WTF Planet Fitness, no more jump rope?

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scbaNE2179

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So other than a diving, one of my biggest lifetime passions is fitness. I train about 6 days a week, mostly with HIIT cardio and some weight lifting in between. I am a member of 2 gyms, my primary work gym and my weekend gym, which is Planet Fitness. For the past 2 years I've been jumping rope a lot, using a mainly a super lightweight speed rope. Because of the room required to swing the rope, I try and work out in a corner of both gyms as far as away from people as possible.

Jumping rope at my primary gym-no problem. Jumping rope at Planet Fitness? Well today I discovered that apparently I am not allowed to skip rope anymore at this gym. For the same 2 years I've been jumping speed rope at PF and nobody has bothered me. Well, that all changed today-after my first interval, a PF staff member approached me and informed me that corporate has recently changed their policy and jump ropes are now banned across all PF locations. I asked for a reason why jumping rope is an issue at a gym because it is one of the most intense forms of cardio. The staff member told me that it is a liability issue because with the speed of the rope, someone can easily walk into the path of a swing and get injured from the rope. Of course I didn't completely agree with this reasoning as any gym has equipment that can injure anyone without the proper training and experience. So I politely gathered my things and continued onto my workout doing other things.

Not the end of the world as I can just jump rope at my primary gym but I think the liability issue with skipping rope is completely bogus. How is this any different from someone dropping a dumbell onto someone's foot in the free weight area?
 
With PF, you get what you pay for. These gyms leave much to be desired, but even with a lot of the nonsense that you find at PF you can't beat $10/month.
 
Planet Fitness business model is not wanting members to show up at all. Look it up...

We went into the new PF here just to get kicked out for fun.
 
Lawyers and liability(aka lack of personal responsibility) screwing things up for everyone yet again.
 
It does suck when they delete stuff, but are they adding new stuff? The jump rope can be done at home or park, but, say, kickboxing equipment or new machines might make up for it.
Personally, i prefer double Dutch jump rope with other helpers, but they would have to dedicate a room and run it as a class.
 
Liability issue?
Wait for the nice padded barbells, with maximum six-ounce weights allowed on them. You know, just in case someone trips or one gets dropped on someone.

I'd suggest you contact corporate. Surely, they could arrange for you to practice in something like a roped off secure corner of a room?
 
I just don't get why a jump rope is considered a hazard when a free weight dumbbell poses the same injury risk to yourself and others around you. If I had a nickel every time I saw people lifting with god awful form, looking like they are about to severely injure themselves...I guess PF doesn't want its members to engage in anything other than treadmill, bike, or elliptical. SSC cardio is great but not if you really want to torch calories. At $10/mo and this as my backup gym, it's certainly annoying but it won't prevent me from quitting.
 
"I just don't get why a jump rope is considered a hazard"
Haven't you ever heard, or said, "Give 'em enough rope and they'll hang themselves" ?
See, ropes are well known to be inherently dangerous. Heck, in jails they even take away your shoe laces, because even shoe strings can be deadly. (Even if the TSA still hasn't caught on to that. Yet.)
But you'll never hear someone say "Give 'em enough free weight and they'll crush themselves." See, there's just no historical precedent for a problem with free weights. Well, there are the weights used to crush chests during the Salem Witch Trials, but that's just a good reason to keep exercise equipment away from religious fanatics.

What was it that Kirk said to Spock? "If you expect logic you've come to the wrong planet." Might make a good exercise t-shirt.
 
Logic is something PF needs to look into. Today is 12/4, the first Monday of a new month-and guess what, it's free pizza day at PF. A gym that offers pizza to its members. And this Friday, 12/8, is free bagel day. Logic is completely out the window with both of these things.
 
Well, logic is a devious thing. If I'm going to grab a bagel and coffee for breakfast or maybe a break...wouldn't it be healthier if that lured me to an exercise club and got me moving?

Same thing could be said about pizza, it is actually nourishing food with plenty of food value. Unless of course you need to be eating low-carb low-fat (no, wait, fats are OK again this year), have a blood sugar problem...and again, there's less damage if you're exercising after. And your "cheating" on the diet may defer you from getting another one.

Heck, if they do pizza once a week and it isn't from Little Caeser's then it could be worth the ten bucks to just go there for lunch.

Or maybe it is a marketing thing. Fatten the members up, and they'll have more reason to stay in a fitness program?

Obviously their legal team has had input into those programs. Fingerfood, which can all be safely eaten without those nasty pointy unsafe metal implements! Although, there's a burn risk if the pizza is too fresh, isn't there?
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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