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SHUSH!Date: 22.04.2007
Posted by: Anabolic Info Team United States
Gyms crack down on "lunks" weight-lifting grunters
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," admits 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.
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 so far as to ban it.
At Planet Fitness gyms, 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 New York state corrections officer, was kicked out of a Planet Fitness in November after allegedly giving a loud "Uuuunh!" 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 a Planet Fitness gym, says the no-grunting policy is intended to make the average exerciser feel comfortable. The clubs also ban jeans, work boots, bandannas and doo-rags for their "intimidation factor," Medrano says. The no-frills, $10-a-month club intentionally attracts mostly members who haven't been working out.
"I think it's a good rule," says Andrew Coleman, 17, a high school senior and baseball and basketball player. He works out at Planet Fitness every other day, using the free weights and elliptical trainers. He's glad to not to be in the company of huge guys who like to feel imposing.
Does he grunt? "I try not to," he says. "Obviously I can see the lunk alarm."
"It's a guy thing," says 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 partly to say, "Look at me."
"I think it helps us get back to our humble beginnings as a Neanderthal," Peters says.
He says he's heard women give higher-pitched grunts while doing push-ups.
Chuck Valente, a certified personal fitness trainer who holds 12 natural bodybuilding titles, says 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 in Rochester, N.Y., he advises clients to exhale on the exertion. Of grunting, he says, "Some guys get carried away."
The bigger concern for that air expulsion, he jokes: "Hopefully it's out of the right end."
Garlan Fletcher, personal training director for a Gold's Gym, says most lifters don't grunt these days. Gyms today are larger and have more people, so grunting is just too disturbing to others.
"There's a difference between exerting yourself and grunting so everybody notices," Fletcher says. "They can lift the same amount of weight without grunting." |
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