Former NFL punter Steve Weatherford first found fame through his kicking ability but most fans know him today as the unbelievably-ripped punter.
Despite playing a position that rarely showcases a player’s athleticism, Weatherford was a dedicated workout warrior during his playing days and has remained just as active in the gym despite not having a current NFL home.
Weatherford was in the midst of one of his grueling workouts at a Planet Fitness last week when he was interrupted by the gym’s manager — who asked the Super Bowl Champion to leave because of his excessive grunting and/or breathing. Planet Fitness is known for its easygoing approach towards working out and will penalize experienced gym goers who might intimidate newer members. The gym refers to this system as a “lunk alarm.”
“We believe no one should ever feel Gymtimidated by Lunky behavior and that everyone should feel at ease in our gyms, no matter what his or her workout goals are.”
Apparently the noises made by Weatherford during his workout fell into the “lunk” category, and were intimidating to other gym-goers. However, Weatherford said the rule has the opposite effect and penalizes people for “working hard.”
“So I have trained at well over 1,000 gyms all over the world. Not 1 time have I ever been approached and asked to “tone it down”…
Today I was unceremoniously kicked out of@planetfitness for excessive breathing/grunting.
A gym should be a place that encourages, motivates, and inspires you to build the best version of yourself possible. Not a place that has a built in siren the manager activates when someone is working hard and breathes heavily.
I’m embarrassed to say I paid $20 to this establishment. I’m fortunate to be an overly confident person. Can you imagine how embarrassing this would be to someone trying hard to change their image through hard work and they let a more than quiet breath out.
The gym can already be a very intimidating place, clients don’t need to worry about being completely humiliated for working hard.”
It does not appear Weatherford will be back at a Planet Fitness anytime soon. He even documented his exit from the premises on his Instagram feed.
Weatherford raised some interesting points in his rant but based on the rest of his Instagram, it is not hard to see why he might not fit in with the normal Planet Fitness crowd. To each their own.
