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The most insecure gym goers that I know are the meatheads who insist on mocking the gym newbies and parading around their gigantic egos like a badge of honor. Have you ever stopped to think that maybe the reason gyms like Planet Fitness exist is to be a safe haven from people who mock and intimidate people who are just trying to get healthier?
Way to call people who are looking for that escape "pathetic and insecure."
I've worked out in two different chain gyms, hardcore musclehead gyms filled with juiced up body builders and powerlifters, in my basement, at the YMCA and at my high school and except for the HS gym I've never seen anyone mocked for being a newbie.
Of all the places I've worked out at the muscle ehads at the "hardcore" gym were probably the most willing to help out a new person. They were by far the most considerate as well. Plates and dunb bells always put away, equipment wiped down, etc..... Everywhere else is rude city.
It's all well and good to have a low cost gym cater to beginners but I find it offensive to promote mediocrity. Brilliant marketing though... play on jealousy and insecurity and cash in.
"It's all well and good to have a low cost gym cater to beginners but I find it offensive to promote mediocrity. Brilliant marketing though... play on jealousy and insecurity and cash in."
Some people have to start somewhere non threatening or they will not start at all. I do not know how many times I have heard people say that they wouldn't join a gym because they are intimidating. Thats an excuse of course. But if there is a gym that caters to those people than that excuse goes out the window. I do not why some of you people are so against a place that promotes fitness no matter how 'lame' it might be. As long as they have people walking through the door trying to better themselves is all good!
"It's all well and good to have a low cost gym cater to beginners but I find it offensive to promote mediocrity. Brilliant marketing though... play on jealousy and insecurity and cash in."
Some people have to start somewhere non threatening or they will not start at all. I do not know how many times I have heard people say that they wouldn't join a gym because they are intimidating. Thats an excuse of course. But if there is a gym that caters to those people than that excuse goes out the window. I do not why some of you people are so against a place that promotes fitness no matter how 'lame' it might be. As long as they have people walking through the door trying to better themselves is all good!
I agree. I don't understand how it's "promoting mediocrity." One size doesn't fit all when it comes to exercise. Maybe some people prefer cardio machines and equipment rather than lifting heavy weights. Planet Fitness is not dictating how many miles one can run on the treadmill. What about the person who enjoys the treadmill and decides they want to run 10 miles on the thing every day? That's hardly mediocre. I'm assuming PF has some weights, just not the really heavy ones. Who is telling PF members they can only lift 10 or 20 pounds?
At my gym there are only about five or six treadmills and a couple elliptical machines. If that's the exercise I enjoyed, I'd much rather pay $30 less a month than I currently pay to have rows and rows of machines available for use whenever I feel like it. I don't care for the treadmill and hate the elliptical with a passion, but I'd still rather pay $10 a month for the few times when it's my best option.
No, but your location that says 'St. Louis, Mo', is a St. Louis thing.
Oh, I know. It just amused me, for some reason, that you quoted my lol post. Are you from St. Louis? My brother is actually out in Albuquerque now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dubyanumberone
It's all well and good to have a low cost gym cater to beginners but I find it offensive to promote mediocrity. Brilliant marketing though... play on jealousy and insecurity and cash in.
I'll be another chiming in about how I don't see how PF is promoting mediocrity by not having the heaviest of weights.
My gym is a mix of body types. There are a good number of big guys who have been lifting for a long time. There are also a good number of skinny guys who are just starting out. I have never seen a bigger guy mock, or make fun of a smaller guy. Why would they? They would just look like a fool doing so. I myself am in pretty good shape and far from being what you could consider a meathead. The bigger guys at my gym are nice and don't walk around like they own the place because they are more built than others.
Go to the gym and do what you have to do. Don't worry about what anyone else is doing, or if they are staring at you. If people are spending their time at the gym staring, mocking, judging, making a ton of comments, then they are there for the wrong reasons and wasting time.
Oh, I know. It just amused me, for some reason, that you quoted my lol post. Are you from St. Louis? My brother is actually out in Albuquerque now.
I'll be another chiming in about how I don't see how PF is promoting mediocrity by not having the heaviest of weights.
It's not the fact that they don't have the heaviest of weights rather the fact that they forbid some of the most beneficial exercises from being performed, promote misinformation about fitness and insult one group to make another feel good. No squats or dead lifts allowed? Are you kidding me? And you are a gym?
The whole Planet Fitness concept could be great with a few twists. Instead of harassing anyone who achieves the slightest bit of fitness how about instead adopting a policy of common courtesy? Insist members re-rack weights, wipe down equipment and not tie up a piece of equipment for an excessive amount of time. Don't allow excessive amounts of grunting or screaming. Don't allow people to slam/drop weights repeatedly. Ban the wannabe playboys that spend more time hitting on the female members than they do working out. BAN EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF PERFUME, COLOGNE OR AX BODY SPRAY!!!!!!!! Basically, demand common courtesy from your members. I'd sign up for a gym like that in a heartbeat.
Instead, you have a gym that tosses members for breathing loud or dropping a weight after a particularly hard set. Why? To have a scapegoat to make weak minded insecure people feel good about themselves so they don't have to work hard.
No one makes you feel inferior, you allow yourself to feel inferior and if the only way you can feel good is to put someone down that does something better than you do then you are a weak person.
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
Last edited by dubyanumberone; 05-02-2012 at 11:46 AM..
it seems planet fitness has become aware that there are a lot of really pathetic insecure people out there that need to be babied and they market to them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainNJ
nobody mocks or intimidates other gym members. that would be an extremely rare occurence by a real jerk. this insecure feeling is internal for the pathetic person.
Your first post is mocking gym members and your second post is saying nobody mocks gym members. And if they did they would be real jerks.
Ok, I get it. Your admitting to be a real jerk.
It's not the fact that they don't have the heaviest of weights rather the fact that they forbid some of the most beneficial exercises from being performed, promote misinformation about fitness and insult one group to make another feel good. No squats or dead lifts allowed? Are you kidding me? And you are a gym?
The whole Planet Fitness concept could be great with a few twists. Instead of harassing anyone who achieves the slightest bit of fitness how about instead adopting a policy of common courtesy? Insist members re-rack weights, wipe down equipment and not tie up a piece of equipment for an excessive amount of time. Don't allow excessive amounts of grunting or screaming. Don't allow people to slam/drop weights repeatedly. Ban the wannabe playboys that spend more time hitting on the female members than they do working out. BAN EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF PERFUME, COLOGNE OR AX BODY SPRAY!!!!!!!! Basically, demand common courtesy from your members. I'd sign up for a gym like that in a heartbeat.
Instead, you have a gym that tosses members for breathing loud or dropping a weight after a particularly hard set. Why? To have a scapegoat to make weak minded insecure people feel good about themselves so they don't have to work hard.
No one makes you feel inferior, you allow yourself to feel inferior and if the only way you can feel good is to put someone down that does something better than you do then you are a weak person.
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
Well, I do love squats and deadlifts, and I find them to be essential for my program and to reach my goals. However, you are failing to understand that not everyone wants to or needs to do barbell squats or deadlifts. I need to do squats and deadlifts, so I'll go to a gym that has a squat rack and preferably a powerlifting/olympic lifting platform. And just who is Planet Fitness insulting? I am a pretty heavy lifter, and I don't feel insulted by their philosophy and rules; that's, again, just who the market to. It has NOTHING to do with those gym goers being insecure and pathetic.
As an aside, people who drop their weights after their sets are extremely, extremely annoying. It's one thing if you are dropping the weights in a designated powerlifting platform, or using barbells and plates (like the fiberglass plates) that are designed to be dropped for the exercises the are intended for, but not with the standard dumbbells and barbell plates. Rule of thumb is if you can't handle the weight in a controlled fashion, then you shouldn't be using it. If you are moving up weight and you are forced to drop the dumbbells for safety's sake, that's fine, but if that's the case you should go a little lighter for your next set. I have had plenty of very hard sets (especially now that I am increasing my volume and rep range,) but I still put the weights down in a controlled manner.
I really don't understand why PF has struck a nerve with so many people. If they don't cater to your demands, don't go, and have respect for the people that the gym caters to.
It's not the fact that they don't have the heaviest of weights rather the fact that they forbid some of the most beneficial exercises from being performed, promote misinformation about fitness and insult one group to make another feel good. No squats or dead lifts allowed? Are you kidding me? And you are a gym?
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
I have yet to see a sign forbidding people from doing squats or deadlifts. Nor have I seen PF employees harass "anyone who achieves the slightest bit of fitness."
Quote:
Originally Posted by dubyanumberone
The whole Planet Fitness concept could be great with a few twists. Instead of harassing anyone who achieves the slightest bit of fitness how about instead adopting a policy of common courtesy? Insist members re-rack weights, wipe down equipment and not tie up a piece of equipment for an excessive amount of time. Don't allow excessive amounts of grunting or screaming. Don't allow people to slam/drop weights repeatedly. Ban the wannabe playboys that spend more time hitting on the female members than they do working out. BAN EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF PERFUME, COLOGNE OR AX BODY SPRAY!!!!!!!! Basically, demand common courtesy from your members. I'd sign up for a gym like that in a heartbeat.
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
In fact, a lot of the "lunk alarm"/ "no lunks allowed" thing that seems to get many people riled up actually is in tune with your suggestions: No excessive grunting/screaming, not allowing people to drop/slam weights repeatedly...
Quote:
Originally Posted by dubyanumberone
Instead, you have a gym that tosses members for breathing loud or dropping a weight after a particularly hard set.
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
Isn't that in complete contradiction to your suggestions above? At any rate, I hope you know that no one is kicked out for breathing loudly.
it seems planet fitness has become aware that there are a lot of really pathetic insecure people out there that need to be babied and they market to them.
or they like to offer a place for people to work out in the absence of d*bags.
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