*SIGH* - My Gym is Turning into Planet Fitness

[-=FLEX=-]

The irony of it all is that when this club first opened up (forget thename at the time) it was known as a "hardcore" type gym. Not quite the level of a Gold's or Powerhouse, but it was up there.

At some point it was acquired by Goodlife Fitness, which I guess is Canada's largest chain of health clubs now. The two big ones were Goodlife and Premiere, and they both had a strategy of acquiring any successful club and blending it in with their medicore version of a "Fitness Club". Premiere went bankrupt in March of this year.

So last year they took out an entire set of Nautilus Nitro equipment and replaced it with one of those TRX jungle-gym things (which I never see anyone use).

Recently they started placing all these signs around the gym that say "Every BODY Welcome Here. No Judgement."

Sound familiar???

And the clincher; today I walk in the gym at 5:05am and the lady at the front desk says to me "Can I ask you a favor? When you're lifting your big weights, can you please try not to make so much noise? You're scaring the other members because they can hear it even through their headphones. It even freaked me out a little."

I was just like "Ummmmm.....okay.....???"

I am assuming she was referring to my Deadlift session last Friday, because I failed twice on my 515 attempt. So I guess that was loud. Otherwise I don't make gratuitous noise in the gym and/or throw weights around. I see lots of other guys that do, but I don't. I've posted lots of vids here that can prove that.

Pisses me off being singled out like that, because my gym is a freaking mess every morning when I get there. Usually 1/3 to 1/2 of the dumbbells are scattered on the floor, plates everywhere, garbage everywhere (empty water bottles, paper towels, etc.). Yet I never leave any garbage and ALWAYS re-rack all my plates and dumbbells. ALWAYS. Lisa will even go around and pick up equipment that is lying on the floor and put it away between her sets! But I'm the bad guy because I do heavy deadlifts once a week.

I wonder how long before I'm asked to leave, because I'm not stopping deadlifting.

And FWIW the noise form the spin class that they run is 100times worse than anything I've heard in a gym in my life. An hour straight of screaming and yelling and super loud techno music. And yes; I can hear it over my own headphones.

/rant

[MrNismo]

Sucks Flex but you should say something. Talk to the manager, tell them exactly what was said to you and state exactly what you said here. Complain about how you are causing no danger by setting 500 lbs down straight onto the floor and that 500 lbs will make noise no matter how 'softly it is set down. But weights lying around all over the place is a hazard and they need to correct those that leave them around before they worry about you setting down weight.

I'd be pissed too man.

[nvrstopworking]

Before GoodLife it was called "Absolute Fitness"... and yep, it was pretty cool back then.

I have a solution for ya though... get your membership transferred over to the new gym. Problem solved.

With 6 power racks in there they obviously expect people to lift heavy and it's a MUCH bigger area so I'd imagine that sound doesn't carry as much.

mind = kinda blown though @ them actually saying something to you though. LOL! I guess celebrity can have it's downfalls too?

[quietchef]

Deadlifting 300# in my basement gym sounds like thunder when I set them down, never dropped. One of the reasons I did switch to a home gym instead of a commercial one was, besides convenience, the ability to make noise, hear my music without headphones, grunt when I feel like it, scream without getting evil eyes (hitting a PR makes me go a little looney).

Only down side is no spotter, but I'm working on that too.

[llahhsoj]

The irony of it all is that when this club first opened up (forget thename at the time) it was known as a "hardcore" type gym. Not quite the level of a Gold's or Powerhouse, but it was up there.

Recently they started placing all these signs around the gym that say "Every BODY Welcome Here. No Judgement."

Sound familiar???

And the clincher; today I walk in the gym at 5:05am and the lady at the front desk says to me "Can I ask you a favor? When you're lifting your big weights, can you please try not to make so much noise? You're scaring the other members because they can hear it even through their headphones. It even freaked me out a little."

:

Why do they got to pick on the big guy like that? Anyways, I hear at Planet Fitness they only have dumbells that go up to 60 lbs. I would find somewhere else if I were you. Seeing how you workout so early and I doubt there is a lot of people at that time, they would watch you.

[whatevergirl]

lol @ the person at the front desk saying to you...'when you're lifting your big weights...'

that's a shame though flex, because from what I recall reading, you and Lisa seemed to like this place.

are you going to stay or start looking 4 some place new?

[-=FLEX=-]

Why do they got to pick on the big guy like that? Anyways, I hear at Planet Fitness they only have dumbells that go up to 60 lbs. I would find somewhere else if I were you. Seeing how you workout so early and I doubt there is a lot of people at that time, they would watch you.

Our DBs go up to 120.

There's a little Indian dude (dot not feather) that makes way more noise than me every single day and lifts 1/4 of what I lift. Everything he does he drops the weight from waist height onto the floor. If he's using a stack/cables for rows, he just let's go. I don't do any of that crap.

My guess is some snooty cardio bunny/whale was trying to concentrate on whatever shiz she was watching on TV and it was annoying her.

I went through this crap with a member of my old gym one day; he was walking like a turtle on the dreadmill and said I was "ruining his workout" because I dropped the 95 lb dbs after my set.

[-=FLEX=-]

are you going to stay or start looking 4 some place new?

I dunno yet wegs; we'll see. Depends how much they bother me about it.

If she just did her duty by asking me nicely to placate the other member or whatever, and never says another word, then fine.

If I hear about it again I will cancel my membership right there on the spot.

[broad.stance]

Workout Equipment

You will have to find or build a new gym if your current one is switching over to policies that will prevent you from achieving results.

I remember a post from a while ago with pics of a half rack and Olympic set up in your garage. (Think the topic was more about a helpful neighbor.) You may want to consider building upon that because commercial gyms can afford to 'get rid of' hardcore lifters.

[whatevergirl]

I dunno yet wegs; we'll see. Depends how much they bother me about it.

If she just did her duty by asking me nicely to placate the other member or whatever, and never says another word, then fine.

If I hear about it again I will cancel my membership right there on the spot.

you should remind her of the signage. every BODY is welcome here.
i hope it works out; it just would be a pain to have to look for another gym.

[DOMSelleck]

with 6 power racks in there they obviously expect people to lift heavy and it's a much bigger area so i'd imagine that sound doesn't carry as much.

Mind = kinda blown though @ them actually saying something to you though. Lol! I guess celebrity can have it's downfalls too?

hnnnnnnggggg

[-=FLEX=-]

Workout Equipment

You will have to find or build a new gym if your current one is switching over to policies that will prevent you from achieving results.

I remember a post from a while ago with pics of a half rack and Olympic set up in your garage. (Think the topic was more about a helpful neighbor.) You may want to consider building upon that because commercial gyms can afford to 'get rid of' hardcore lifters.

I def can DL in my garage if I want, but it's hard to do a full workout with the limited equipment that I have. Also when we went on vacation I pulled everytyhing down from the storage loft to get all the beach chair, umbrellas, etc. and nothing it put back. Might be a project for the coming weekend to get it sorted back out.



Plus winter is coming so that's a short-term solution (garage is not insulated or heated).

[drudixon]

There's a little Indian dude (dot not feather)

I LOL'ed. Never heard it put that way. Guess another thing I'll burn for.

Sry about your gym. That's serious lame. If they don't budge on the douchebaggery, find a new place.

[Xuaxace]

On the other side, I think my gym is trying to become more crossfit/"funtional" orientated. Most of the PT's are lobbying for tearing down the "cinema room" (a dark room with a big tv full of cardio machines) and add some platforms and more racks as it is nearly impossible for them to have room or equipment during peak hours. They already have a few prowlers/sleds/ropes/bands/boxing equipment/chains e etc, not too shabby.

Mind you, this is "fitness first", the biggest commercial gym chain in australia, so it is interesting that some clubs might be moving away from the cardio bunny type gym.



P.s I still get told off for taking my shoes off when squatting/deadlifting... a bit annoying

[whatevergirl]

from an insurance perspective, gyms are just trying to be safe, and avoid lawsuits...so, wearing shoes while lifting, etc...i understand that reasoning, i guess.

[pharmamarketer]

I left Lifetime Fitness for similiar reasons. I had enough one day and walked out. Joined Golds the next day for $9.97 a month

[Phattso]

It's the socialistic mentality we are all experiencing now that the governments (USA & Canada) are trying to coerce us into. "Nobody like a person who is financially successful" and "Nobody likes a person who is stronger than average or who looks better than average."

So, please give up half your paycheck and please do not lift more than the little Indian guy.

[taf1968]

Inb4FLEXalarm is installed.

That sucks, man . . . sounds like it's time to find a new place to crank iron?? Good luck!

[StressMonkey]

Flex can you stop ranting please? You're scaring me.

[silverlightning]

it's the socialistic mentality we are all experiencing now that the governments (usa & canada) are trying to coerce us into. "nobody like a person who is financially successful" and "nobody likes a person who is stronger than average or who looks better than average."

so, please give up half your paycheck and please do not lift more than the little indian guy.

word

[ironwill2008]

I wonder how long before I'm asked to leave.

Good question. It's coming though; it's just a matter of time. It happened to me about 15 years ago.

Sadly, this is the trend among all the fitness centers everywhere; membership being culled down to the lowest-common-denominator, and all the serious trainees (who show up all the time) being forced out over some vague interpretation of the 'rule(s)' by "management."




If you have another gym you can move to, and have no special attachment to where you're currently training, then maybe it's not really a problem after all, other than the aggravation of being singled-out for such treatment. If, OTOH, you don't have that option, now might be a good time to review the terms of your membership contract, and get ready for a battle if you feel like you want to stay where you're at.

[silverlightning]

sucks Flex. i workout at LA fitness and never have problems no matter which one I go to. one day though when i get enough space, I want enough weight to do a back workout. all free weights, i can add cable work on a different day if i need to.

[ntrllftr]

FLEXalarm FTW!!!!!!

Yeah, seems like more and more places are going this route.
Scaring the other customers... srsly WTF?!!!
Sorry to hear this Jim. It's a pain for me anyway trying to find a place with decent amount of weights at a good price that's close to home.

[nvrstopworking]

Honestly makes me wonder why someone doesn't open a small-ish gym that DOES cater to the "hardcore" crowd.

I'd imagine that you could probably even charge a little more (and people might be willing to PAY a little more) as long as you had great equipment and an expansive set of DBs.

FLEX... what's that "Erin Mills Fitness" place like? You & Lisa used to go there right?

[jtroster]

We can still grunt at my Goodlife. Usually the grunting is washed out by the loud music they play.

[-=FLEX=-]

Good question. It's coming though; it's just a matter of time. It happened to me about 15 years ago.

I thought of your story as I was typing this.

I have no attachment to this gym other than it's close to home. The unfortunate thing is the same company, GOODLIFE, owns just about every other gym in the area.

I may take Wayne's advice and check out the newly acquired one. It's a smidge further away, but if they don't have crybaby members complaining about a big scary dude (lol) doing 500lb deadlifts (ZOMG ) then it may be the solution.

I think I shall check it out on Friday...

[ironwill2008]

Honestly makes me wonder why someone doesn't open a small-ish gym that DOES cater to the "hardcore" crowd.

They'd go broke in 6 months, if they lasted that long. There's no money in catering to such a small market segment.

[bigtallox]

And the clincher; today I walk in the gym at 5:05am and the lady at the front desk says to me "Can I ask you a favor? When you're lifting your big weights, can you please try not to make so much noise? You're scaring the other members because they can hear it even through their headphones. It even freaked me out a little."

My reply would be something like....

"I'm sorry that freaked you out, it shouldn't. I wasn't *trying* to be noisy, so no "I'm not going to try not to make so much noise". I'm in training and that's just how it sounds sometime."

Of course I'd then talk about my strongman goal to win nationals and ask if said gym would like to be a sponsor for the next strongman show I'm putting on, or if they want to sponsor me in my efforts to win masters nationals, or ...

I wonder how long before I'm asked to leave, because I'm not stopping deadlifting.

Sounds like it'd be a blessing if they only *asked* you to leave. Here most gyms invariably would try to suck a bunch of money out of you in the process of "asking you to leave".

[-=FLEX=-]

Honestly makes me wonder why someone doesn't open a small-ish gym that DOES cater to the "hardcore" crowd.

Been a dream of mine for 20+ years, man....

FLEX... what's that "Erin Mills Fitness" place like? You & Lisa used to go there right?

Crap. Lousy equipment, ONE squat rack, DB's only to 100.

[bigtallox]

They'd go broke in 6 months, if they lasted that long. There's no money in catering to such a small market segment.

That's not true for here anyway. There are some hardcore gyms here that make money, but they're typically just private gyms that the general public has no idea about. Or they cater to the "hardcore" high school football players/atheletes, there are quite a few around here like that.