Gym tells woman to cover up because her toned body 'intimidated' others

[KamaAina]

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/oddnews/gym-tells-woman-to-cover-up-because-her-‘toned-body’-intimidated-others-211926273.html

The Planet Fitness gym in Richmond, California is standing behind their dress code policy after one member claimed that she was told to put a shirt over her intimidatingly toned body.

As reported by KTVU Channel 2, Tiffany Austin was recovering from a car accident and getting back in shape with her first workout at the gym. However, her time exercising was cut short when a Planet Fitness employee stopped her. Austin explained, “She says, you know, ‘Excuse me, we've had some complaints. You're intimidating people with your toned body. So can you put on a shirt?’”...

Ms. Austin was wearing a spaghetti strap tank top and capri pants with her midriff exposed, and she doesn’t think her attire was out of line. “I don’t feel like it’s anything crazy, but I mean you tell me if it’s burning your eyes,” Austin said with a laugh. Reportedly she was only told that the gym dress code prohibited wearing string tank tops. The Planet Fitness customer agreed to wear one of the shirts the gym provides patrons for free, but while she waited for the tee, another employee approached her with objections to her clothing. Feeling harassed and intimidated herself, Austin decided to get her money back and cancel her membership at the gym advertised as the “Judgement Free Zone” whose policy bans “gymtimidation.” McCall Gosselin, Planet Fitness spokesperson, said that criticizing Austin for being toned, “…is not in line with the Planet Fitness policy whatsoever.”...

Planet Fitness does have its detractors who say that some of their policies go too far. In November 2006 Albert Argibay was removed by police from the Planet Fitness in Wappingers Falls, NY. Reportedly, Argibay had broken the gym’s rule of no grunting, though he says that he was just breathing heavily. The no grunting policy may be what Planet Fitness is most known for. The gym sounds its “lunk alarm,” a siren and flashing lights, whenever a gym-goer is found displaying lunk-like behavior. Posters are said to define a lunk as “one who grunts, drops weights, or judges.”

Intimidating? We report, you decide:



She can intimidate me any time!!

Oh yes, if station KTVU sounds familiar, it should.



edit: The $#&(*%$!! DU software ate the quote marks in the link. Copy and paste, or try this:

http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/national/gym-tells-woman-shes-intimidating-guests-toned-bod/nfGWc/

[Rex]

1. Sounds like the gym is full of shit.

Maybe THEY felt intimidated?

[Sheepshank]

12. Actually I was thinking this is made up shit.

her body, while fine and somewhat toned, is hardly intimidating.

I think she is making it up...or chose to misinterpret a stupidly phrase compliment.

That is a whole different thing than not meeting dress code. Their business, their call, no matter how stupid the dress code may be.

[DavidDvorkin]

45. Yeah, that was my reaction

She's not what I would call toned. Surely there are more toned women in the gym.

[kcr]

49. I was thinking it was a made up publicity stunt

Given their advertising campaign lately.

[RobinA]

57. My Reaction

as well. I have plenty of better toned bodies at my suburban gym. Hell, when I was younger I had a better toned body. Somebody needs to get over themselves.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

2. Does Planet Fitness have rules concerning clothes? The gym I go to does.

A rather sizable list of requirements, or you can't walk in.

[REP]

50. Yes. Tank tops with spaghetti straps are not allowed; neither are sports bras worn w/o an over shirt

[Sarah Ibarruri]

56. Mine does, but I can't say I've read them. I wear a short-sleeved t-shirt, leggings and shoes

I'm covered neck to toes, so they won't have any problem with me. I think I saw them giving someone a hard time one day about what she was wearing. I think the middriff out is not allowed for men or women. Even in the indoor basketball court, the men can't remove their t-shirts if they're sweaty. Everyone must be covered up.

[Feral Child]

3. I was expecting someone

of ripped bulk.

Her body is nicely maintained but hardly intimidating. Jillian Michaels, now that's intimidating.

[GoCubsGo]

38. I was thinking the same thing.

Heck, Michelle Obama has way more toned arms than she does. Not impressed, let alone intimidated by this one.

[JI7]

4. someone posted about this gym before and i think it's for people who are not into

working out .

[Fla_Democrat]

10. Looks that way...

The franchise goes even further and has a “lunk alarm” in every gym which sends off a siren if someone drops a weight or breathes too hard or shows any behavior that staff members consider "lunk-like".

[alarimer]

32. THIS is something I appreciate

At least the dropping of the weights. That is completely and totally unnecessary and is simply showing off how strong you are.

[GoCubsGo]

39. I think the "lunk alarm" is a little bit of overkill.

But, maybe that's what is needed with some people. Not dropping weights, and not breathing heavy or grunting are just a part of standard gym etiquette. Just like wiping your sweat off of the equipment when you finish using it, and not hogging the locker room benches with all of your crap. Part of me wishes my gym had a "lunk alarm", because there are quite a few lunks there--or as I call them, "gym jerks". Some people think the world revolves around them...

[Fla_Democrat]

41. Some people like a gym, some like a box

this sounds more like a day care.

[JI7]

29. it has nothing to do with jealousy, this whole thing is most likely a PR stunt

the woman did not appear to actualy be upset when they showed her on camera talking about it.

as i said, they market themselves a certain way.

[cyberswede]

40. Any chance you'd consider an edit?

"old bitch" is pretty offensive.

[MADem]

5. That woman is NOT intimidating. She's very attractive though.

I was expecting an image of a heavily ripped bodybuilder or weightlifter, someone who is toned and muscled to within an inch of their life.

[frazzled]

16. Yeah, she's got a little pot belly thing going -- not that toned

I was expecting one of those weightlifting body-builder types too (who don't intimidate me, as a woman; I just personally find that look incredibly unflattering).

Maybe this lady misunderstood. Cause she wouldn't even intimidate me, and I'm getting kind of old and, well, untoned.

[GoCubsGo]

42. She looks like she has never picked up a weight in her life.

I'm old and fairly untoned, as well. But, even I have more muscle tone than this girl. She doesn't have a lot of body fat, I'll give her that. But, she doesn't have much muscle, either. I really don't understand how anyone could consider her "intimidating".

I was expecting "body-builder", too. I don't consider them intimidating, either. And, I'm with you, frazzled. I don't find them the least bit attractive, either. Toned, yes. Muscle-bound, no.

[pangaia]

52. She's probably in better shape than most people at her gym.

[MADem]

53. Well, yeah...the place she was at is the flabby, exercise hater's club! nt

[Blue_Tires]

6. Whichever customer "complained" should have to explain themselves

Otherwise the planet fitness staff is looking at a lawsuit, unless there is more to this story than has been mentioned...

[jamzrockz]

7. Btw the promotion

for $10/month ends today. I just signed up and got my free T shirt today. You have till midnight to signup.

[Squinch]

8. Yeah. I am wondering just how this came to be a news item. Were there

reporters in the gym? Did this woman go to someone in the press? Did Planet Fitness go to someone in the press? What the hell for?

It seems unlikely that this really happened. She is a very pretty woman, but I don't believe for a second that her physique is upsetting to anyone. I just don't believe that this happened.

(And I know you are posting a story someone else is reporting, KamaAina. I just don't believe the source.)

[KamaAina]

9. As I pointed out, this station has been punk'd before

after the Asiana Airlines crash at SFO.

[Squinch]

13. Yes. But I wonder why this punk? It isn't particularly funny. It does seem to be consistent

with that Planet Fitness ad campaign, so I'm wondering if it isn't just some kind of social media - aimed advertisement cooked up by the Planet Fitness people. If so, it's pretty dumb, because who would want to go to a gym where you aren't allowed to have a decent body? But I can't think of any other point to such an effort.

OTOH, WE are tossing around the brand name, aren't we? So maybe not so dumb after all.

[Warren DeMontague]

15. I'm too sexy for my Gym

too sexy for my gym

so sexy, that's him

[one_voice]

25. +1

[Mojo Electro]

11. This whole story is highly suspect.

There has to be more to this. I smell bullshit.

[Warren DeMontague]

14. ....what's next, yoga pants?

[In_The_Wind]

34. Yoga pants can be quite revealing.

trust me, I know

[Warren DeMontague]

48. My middle name is, actually, Lululemon.

It's not, but.. it could be.

[joeybee12]

17. If that's an actual photo of what she wore...

It's pretty freaking tame for what I see at the gym...it's actually modest for gym attire.

[Logical]

18. Weird. Nice looking lady but not so much so that she would piss off other people. n-t

[blueamy66]

19. Still trying to find the toned body.

She has a gut.

And if there are rules, there are rules.

[dilby]

20. Not sure I see the problem.

The gym has a policy in place to make people who might not be in the best shape feel welcome, it's not a gym for gym rats. If they asked her to cover up then she should cover up and not run to the media and complain. If she does not like the policy she can go to another gym where people are free to where what they want.

[Warren DeMontague]

21. I don't understand a gym that kicks you out once you're in shape.

doesn't seem like a particularly good business model.

[MADem]

27. It's a place for couch potatoes, I think...reluctant exercisers...folks who do the minimum!

At my age, I can relate!

[Warren DeMontague]

30. That's why I exercise at home.

The judgment of the fish is about all I can bear.

[MADem]

33. That fish would wave a fin at me, pointing and mocking!!! nt

[Xithras]

22. Planet Fitness is the dumbest gym I've ever seen. This is nothing new.

They cater to people who want to work out without doing a "workout". Getting too sweaty? They'll ask you to leave because you're making it look like the other people aren't working out hard enough. Have a fit body? You have to cover it because it might make others feel bad. Grunting while exercising will get you ejected. And on. And on. They actually advertise a "No Lunks" policy. What is a lunk? Anyone who works out hard. They even have a "Lunk Alarm"...with freaking LIGHTS AND A SIREN...that they'll set off in the gym if someone is working out too hard and is "intimidating" others. I am absolutely not kidding...they enforce their "anti-lunk" rule via public humiliation.

Most of their gyms also contain few (if any) free weights or resistance machines, concentrating instead on treadmills and ellipticals. They are a gym for people who want to get off the couch, but aren't really worried about fitness. Hell, our local PF occasionally has pizza and chocolate brownies by the exit so that you can "reward yourself" after a hard (but not too hard) workout. Now THERE'S a way to keep a customer coming back!

My wife briefly got a membership with them because one of her friends raved about the place. I visited with her twice, and both times was asked to leave. Why? Because I'm a runner, and apparently my long distance running on the treadmill "bothered" other members. The second time, the smug little turd actually accused me of "showing off my fitness by running". I had only been doing about 7MPH for 10 minutes!!! As I left they informed me that I was "banned" from the facility and that I shouldn't come back. Because I WAS RUNNING!

The only upside was that their contract allows you to quit at any time, so when my infuriated wife realized what was happening, she was able to quit without penalty.

[penultimate]

54. The fuuu?

Heh, what are you supposed to do on the treadmill? A slow stroll for half a mile? To be honest, I'm kinda interested in checking it out just to see if I can get banned for sweating too much. You said you're runner, so are you in pretty good shape as is it? Do you think that's the real reason why some jerks complained?

If you're banned, do you get any sort of refund?

[Xithras]

58. Pretty much.

Most people were walking or, at most, jogging on the treadmills. 7MPH isn't a fast run, but it's still a full run and I was the only one doing it. I was overweight for years, but I'm in really good shape nowadays (thanks to the running) and that may be the real reason behind the complaint.

Luckily, I was only there using my wife's guest passes and hadn't bought a membership for myself yet, so I didn't have to deal with the refund thing. My wife had to argue a bit to get them to cancel her membership right away (they wanted 30 days notice to cancel, which would have let them bill us again), but she eventually won that argument. We have memberships at a real fitness center now...one where we're actually allowed to get fit.

I honestly don't know how Planet Fitness stays in business. The place is a joke.

[WinkyDink]

23. O, FGS! Those whiners need to keep their noses in their own troughs!

[The Straight Story]

24. Now if she wore that on an SI cover I could see people screaming about it

[kwassa]

28. This is strange. I have a Planet Fitness membership.

There are all kinds of body types there, from very fit to really trying to start being fit.

I've seen several high speed endurance runners on the treadmills. No problem. All kinds of attire.

I am wondering if it is more about the racial politics of the Richmond area, which used to be highly racist when I visited some 25 years ago.

Back in the day, I had a friend who was harassed by other women at another gym because she was in such good shape. They were insinuating that she didn't need to be there, and was showing them up.

[QC]

31. Reminds me of "Harrison Bergeron,"

Vonnegut's classic story.

[Inkfreak]

35. They've never asked me to cover up my super sexy muscles. (nt)

[HockeyMom]

36. Weight Watchers Job

Years ago I applied to a job there as a Receptionist. At 5'1" and 100 lbs. they told me I was too SKINNY to work for them. As a RECEPTIONIST?????

[tammywammy]

37. Do they have a no mid-drift shirt policy?

I was a member of one gym where the dress code was that you had to wear a tshirt.

[YOHABLO]

43. The real truth is that everyone else in the gym is FAT! Nothing to aspire to.

I am very turned off by people who are over-weight .. they come to the gym day after day .. month after month .. and their bodies never change! So what is the point? You can't come to the gym and think that by JUST SITTING on a piece of equipment texting and returning messages, is going to make you lean and tone. People have gone absolutely insane .. she should sue.

[Warpy]

44. Intimidation or inspiration?

It sounds like the last place in the world I'd want to work out if I had a body that was capable of working out.

[Skittles]

46. this story does not pass the smell test

not at all

[penultimate]

55. I heard it being discussed on the radio this morning, and I thought the same thing

I thought maybe the radio people were just making it up to have something to discuss. But it seems like there are a few people here who have had similar instances at that company's gyms.

[Nye Bevan]

47. I believe that outfit should be permitted (nt)

[pangaia]

51. No grunting? What?

That shit's heavy, man....
I'm 70. When I push 90 pounds on the pec/rear delt it's hard.

UGHHH!