Uhhhh, Nuhhhh, Uhhhhh

I’m the world's biggest wimp and even I think this story is ridiculous:

“Albert Argibay, a bodybuilder,was at a Planet Fitness gym with 500 pounds of weight on his shoulders when the club manager walked over and told him it was time to leave. Mr. Argibay, the manager explained, had violated one of the club’s most sacred and strictly enforced rules: He was grunting.

… at Planet Fitness, a national chain with 120 locations, it is a matter not only of etiquette, but also of club policy: one too many offending noises can get a membership revoked in the time it takes to do a sit-up. Nationwide, the chain expels roughly two members a month for various reasons, most commonly grunting and dropping weights.

The no-grunt policy is one of several eyebrow-raising rules — no bandannas, no jeans, no banging weights — that managers say are intended to make their target clientele of novice exercisers feel comfortable.

Statistics show that baby boomers who exercise once or twice a week represent the fastest-growing segment of health club members.” (NY Times)

So basically the rule is: work out, but not too hard, and certainly not hard enough that anyone will notice. This is insane. Yes, some grunters are show-offs who only grunt to draw attention to themselves. All you can do is ignore them, but to throw someone out of the gym for grunting is ridiculous. Now if he was passing wind at the same time, well, as hilarious as that might be, I’d toss him out. But if you can’t grunt in a gym, where can you grunt? A farm?