At almost all Planet Fitness locations, they have something called the Lunk Alarm. They define a lunk as someone who grunts, drops weight, or judges. If you do any of these things in a Planet Fitness, you will set off the Lunk Alarm, which notifies an employee who escorts you out of the gym.

I completely get not dropping weights. That can be annoying, even to people who regularly go to the gym. Also, I’m strongly against judging people based on how they look – worry about yourself. But, no grunting is where I have a problem.

I believe that in the gym, you should be able to express your best self in the gym. If you need to be a little loud when trying to get a weight up when you’re finishing up a set, I believe you should be able to do that.

People also love to walk over to the mirror and flex their muscles and take a picture to show off the progress they’ve made. I can see how some people might be uncomfortable with that but I feel like they’ve also got to understand that they’re in a gym. You’re there to work out your muscles and make them stronger. You’re there to better your physical self. So why can’t you check out your physical self without being judged? If you look good, appreciate yourself.

Now, I want to say, I don’t condone toxic masculinity. That’s not what I want in the gym. Guys shouldn’t be checking out girls, yelling, or judging people based on how they look. That creates a hostile gym environment that isn’t welcoming to everybody. I believe that there should be an atmosphere where everyone can express the best side of themselves in a judgment free zone. You should be able to work on yourself in peace.

With that being said, the gym isn’t supposed to be quiet like a library. It’s a place to work on your best, physical self without being judged by letting out a couple of grunts or flexing in the mirror.