“No Grunting” says Planet Fitness.

Ever had someone grunting loudly at the gym and thought it was slightly irritating? It happens. Chances are you simply ignored it and finished your workout. You probably realised in the back of your mind that although it can be a bit irritating, a little hard work and the occasional grunt is what fitness is all about. Putting everything into your workout, your fitness, busting your butt to achieve something allows you the right to make a little noise occassionally. Without that high level of determination to push hard beyond your limitations, your body won’t reach new heights.

With that in mind, I saw these videos today, during one of my frequent surfs:

When the video first started, I’ll admit I thought it was little bit funny, slightly distasteful, but that’s comedy these days. So I looked for more videos (2 and 3 above) out of curiousity and noticed it was a common theme to poke a little fun at the bodybuilder stereotype. Once again, I’ll admit I can see the humor but also wish to express that this can deliver a negative message to those wanting to better their bodies and themselves. If you’ve heard of Planet Fitness (a chain of gyms) you will have the image that it’s for the not so serious person looking to feel a bit healthier and fitter. They have rules like no grunting, which when violated sounds an alarm and can lead to you being banned form the gym (much like the story of Albert Argibay). Regardless of whether you pick a side or not, I have some reasoning as to why you should ignore the ‘grunting’ idiotic stereo type portrayed by these commercials.

Picking on someone like a bodybuilder, a person at the peak of their sport, is like an apprentice making fun of a fully qualified tradesman, saying being fully qualified has made them stupid, so get that image out of your head. These guys have perfected the lifestyle to achieve low body fat and large muscle mass. Most people would pay HUGE somes of money to achieve that.

Lifting weights needs to be hard work. If you’re not putting it in and just going through the motions, you won’t get strong or fit. Hard work requires the occasional grunt or noise every now and then. If you aren’t going to try, you’re only wasting your own time. It’s short and to the point – work hard. Don’t fall into the message of giving it half a go. Giving things half a go will lead to less than half the results. For that reason I post the following video from Iron Sports Gyms. A response to Planet Fitness, which I think is targetted at people who really get it: