Gym Calls Cops on Heavy Squatter

Off Topic
81

[quote]MaximusB wrote:
Last week I saw an incident like this go down right in front of me. A large well built man doing deadlifts, and adding weight to what was already a heavy load. Some prissy fuck from the front desk walked up to him and asked him not to “breathe” so heavy.

I guess he was exhaling too loudly and someone complained. The guy tells prissy that he is working out and that this amount of weight causes him to exhale so loudly.

Prissy asks him, “Just don’t breathe out so loud ok!” in a stern tone. Turns out the guy working out is a Highway Patrol officer, and that he is GOING to workout in a manner that helps him do his job effectively.

Prissy walks back to his desk with his tail between his legs. I normally hate law enforcement due to my less than stellar experiences with the law, but he kinda made me proud right there. [/quote]

i’ve had so many incidents like these happen to me over the years and have been kicked out of gyms for some pretty lame reasons.

Luckily I’ve found a powerlifter friendly Gold’s gym. The owner and I are friends and everyone that works there are very nice. These people arne’t powerlifters but they can appreciate what i do.

anyway, one night i was training and this douchebag went up to the front desk to complain about us deadlifting. The guy at the front desk came up to me and said- “Hey… that guy over there complained about you guys deadlifting” all the while with a big smile on his face.

Now the douchebag is one of those wannabe lifters that shows up in his string tanktop and crazywear baggy gym pants. I’m not sure if he actually lifts because all I’ve ever seen him do is give the young guys “advice”.

On many an occasion he has approached me after finishing a lift and said-“when you’re done…just leave the weight on the bar” One time i had just finished squatting and had 700lbs on the bar. He, of course, said “just leave that on there”. I had to see this.

I went over to do some abs and just watched what he was going to do. for over 30 minutes he just stood in front of that loaded bar and leaned against it when anyone would walk by. eventually he just walked away and left it still loaded…wtf?

back to the real story… so this douche has just complained about me deadifting. I saw him across the gym. I walk up to him and ask him in my most polite way:)-“what problem do you have with us deadlifting?” He just looks at me and says “what are you talking about?” I said that a little bird told me that you have an issue with my deadlifting and i would like to know what it is so we can come to some sort of a middle ground.

He then says “that guy at the front desk told you that i complained huh” I said- “of course he did… isn’t that what you wanted him to do?” He said -“no… i thought he would be more discrete about it” finally i just said-“lets just act like men and figure this shit out instead of being all passive aggressive about shit” he just walked away…

i guess the ol’ Lunk Alarm is a way of being passive aggressive instead of actually talking with someone if you have an issue.

our world is full of this shit. no one does anything face to face anymore. it has to be a phone call or the internet or don’t get me started on the idiots on the road acting all tough in there cars

how simple things could be if we could just get back to dealing with problems head on.

i got a bit off topic but i tend to do that sometimes.

82

[quote]maraudermeat wrote:

Now the douchebag is one of those wannabe lifters that shows up in his string tanktop and crazywear baggy gym pants. I’m not sure if he actually lifts because all I’ve ever seen him do is give the young guys “advice”.

On many an occasion he has approached me after finishing a lift and said-“when you’re done…just leave the weight on the bar” One time i had just finished squatting and had 700lbs on the bar. He, of course, said “just leave that on there”. I had to see this.

I went over to do some abs and just watched what he was going to do. for over 30 minutes he just stood in front of that loaded bar and leaned against it when anyone would walk by. eventually he just walked away and left it still loaded…wtf?

[/quote]

That could possibly be the best gym story I’ve ever heard!

83

[quote]Ruggerlife wrote:
maraudermeat wrote:

Now the douchebag is one of those wannabe lifters that shows up in his string tanktop and crazywear baggy gym pants. I’m not sure if he actually lifts because all I’ve ever seen him do is give the young guys “advice”.

On many an occasion he has approached me after finishing a lift and said-“when you’re done…just leave the weight on the bar” One time i had just finished squatting and had 700lbs on the bar. He, of course, said “just leave that on there”. I had to see this.

I went over to do some abs and just watched what he was going to do. for over 30 minutes he just stood in front of that loaded bar and leaned against it when anyone would walk by. eventually he just walked away and left it still loaded…wtf?

That could possibly be the best gym story I’ve ever heard![/quote]

you’ve obviously not read some of my more “colorful” ones from the old “Squat Rack Curls” thread:)

84

[quote]Ruggerlife wrote:
maraudermeat wrote:

Now the douchebag is one of those wannabe lifters that shows up in his string tanktop and crazywear baggy gym pants. I’m not sure if he actually lifts because all I’ve ever seen him do is give the young guys “advice”.

On many an occasion he has approached me after finishing a lift and said-“when you’re done…just leave the weight on the bar” One time i had just finished squatting and had 700lbs on the bar. He, of course, said “just leave that on there”. I had to see this.

I went over to do some abs and just watched what he was going to do. for over 30 minutes he just stood in front of that loaded bar and leaned against it when anyone would walk by. eventually he just walked away and left it still loaded…wtf?

That could possibly be the best gym story I’ve ever heard![/quote]

nah, at least he didn’t act like he was curling in the squat rack

85

I respect you John Roman, lloydk. Yet, I have to say. This is the “Get A Life” Forum or we could call it discuss whatever the fuck you want forum. Anyways, I just find it very amusing like everyone else that a gym like this acually exists.

It’s just really funny hearing these stories. Sad part is thought if these gyms become a big enough trend.

Some people will probably waste a good amount of time at the start watching some limp wristed folks lifting and actually think this is how it is everywhere. Until their world gets turned upside down.

When they checkout a real gym, one with a good amount of big guys, sweat everywhere and huge weights being thrown around.

Most likely resulting in said lifter being intimidated because of previous ingraved notions about grunting, loud noises and heavy ass lifting being a big no-no. Driving him back to Planet Fitness.

Then this guy most likely turns into the guy who calls steroids every time he sees a bigger then average guy.

Said lifter who after 10 years of lifting still looks the same. Yet deeeeep down inside he crys a little in the end wishing he would’ve just dropped his balls and actually joined a real gym with serious lifters.

awww that’s my rant for the day, good night

86

Irony: After making my last post on this thread I put on my raggy shorts and shirt and went to the gym. The place was fucking packed so I found a free cable tower and magivered my way through en entire arm workout there.

I usually stick to the free weights, but that side of the room was a little too claustrophobic for my liking. While resting between sets, I noticed this dude running his gauntlet using machines exclusively.

I was really thrown for a loop when I saw him using the assisted dipping station as he looked as if he could at least bang out a set of 5 using his bodyweight.

On my way out I passed him coming back from the water fountain, and I was able to get a better look at his shirt. In bold graphically engineered letters it read “Planet Fitness.” I then understood.

87

[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
MaximusB wrote:
Last week I saw an incident like this go down right in front of me. A large well built man doing deadlifts, and adding weight to what was already a heavy load. Some prissy fuck from the front desk walked up to him and asked him not to “breathe” so heavy.

I guess he was exhaling too loudly and someone complained. The guy tells prissy that he is working out and that this amount of weight causes him to exhale so loudly.

Prissy asks him, “Just don’t breathe out so loud ok!” in a stern tone. Turns out the guy working out is a Highway Patrol officer, and that he is GOING to workout in a manner that helps him do his job effectively.

Prissy walks back to his desk with his tail between his legs. I normally hate law enforcement due to my less than stellar experiences with the law, but he kinda made me proud right there.

i’ve had so many incidents like these happen to me over the years and have been kicked out of gyms for some pretty lame reasons. [/quote]

I find it unsettling that an elite level lifter like maraudermeat gets repeatedly asked to leave a gym for simply training and taking care of business.

Think about it like this: Everyone that goes to a library is there for one common purpose: to study and learn. Now, imagine if there was one guy who was tremendously smarter and more intelligent than everyone else that ever steps foot into that library. This one guy is leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else when it comes to academia.

He is there at the same desk at the same time 5 days a week.

The people studying the same subject as this guy ask him for advice or for help when the get stuck every once in awhile and this guy is always glad to help. In fact, this guy gives them the best advice that they could possibly get without paying a tutor. They become better students because of this guy.

Would this guy ever be asked to leave the library for ‘intimidating’ other students with his superior level of intellect. No, because its fucking ridiculous. This guy is looked at as an asset to the student community and his experience and knowledge are respected by the library patrons.

His work ethic is motivating to other students that are evolved enough to recognize his dedication, and may even drive others to work harder themselves.

He goes to the library because it is the place that gives him the tools he needs to accomplish his objectives. He does not go to flaunt his intellect. He goes to improve himself

Would someone complain to management because this guy’s textbooks are far bigger and far more complicated than said person’s books? No, because its fucking ridiculous.

When this guy goes about his business, studying and learning, he does not care about the impact that his presence may have on some insecure mental midget. Their feelings of inadequacy are their own problems, not his.

There are plenty of other examples that illustrate the same point: The best shot at the firing range, the best salesman in the company, the best basketball player at the park, the best chess player at the park, the best lawyer in the firm, etc.

In all these places, the best are respected for their advanced level of expertise. For some reason, the biggest and strongest guys are penalized for their attributes at a commercial gym.

A guy like maraudermeat getting asked to leave a gym is fucking ridiculous.

88

[quote]maraudermeat wrote:

i guess the ol’ Lunk Alarm is a way of being passive aggressive instead of actually talking with someone if you have an issue.

our world is full of this shit. no one does anything face to face anymore. it has to be a phone call or the internet or don’t get me started on the idiots on the road acting all tough in there cars

how simple things could be if we could just get back to dealing with problems head on.

i got a bit off topic but i tend to do that sometimes.

[/quote]

Agreed. The amount of insecure people that pull this pussy passive aggressive BS is astounding.

If your a grown man, act like one. It seems like a huge number of grown men act as if they had their nuts lobbed off years ago.

I’ve had gym management come tell me that particular men have complained that my deadlifting is ‘too intimidating’ on more occasions than i can count. Fortunately I have a friendly relationship with all of the gym employees so at this point the just tell me for shits and giggles.

It doesn’t make any sense to me why a grown man in his 30s, 40s and even 50s wouldn’t talk to me face to face if i was bothering him. It’s like they’re afraid if they address a problem with me, I’m going to haul off and deck them, which would never happen.

My mom is an elementary school teacher. She was in the library with her class for the book fair last week and caught one of her kids trying to steal a book. So she took him aside and lit into him.

The women who works in the library didn’t like how my mom handled the situation. So instead of telling my mom that she thought she should have handled the situation in another manner, she went to the principal and tattle taled, which caused a reprimand to be issued.

Adults aren’t supposed to tattle tale. Hell, children aren’t even supposed to tattle tale

It seems as though there is an epidemic of spineless insecure pussies among us.

89

[quote]Big Aristotle wrote:
maraudermeat wrote:

i guess the ol’ Lunk Alarm is a way of being passive aggressive instead of actually talking with someone if you have an issue.

our world is full of this shit. no one does anything face to face anymore. it has to be a phone call or the internet or don’t get me started on the idiots on the road acting all tough in there cars

how simple things could be if we could just get back to dealing with problems head on.

i got a bit off topic but i tend to do that sometimes.

Agreed. The amount of insecure people that pull this pussy passive aggressive BS is astounding.

If your a grown man, act like one. It seems like a huge number of grown men act as if they had their nuts lobbed off years ago.

I’ve had gym management come tell me that particular men have complained that my deadlifting is ‘too intimidating’ on more occasions than i can count. Fortunately I have a friendly relationship with all of the gym employees so at this point the just tell me for shits and giggles.

It doesn’t make any sense to me why a grown man in his 30s, 40s and even 50s wouldn’t talk to me face to face if i was bothering him. It’s like they’re afraid if they address a problem with me, I’m going to haul off and deck them, which would never happen.

My mom is an elementary school teacher. She was in the library with her class for the book fair last week and caught one of her kids trying to steal a book. So she took him aside and lit into him.

The women who works in the library didn’t like how my mom handled the situation. So instead of telling my mom that she thought she should have handled the situation in another manner, she went to the principal and tattle taled, which caused a reprimand to be issued.

Adults aren’t supposed to tattle tale. Hell, children aren’t even supposed to tattle tale

It seems as though there is an epidemic of spineless insecure pussies among us.

[/quote]

Agreed. Pussies are more dangerous than assholes in life.

90

[quote]Big Aristotle wrote:
maraudermeat wrote:

i guess the ol’ Lunk Alarm is a way of being passive aggressive instead of actually talking with someone if you have an issue.

our world is full of this shit. no one does anything face to face anymore. it has to be a phone call or the internet or don’t get me started on the idiots on the road acting all tough in there cars

how simple things could be if we could just get back to dealing with problems head on.

i got a bit off topic but i tend to do that sometimes.

Agreed. The amount of insecure people that pull this pussy passive aggressive BS is astounding.

If your a grown man, act like one. It seems like a huge number of grown men act as if they had their nuts lobbed off years ago.

I’ve had gym management come tell me that particular men have complained that my deadlifting is ‘too intimidating’ on more occasions than i can count. Fortunately I have a friendly relationship with all of the gym employees so at this point the just tell me for shits and giggles.

It doesn’t make any sense to me why a grown man in his 30s, 40s and even 50s wouldn’t talk to me face to face if i was bothering him. It’s like they’re afraid if they address a problem with me, I’m going to haul off and deck them, which would never happen.

My mom is an elementary school teacher. She was in the library with her class for the book fair last week and caught one of her kids trying to steal a book. So she took him aside and lit into him.

The women who works in the library didn’t like how my mom handled the situation. So instead of telling my mom that she thought she should have handled the situation in another manner, she went to the principal and tattle taled, which caused a reprimand to be issued.

Adults aren’t supposed to tattle tale. Hell, children aren’t even supposed to tattle tale

It seems as though there is an epidemic of spineless insecure pussies among us.

[/quote]

Amen!!

that last sentence says it all.

91

Did they even ask the guy to leave, or did they just call the cops on him becuase it sounds like they just called the cops.

That’s bullshit, I’d be pissed if employees of any establishment called the police on me for raising my voice without even asking me to leave first. If that’s the case, he does deserve an apology regardless of what the gym’s rules are.

92

First off:

From dictionary.com:

lunk
“slow-witted person,” 1867, Amer.Eng. colloquial, from lunkhead (1852), possibly an altered form of lump (n.) + head.

I find this insulting to begin with. Not everyone who grunts is slow witted, or stupid, or whatever. The fact that they have officially named it the “Lunk Alarm” says a lot towards their viewpoint concerning people who lift heavy and make some noise.

There should be some sort of decibel measuring device with the alarm going off if you’re really screaming your ass off or clanging the weights or dropping the 100 lb dumbbells. Most people who do that are just assholes. If you can pick them up, you can put them down AND get them back over to the rack. Or get a fucking spotter or two, whatever.

That being said, their (Planet F) gym, their rules. I wouldn’t work out at a place which doesn’t have a squat rack or doesn’t allow deadlifting anyway. It’s not like you’re sodomizing a donkey in front of everyone just by picking up some weight off the floor.

On the other side of the ballpark, you have your hardcore gyms with Branch Warren wannabe’s. I absolutely HATE it when people drop weights, for God’s sake, it is distracting and besides, the weights belong to the gym, not you. Wear and tear is also an issue. Do people, serious pro BBs included, really need to yell at the top of their lungs or throw shit around and slap their faces and whatever “hardcore” lifters do? Of course not. They’re showing off, pure and simple, and it’s irritating to the average person. Behave like that on the street and the 5-o would pick you up in 2 minutes.

In conclusion, find a place that suits your needs best. You wanna work on general health, go to a fancy gym and kick back those 10 pound dumbbells. If you wanna behave like a gorilla in the wild, go to Metroflex or something. If you wanna develop a bigger, better body, eat smart, sleep well and work out hard. You can do that anywhere, I find it that middle ground is often the best choice.

That’s why I work out at my home gym. It set me back no more than 500 bucks. I put back my weights, I don’t drop them (because I paid for them), I deadlift as much as I can AND the noise I make is tolerable even by PF standards. No one is using my equipment so there’s no holdup, I choose the music (whereas at the YMCA they play “YMCA” every other song, and at the hardcore gym the baddest dude picks the music). Shit, I could curl in the squat rack if I wanted to and none of you can’t say SHIT because it’s my gym, my rules and my choice. I could cover up the entire floor in chalk and yell out CUNTSUCKERMOTHERFUCKER on every rep of every set. But I don’t, because the only person I want to show up to is myself.

93

[quote]Big Aristotle wrote:
maraudermeat wrote:
MaximusB wrote:
Last week I saw an incident like this go down right in front of me. A large well built man doing deadlifts, and adding weight to what was already a heavy load. Some prissy fuck from the front desk walked up to him and asked him not to “breathe” so heavy.

I guess he was exhaling too loudly and someone complained. The guy tells prissy that he is working out and that this amount of weight causes him to exhale so loudly.

Prissy asks him, “Just don’t breathe out so loud ok!” in a stern tone. Turns out the guy working out is a Highway Patrol officer, and that he is GOING to workout in a manner that helps him do his job effectively.

Prissy walks back to his desk with his tail between his legs. I normally hate law enforcement due to my less than stellar experiences with the law, but he kinda made me proud right there.

i’ve had so many incidents like these happen to me over the years and have been kicked out of gyms for some pretty lame reasons.

I find it unsettling that an elite level lifter like maraudermeat gets repeatedly asked to leave a gym for simply training and taking care of business.

Think about it like this: Everyone that goes to a library is there for one common purpose: to study and learn. Now, imagine if there was one guy who was tremendously smarter and more intelligent than everyone else that ever steps foot into that library. This one guy is leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else when it comes to academia.

He is there at the same desk at the same time 5 days a week.

The people studying the same subject as this guy ask him for advice or for help when the get stuck every once in awhile and this guy is always glad to help. In fact, this guy gives them the best advice that they could possibly get without paying a tutor. They become better students because of this guy.

Would this guy ever be asked to leave the library for ‘intimidating’ other students with his superior level of intellect. No, because its fucking ridiculous. This guy is looked at as an asset to the student community and his experience and knowledge are respected by the library patrons.

His work ethic is motivating to other students that are evolved enough to recognize his dedication, and may even drive others to work harder themselves.

He goes to the library because it is the place that gives him the tools he needs to accomplish his objectives. He does not go to flaunt his intellect. He goes to improve himself

Would someone complain to management because this guy’s textbooks are far bigger and far more complicated than said person’s books? No, because its fucking ridiculous.

When this guy goes about his business, studying and learning, he does not care about the impact that his presence may have on some insecure mental midget. Their feelings of inadequacy are their own problems, not his.

There are plenty of other examples that illustrate the same point: The best shot at the firing range, the best salesman in the company, the best basketball player at the park, the best chess player at the park, the best lawyer in the firm, etc.

In all these places, the best are respected for their advanced level of expertise. For some reason, the biggest and strongest guys are penalized for their attributes at a commercial gym.

A guy like maraudermeat getting asked to leave a gym is fucking ridiculous.

[/quote]

That’s all well and good. But what if the library was for newbies, and the library owner had put up signs saying “No huge text books”. Anyway, library is poor comparison. Honestly, the difference between a pro… reader (?) and a beginner is probably unnoticeable without good inspection, but the same can’t really be said about people in the gym. It’s usually pretty obvious who is a beginner, and who is not.

Think about it, it’s not really about the grunting, is it? I think it’s more to do with the fact that PF is aimed at people who just want to come and work out a little. The moment a big guy walks in, or the moment anyone who trains with any level of seriousness starts training, the beginners feel intimidated.

Is it because they’re afraid that people will see they’re not really “hardcore”?
Is it that they’re afraid that the guy in his work clothes is lifting more weight than themselves sporting the “stereotypical meat head” clothes?
I really think it’s more to do with the fact that the “beginner/hardcorewannabe” guy is worried that he will be demoted down the food chain. And it is sad, I do agree. But, the truth is, that is [enter name of huge fitness & health chain here], and that is the people they want at their gym.

It’s like going to a totally new environment, and telling people how to do their stuff. Sure, we’re T-Nation uses, we CAN do that, but the sad side of it is, it doesn’t mean anyone else has to listen, and that’s probably the reason why we are here, and they are not.

I think the only way this can change, is if you get petitions done in your local gym, or if you simply take the hit to your wallet, and go to a different one, instead of fuelling the business you’re in conflict with.

Standing up and swinging an Olympic bar at the receptionist will just make it worse for us all.

94

[quote]John Roman wrote:

Pointing out irony and having it be ironic to do so negates any hypocritical element of having done so. It adds to the effect.[/quote]

I think the most ironic part is that it is supposedly a “judgement free zone”. If you are so involved maybe you should teach your staff that that is a two-way street. Albeit I don’t grunt loudly, but the fact I get thrown out for deadlifting (a very basic exercise and a staple of my regiment) seems extremely judgemental to me. Fucking hypocrites.

95

[quote]That One Guy wrote:
Fuck sigh

Pretty soon achievement is going to be seen as a bad thing.[/quote]

I see that you have never been to any socialist countries.

96

Big Aristotle, very well put, i think that it is a Very good analogy…excpet that when a big guy is giving advice or not doing what the personal trainers are doing, they’re taking potential business away…and as much as i hate it, i atleast see their logic in that

Mauradermeat, thanks again, you always have the best stories!

edit, nail on the head on the point about “judgment free zone”!!!

97

Depends on the girl.

98

[quote]maraudermeat wrote:

That could possibly be the best gym story I’ve ever heard!

you’ve obviously not read some of my more “colorful” ones from the old “Squat Rack Curls” thread:)

[/quote]

I read that entire thread, start to finish over a period of a few weeks just over a year ago. I remember some of your stories. I joined this site shortly afterwards. You are a rock star of great training stories :slight_smile:

99

I don’t go to Mimi’s Cafe because I don’t feel right being in there. That cheesy French cartoon stuff hanging off the walls? Makes me cringe.

So, I don’t go there.

If I did go there again it’d be self-abuse. Why put myself through that when I can eat at a steakhouse and enjoy the experience.

Same goes for PF, IMO.

I’m sure there’s a clientele they’re after but it sure as shit isn’t me. I’ll do both of us a favor and stay away.

For the folks who feel cornered into PF because it’s the only thing around, I guarantee you it’s not. You’ll have to dig deeper, drive farther, research harder, but you can find a place to train where you feel more at home…

When I go back to Michigan to visit my family I train at a juvenile delinquent facility with my uncle. He heard that the facility let folks train there after the kids were done for the day for 10 bucks a month.

He had to shift around his schedule and give way to special events, but on the whole he and a handful of other legit dudes have the run of that place every night after 6 o’clock.

It has pretty much the same equipment a standard high school gym would have. And this is in a really rural area where there isn’t a place to workout besides hauling hay and firewood.

PF can’t be the only place around

100

JIHAD UPON PLANET FITNESS! When I tragically have to train there, I look like fucking Ron Coleman.