No Grunting Policy at Planet Fitness: Too Much?

When it comes to working out, divides gym patrons into two caetgories.

First, there are the bodybuilding powerlifters who come in with their muscled tank tops, one-gallon protein shakes and cocky attitudes.

Then, there’s everybody else.

Planet Fitness, which opened its Reisterstown location in late November, tailors its workout experience to that second group.  

The 17,500-square feet of “judgment-free” workout space includes 80 cardio machines (including 40 treadmills), rows of pin-loaded apparatuses for lower body, upper body and abs and a dumbbell section. Planet Fitness aims to offer its members a stress-free, unintimidating environment.

“There’s a lot of people out there that don’t go to gyms because they are uncomfortable or they feel intimidated,” general manager Stephanie Welch said. “That’s who we really cater to and that’s why we’re unique. We have a lot of people that have never even set foot in a gym.”

However, in addition to its relaxed atmosphere and free instructional training on machines, designed to ease the transition for the average gym frequenter, Planet Fitness employs a policy that’s drawn national attention from various news outlets, including The New York Times and The Daily Show.

The gym strictly prohibits grunting and the slamming of weights during lifts. If either rule is broken, front desk personnel sound a shrilling siren referred to as the “lunk alarm” to make the transgressor well aware of what he or she has done. 

If the behavior continues after a couple of warnings, the guilty party is liable to suffer the ultimate penalty.

“If it is a problem where they will not stop, we do not allow them to come to the gym anymore,” Welch said

Many regular gym users elsewhere scoff at the idea that forcing out some extra oxygen to push up a few reps is grounds to have your membership revoked.

“If someone’s going overboard that’s different, but if you’re lifting a lot of weights, that grunt is kind of like psychological to help you move that weight,” said Jay Perkins, a longtime Owings Mills member and personal trainer. “You need to breathe when you’re lifting weights anyway. It’s not good to hold it in.

“If you’ve got a co-ed gym and someone is offended by that grunting noise, if they are in the gym, they know what the grunting noise is for. That’s why they’re there.”

Welch says that Planet Fitness hardly hides the fact that the gym is not designed for the boisterous weight lifter intent on letting everyone know he’s reached a new max on the bench press. Take one look around at the different signs and messages on the wall and you’ll know who the intended target is.

“The people that come in here, from the minute they come in and have a tour, they know who we are because we tell them who we are,” Welch said. “For the most part, if it’s somebody who is a bodybuilder or a powerlifter or somebody who lifts really heavy, they know from the minute they come in here that it’s not for them.”

And, perhaps, folks have gotten that message. The two employees at the front desk report that the lunk alarm button has only been pressed a couple of times since the gym opened a little over two weeks ago.

Still, some on the outside question if it’s really necessary in the first place. 

Alex Cecchetti, a personal trainer at the JCC for five years, said the gym has had its share of grunters—including one in particular who yells on nearly every rep—but that they’ve been dealt with personally and quietly.

“We’ve said something to him, but we’re not going to ask him to leave the gym,” Cecchetti said. “We’re not going to set off an alarm that sets off a siren that has a spinning red light so that everybody stops and looks at you.”