Normalizing intimidation: or, why I hate Planet Fitness
Ah, Planet Fitness, the butt of jokes and source of internet memes galore.
Anyway, Planet Fitness, for those who are not in the know, is a national chain gym that pimps itself as an "intimidation-free zone" where just any old schlub can go and get a good workout, for massive cheap ($10/month, typically), without having to endure sight of people with muscle definition, attractive midriffs, or who grunt when working out. (I'm not exaggerating. We'll get there.) Generally, I agree with the criticisms of this gym. I mean, any gym that lures in new clients with Free Pizza Mondays should have a credibility problem. But the criticisms PF endures typically revolve around serving junk food and not allowing people to work out hard, and have all been very well explored elsewhere. I've got a different problem with PF that I haven't really seen discussed elsewhere, so I thought I'd put it out there. It's on the philosophical side, rather than on the methodology/physiology side, so maybe I'm actually a good person to go after this particular problem.
Yes, that's a real thing at Planet Fitness gyms. There is an actual button you can actually hit if you witness anyone who "grunts, drops weights or judges" and then a snarky example of a guy wearing a body building shirt *gasp* and hoisting around a gallon jug of water--hydration ftw?
But these are the behaviors that intimidate the new folks, right? Yeah, they probably are. So we should prohibit them, so that the gym will be less intimidating, right? NO. What it does is normalize intimidation. Instead of helping new folks understand why people behave like this in a gym, and maybe help people find their way into that world, they essentially criminalize them. They aren't helping anyone get over their intimidation--they're just catering to it.
Now, if it were actually the case that all of these gym histrionics were really just a bunch of theater, or ego-fueled meatheads or something, maybe PF would have a point. Certainly that's the story they're trying to sell--that there's no point to doing things like grunting or dropping weights (or drinking water? still lost on that one) other than to intimate other gym goers. I'm not going to go through the physiology or exercise theory behind why that's a bunch of BS. I'm going to make this easy: I, and pretty much all of the free weight regulars at my gym, have done all of the things on the lunk alarm (yes, even judging in my head--I'm a human). None of us are doing them in order to intimidate others. Most of us could care less about other people while we're working out. We grunt because we're lifting heavy shit. We drop weights because they're heavy and because that's the safest way to complete some of the basic lifts (e.g., overhead presses, deadlifts, etc.). We drink water from gallon jugs because... wait, do I really have to explain that one? Cripes.
Seriously, all of us over in the weights section understand that what we do looks freaky and intimidating to outsiders. We were all new once. 98% of us are very willing to help anyone new get started (and the other 2% are just too wrapped up in their lifts to notice). We typically love what we do, we know how great it is for our bodies and our minds, and we welcome other people to join us! We think it is awesome when newbies come and give those dumbells a shot. We aren't judging (well, not much anyway) when we gently correct your form--we just want people to be safe and get the most out of their workouts, so they'll come to love lifting the way we do.
So for a gym juggernaut like Planet Fitness to come along and basically say "Oh no! Don't go to that horrible place with those scary Neanderthals! Stay scared and intimidated! Come over to our happy purple place where you can continue to live in fear of things you don't understand, and eat pizza!" Never mind how irresponsible their gym and corporate practices might be, it's flat out personally insulting to me. And the crazy doesn't stop there. PF has kicked out individuals for wearing revealing clothes that show off their good physiques (e.g., tank tops with spaghetti straps in one case, and a top that showed a midriff in another case I'm aware of). Think about that. This is a gym that will eject people for having good looking bodies, because other patrons might find them intimidating. I mean, do I find them intimidating? Yes. But do I also find them inspiring? YES. Am I impressed as hell by the work they've done? GAWD YES. Planet Fitness is a gym that shames people for getting in shape. Yeah, let that one sink in for a minute.
So yes, I hate Planet Fitness, because it demonizes me. It caters to this idea that what I do is somehow scary and insult-worthy, that what I do is all aimed at making other people feel worse about themselves. Good lord, how could I not be angry? Its nonsense, and I'm the fall guy for it. Well, that's stupid, so I'm going to at least add my voice to the chorus of fitness folks who are fighting back. I lift heavy, I grunt, I growl, I drop the occasional weight, I've even yelled before. I won't stop because someone doesn't understand what I'm doing and doesn't like it. And I'll push back wherever I can. It makes me really mad that there's this gym that's built its whole business model on making people fear and hate something that has improved my life immeasurably. Hopefully someday Planet Fitness will stop using people doing hard workouts as a scapegoat for the truth--they're just encouraging our fears and intimidation in order to take our money, plain and simple.
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| Crud! I went to find some meme examples, and just spent over an hour looking at funny lifting memes instead of working on this post. Curse you Pinterest!!!! |
Anyway, Planet Fitness, for those who are not in the know, is a national chain gym that pimps itself as an "intimidation-free zone" where just any old schlub can go and get a good workout, for massive cheap ($10/month, typically), without having to endure sight of people with muscle definition, attractive midriffs, or who grunt when working out. (I'm not exaggerating. We'll get there.) Generally, I agree with the criticisms of this gym. I mean, any gym that lures in new clients with Free Pizza Mondays should have a credibility problem. But the criticisms PF endures typically revolve around serving junk food and not allowing people to work out hard, and have all been very well explored elsewhere. I've got a different problem with PF that I haven't really seen discussed elsewhere, so I thought I'd put it out there. It's on the philosophical side, rather than on the methodology/physiology side, so maybe I'm actually a good person to go after this particular problem.
Planet Fitness caters to people who are intimidated by going to the gym. In a sense, this is laudable. I am still intimidated at the gym occasionally, and I'm now one of the regulars. There are people at my gym who can outlift me even when suffering from consumption. People who have abs that can cut glass. People who have been at this for years, who know the gym inside and out, who have perfect form and teeth (damn them) and custom-blended pre-workout shakes. Sure, that's intimidating. It doesn't help that a lot of us are walking around with scowls on our faces (Pro tip: those are our "game faces") acting all-but-angry as we grab weights, grunt loud, hoist them up, growl, and slam them back down. This whole thing can be a strange and alien world, and it is a big step to get past the intimidation of trying to enter into it. Lord knows I spent most of my life hiding over in the cardio-machine jungle, safe from the barbells slamming to the ground and people chanting "go-go-go-you-got-this-GO!" Finding ways of making this world friendlier, more open, more accessible--that's awesome, I'm behind it.
Enter Planet Fitness. As I said, Planet Fitness bills itself as a judgment-free, criticism-free, intimidation-free zone. I should be right there with it, yah? Not so much. Let me introduce you to "The Lunk Alarm":
Yes, that's a real thing at Planet Fitness gyms. There is an actual button you can actually hit if you witness anyone who "grunts, drops weights or judges" and then a snarky example of a guy wearing a body building shirt *gasp* and hoisting around a gallon jug of water--hydration ftw?
But these are the behaviors that intimidate the new folks, right? Yeah, they probably are. So we should prohibit them, so that the gym will be less intimidating, right? NO. What it does is normalize intimidation. Instead of helping new folks understand why people behave like this in a gym, and maybe help people find their way into that world, they essentially criminalize them. They aren't helping anyone get over their intimidation--they're just catering to it.
Now, if it were actually the case that all of these gym histrionics were really just a bunch of theater, or ego-fueled meatheads or something, maybe PF would have a point. Certainly that's the story they're trying to sell--that there's no point to doing things like grunting or dropping weights (or drinking water? still lost on that one) other than to intimate other gym goers. I'm not going to go through the physiology or exercise theory behind why that's a bunch of BS. I'm going to make this easy: I, and pretty much all of the free weight regulars at my gym, have done all of the things on the lunk alarm (yes, even judging in my head--I'm a human). None of us are doing them in order to intimidate others. Most of us could care less about other people while we're working out. We grunt because we're lifting heavy shit. We drop weights because they're heavy and because that's the safest way to complete some of the basic lifts (e.g., overhead presses, deadlifts, etc.). We drink water from gallon jugs because... wait, do I really have to explain that one? Cripes.
Seriously, all of us over in the weights section understand that what we do looks freaky and intimidating to outsiders. We were all new once. 98% of us are very willing to help anyone new get started (and the other 2% are just too wrapped up in their lifts to notice). We typically love what we do, we know how great it is for our bodies and our minds, and we welcome other people to join us! We think it is awesome when newbies come and give those dumbells a shot. We aren't judging (well, not much anyway) when we gently correct your form--we just want people to be safe and get the most out of their workouts, so they'll come to love lifting the way we do.
So for a gym juggernaut like Planet Fitness to come along and basically say "Oh no! Don't go to that horrible place with those scary Neanderthals! Stay scared and intimidated! Come over to our happy purple place where you can continue to live in fear of things you don't understand, and eat pizza!" Never mind how irresponsible their gym and corporate practices might be, it's flat out personally insulting to me. And the crazy doesn't stop there. PF has kicked out individuals for wearing revealing clothes that show off their good physiques (e.g., tank tops with spaghetti straps in one case, and a top that showed a midriff in another case I'm aware of). Think about that. This is a gym that will eject people for having good looking bodies, because other patrons might find them intimidating. I mean, do I find them intimidating? Yes. But do I also find them inspiring? YES. Am I impressed as hell by the work they've done? GAWD YES. Planet Fitness is a gym that shames people for getting in shape. Yeah, let that one sink in for a minute.
So yes, I hate Planet Fitness, because it demonizes me. It caters to this idea that what I do is somehow scary and insult-worthy, that what I do is all aimed at making other people feel worse about themselves. Good lord, how could I not be angry? Its nonsense, and I'm the fall guy for it. Well, that's stupid, so I'm going to at least add my voice to the chorus of fitness folks who are fighting back. I lift heavy, I grunt, I growl, I drop the occasional weight, I've even yelled before. I won't stop because someone doesn't understand what I'm doing and doesn't like it. And I'll push back wherever I can. It makes me really mad that there's this gym that's built its whole business model on making people fear and hate something that has improved my life immeasurably. Hopefully someday Planet Fitness will stop using people doing hard workouts as a scapegoat for the truth--they're just encouraging our fears and intimidation in order to take our money, plain and simple.
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