Well, well, well….if it isn’t the unwanted stepchild of the fitness industry, Planet Fitness. The popular, but controversial, chain of fitness facilities is making headlines again. Surprisingly, this time it isn’t the usual suspects- the lunk alarm and free pizza, it’s a woman’s clothing choice.
The story goes something like this; Brandi was an out of shape everyday girl with some extra pounds on her. Then she started working out, lost some weight, got some nice gainz, and started looking better than ever. One day she was working out in the “judgment-free zone” of Planet Fitness and things got a bit strange. See, Brandi’s workout clothes consisted of a t-shirt and shorts, and those pesky shorts were problematic. The gym staff told Brandi that her shorts were too short and distracting other people in the gym and asked her to leave. Since there were 4 other people in the gym, she asked people if they mind the shorts and everyone said “nope”. She then, rightfully, said to the staff that she isn’t leaving because no one minds the shorts. What happened next is something truly amazing. The staff decided to call the police over a woman wearing sports clothing while working out.
The cops come over and they’re baffled that someone is wasting their time over a pair of shorts that aren’t even that short. Convinced the issue is with her and not the shorts, she gives her shorts to her mom and tells her to go for a workout sesh wearing them and to see what happens. Believe it or not, the same thing happens again…her mom gets heat about a pair of training shorts. This baffling and irritating story ends with Brandi getting a restraining order(yes, that’s right) from ever visiting a Planet Fitness gym. The good news is that she finally started working out in a normal gym where no one will bother her for the length of her shorts.
Now I would like to point out a few things;
1. I’ve seen Instagram models posting gym workout videos with clothes that look like they were bought in a children’s isle. I’m even willing to bet that you can find girls at your local gym, rigth now, with shorter shorts and/or wearing less clothing.
2. This is classic Planet Fitness, they will pretend they are an all inclusive fitness facility with their “judgment free zone” logos and positive affirmations but they are far from it. All they want is that you enter and leave with a smile on your face, looking the same day in and day out. They are just not a place where you go to improve your body, specific lifts or overal fitness. They are an institution that you pay to feel good, a fitness version of a casino. A place where you will never be judged, criticized or have your actions called into question that is always open and ready to serve it’s customers.
3. If your only two options are joining a Planet Fitness or not working out at all, do the following. Go online, buy a pull up bar and some resitance bands. This won’t cost you more than 30ish dollars. Once you’re done with that, go to your smartphone and in the app store type in “calisthenics” “home workout” “bodyweight traning” and every other variation of that phrasing and find a good app that has some bitchin workouts and start making some sick gainz.
