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Grunting earns a bad rep at the gymDate: 13.02.2007
Posted by: Anabolic Info Team United States
Mark Peters grunts when he bench-presses more than 300 pounds.
We don't mean he breathes out forcefully.
No, it's more of a grizzly growl. A sound "somewhere between a human and a Rottweiler," to use his own words.
"I've had some looks," admitted Peters, 44, of Macedon, N.Y., who works out at a YMCA.
The exercise grunt is part of the culture at some gyms, especially those that attract lots of serious weight lifters. But it repels others. Some say it's a fading trend.
Grunting isn't physically necessary to lift weights. It's more about getting attention, although tennis players, shot putters, martial arts practitioners or bodybuilders may grunt to psych themselves up and to intimidate opponents.
Many gyms gently discourage grunting. One fitness chain goes as far as to ban it.
At Planet Fitness -- a growing fitness chain with dozens of locations nationwide, including one opening in mid-May in Aston, Pa., just a few miles over the state line -- grunting can trigger an ear-rattling siren and flashing lights. The so-called lunk alarm on the wall over the free weights has a sign explaining the term: A lunk is someone who grunts, drops weights or is judgmental of other exercisers.
The chain is serious about its no-grunt rule. Albert Argibay, a bodybuilder and state corrections officer, was kicked out of a Planet Fitness in Dutchess County, N.Y., in November after allegedly giving a loud "Uuunh!" while lifting weights. The linebacker-size man allegedly shouted and used profanity to dispute the manager's claim, at which point police officers were summoned. No charges were filed, but Argibay's membership was canceled.
After that incident, all Planet Fitness locations removed their 75-pound dumbbells. The heaviest available now are 60 pounds. But the weight machines still allow members to lift much more.
John Medrano, manager of the Planet Fitness location in Greece, N.Y., said the no-grunting policy is intended to make the average exerciser feel comfortable. The clubs also ban jeans, work boots, bandannas and do-rags for their "intimidation factor," Medrano said. The no-frills, $10-a-month club intentionally attracts mostly members who haven't been working out.
Researchers believe that monkeys and apes grunt as an involuntary response to an emotion, said Michael J. Owren, an acoustic primatologist at Georgia State University. Humans grunt on purpose.
"It's a guy thing," said the 250-pound Peters. "I think bigger guys that have a lot of weight on grunt more."
A grunt is partly an expression of the exertion. It's also partly to say "look at me."
Peters said he's also heard women give higher-pitched grunts while doing push-ups.
Besides potentially annoying others, grunts can irritate the delicate vocal chords, warned Dr. Clark Rosen, director of the University of Pittsburgh Voice Center. He's treated recreational weight lifters for throat problems brought on by grunting.
Lifters can develop calluses or lesions on the vocal chords, like a person who screams or sings. Rosen's advice: "The breathier the grunt, the better."
Exercise physiologist Craig O. Mattern said there's no physical benefit to grunting. It's good to exhale with exertion, but that doesn't require any vocal sounds, said Mattern, assistant professor at State University College at Brockport, N.Y.
Michael Washington said that when he regularly lifted more than 300 pounds years ago, grunting helped remind him to breathe. But grunting wasn't expected at the University of Rochester Medical Center Fitness and Wellness Center, and doctors exercising nearby would approach him.
"They were concerned I was hurting myself," Washington said.
Chuck Valente, a certified personal fitness trainer who holds 12 natural bodybuilding titles, said he used to train at a hard-core gym where "you could hear us down the street." As a full-time trainer at his own gym, Maximum Fitness in East Rochester, N.Y., he advises clients to exhale on the exertion. Of grunting, he said, "Some guys get carried away." |
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