obvious. It's a membership to a "gym". So, someone can tell their friends, "I joined a gym", and then never go. The $10/month is so small that no one cancels. And, they have lots of people continuing to pay monthly fees that never show up. It's absolutely brilliant. They don't want you and me there because we use the *kitten* out of the place and put wear and tear on the equipment. You and I are not part of their business model.

It's is brilliant. I wish I thought of it first.

Same point I tried to make....business model as they are a business and can still help some...

And this is all perfectly fine. But they can do it without calling us 'lunks' (still can't quite believe I can consider myself part of a group identified as 'lunks'). While at the same time claiming to be judgement free. I don't care whether it's good or bad business. I'm peeved by the hypocrisy.

The whole lunk thing is nothing but creative marketing. At my PF there have been weights dropped, some light grunting, guys hanging upside down from the pull up bar doing inverted dips and no one has been asked to leave. I am also not aware of anyone being asked to leave due to clothing and man have I seen things....

I digress...bottom line it is a cleer way to market to those afraid of the old Gold's Gym atmosphere. I am friends with guys that would look like lunk's and they go there on the regular.

As someone with a history of a pair of nasty back injuries and knee injuries, squatting and dead lifting isn't on my agenda. It just isn't

There are a lot of people like me that will never use free weights. Older, injured, recuperating. JUST WANTING CARDIO. Or isolation machines so no risk of injury because you can do it right. Less risk of blowing out your back...

Now, I go to a gym that isn't PF and has every bell and whistle possible- and use a personal trainer 3 times a week so I don't blow out my knee again- but I can afford it and even when I was not working and putting someone through school- I made the money a priority. Literally. For everyone, that's not an option. Think of the people on fixed incomes that even 10 bucks is a lot of money. Hey, AT LEAST THEY'RE PUTTING MONEY INTO THEIR HEALTH.

I disagree with them calling people "lunks." But for 10 bucks a month to have an elliptical to work out on in the cold weather or when my knee was bothering me? Yeah, that's worth it.

And, as someone coming down from an astronomical weight- had I not been experienced with weights before my journey spiked in that direction? I would have found it LESS INTIMIDATING to go that route. And isn't it great that I could have? I mean, any movement- at one point in my life I couldn't get out of a wheelchair- AND THERE ARE LOTS OF PEOPLE LIKE THIS- is good, so getting on a treadmill or elliptical is exercise.

Don't judge what business model is good for someone else. You want weights, dont' go there. You want to get started doing some cardio, some free weights? Go there.

The problem isn't that PF is no good for anyone. It's clearly good for you and that's fine.

The problem is that PF actively demonizes the most effective forms of training and convinces people they shouldn't be lifting weights, when most of them really should.

And that is a great OPINION for you...If you see what they are doing wrong open LIFTER PARADISE and make the millions they are but I find it shameful that you want everyone to buy into your OPINION while ignoring theirs.

The whole lunk thing is nothing but creative marketing. At my PF there have been weights dropped, some light grunting, guys hanging upside down from the pull up bar doing inverted dips and no one has been asked to leave. I am also not aware of anyone being asked to leave due to clothing and man have I seen things....

I digress...bottom line it is a cleer way to market to those afraid of the old Gold's Gym atmosphere. I am friends with guys that would look like lunk's and they go there on the regular.

Same with my PF. There are plenty of really ripped, buff guys who work out there at any given time and no one has asked them to leave. They also rarely pull the lunk alarm. The couple of times it's gone off was because there was a guy being really obnoxious and talking (read: yelling) across the gym to someone constantly. There was another time they pulled it but they knew the guy and they were doing it to mess him up because the staff was cracking up at him and he was laughing too.

And again, as far as what equipment they do and don't have depends on who owns that particular facility.

Whatever. There are going to be those who abhor Planet Fitness and those whose needs it suits.

I haven't had any issues with mine. I like it, it works for me. I'm far from being fat and flabby and (gasp!) have muscles from working out there. I push it as hard as I can, lift as heavy as I can (for me) and get an awesome workout. It doesn't matter what gym a person goes to if they're NOT putting in the effort and they're consuming more calories than they should then they're NOT going to lose weight and they're NOT going to see results period. You could go to Golds Gym, 24 Hour Fitness or what have you but if you're NOT making any sort of effort than you're not going to see results.

It's not the gyms fault it's your fault.

I enjoyed my PF, but I needed more so I joined Gold's. It worked for me while I was there. Different strokes for different folks

we're at the level that they are offering.

That doesn't really mean anything, honestly. There's no "level" you need to be at to do squats and deadlifts. I'm not sure what weight training you're doing at PF, but they clearly fail to offer the most effective tools out there for people in your situation.

There are levels. And the first one is "beginner". At least that's how it was for me. I didn't stay at the beginner level. I've progressed beyond that and I plan to progress beyond the level I am now to more advanced things. And working my way up slowing and adding different activities as I go is how I build discipline. It would mean nothing for me to start at a more advanced level, get frustrated with myself, and then quit. Which I have done in the past. But, when I started off slowly at a beginner's level, I gained confidence, strength, and discipline. And, when I outgrew the beginner's level activities, it made me want to push myself to more. That's all I'm saying. Joining PF helped me do that. I NEEDED that to get myself where I am to day and to help motivate me to more in the future. I will probably outgrow PF soon. And when I do, I'll move on to something else. And that's fine too. As a matter of fact, that was always my goal. The fact that I can say that I am outgrowing PF is a HUGE accomplishment for me when two years ago, a twenty minute walk was painful for me.

Are these Planet Fitness "levels"? These don't make any sense.

The absolute first thing I would teach an absolute, know-nothing newbie is how to squat. Period, end of story. It's the single most effective and efficient exercise you can do for fat loss, strength, and muscle development.

I'm happy for your progress and all, but you're really selling yourself short by convincing yourself (or letting other people convince you) that you're not ready for "real" exercise or something.

Are you purposely misunderstanding me? Seriously, I'm not sure. Of course there are levels; there are levels of activity, levels of skill, levels of abilities, levels confidence. When I first decided that I wanted to get healthy, I couldn't do more than 7 minutes on an elliptical. I couldn't do free weights because I didn't know the form. I also hadn't done squats, lunges, planks, etc. But I slowly learned. I learned what exercises, like squats, lunges, planks, etc, were good for me and how to do them. And I started doing them regularly. And I would add on new exercises slowly. Over the course of a month or two, I gained stamina and strength. I could do cardio longer and could do more reps of strength training activities. And I gained more confidence in my ability to do even more. Also, my desire to learn bigger and better things increased. I was no longer a beginner in working out. I had advanced. That is what I mean by levels.

For the record:

I CAN do squats. I DO squats. Often. I don't particularly like them, but they ARE a part of my workout routine.

I HAVE used free weights. I had a friend teach me how because I didn't know the right form in the beginning. She taught me at PF

I HAVE used weight machines. In the beginning, I used them exclusively until a friend told me that free weights were better because you got a more complete core workout instead of just targeting certain muscle groups with the weight machines. She taught me at PF.

I HAVE and DO incorporate different kinds of strength training in with my cardio. I've done yoga, pilates, tai chi, free weights, etc. But I didn't always. In the beginning, I couldn't. I had to build up to this.

There are definitely levels to fitness. The problem with PF is that they are going to take away that growth opportunity by taking away squats and deadlifts. I joined the Y (lots of everything) and when I started, I spent time on the elliptical, treadmill and bikes. I would look over to my right and see the weight machines. Eventually, I got trained on them and now free weights were in my sightline. Finally took the step into Powerlifts 5X5 (trained on them) and love it. I have a lot of weight to lose and still do cardio but the point is...if you can't see that next level...you're not going to try to achieve it.