This Is What Sets The Lunk Alarm Off The Most At Planet Fitness

Planet Fitness is one of the largest and most popular gym companies in the United States, per Club Industry. Planet Fitness actually has over 2000 fitness centers in the country and has a number of them outside the country, too. However this company is still extending its reach, and it recently made a move to acquire Sunshine Fitness (via CNBC). To tap into the growing working-out from home market, the fitness company also has a mobile app that contains tutorials and workout videos that are very beginner friendly.

At $10 a month, the fitness center's membership payments are one of the most affordable. Aimed at people on a budget, who don't take exercise too seriously, per Business Insider. With an ad that stated its customers would be free from "gymtimidation," the company was built on being a gym unlike any other. 

The company's most recognizable feature, placed in all their centers, is their "lunk alarm" which goes off in special circumstances. But, what sets  the lunk alarm off the most at Planet Fitness? 

The lunk alarm is a loud siren the company uses to decrease activity that the company believes falls under excessive noise while exercising, for example, loud grunting. It is a symbol of the company's signature laid-back approach to fitness and determination to create a "judgment-free zone" for their clients.

The company describes "lunks" as people who grunt, judge or drop weights, and the alarm is to alert people to the presence of such folks, explains Luxe Luminous. Dropping weights is also something that sets off the lunk alarm; the loud clanging of weights or other gym equipment being dropped is considered disruptive to the center's laid-back atmosphere and may intimidate beginners who aren't familiar with weight lifting. 

The alarm is mostly targeted at bodybuilders and people who incorporate weight lifting into their work outs, as weight lifting is a strenuous exercise and often requires the loud huffing-and-puffing and weight dropping that the company frowns upon the most, per Home Affluence.

Also, the alarm is completely subjective, as it is the employees of the center who determine if a client's grunting or heavy breathing has crossed the range of what is acceptable. Despite the good intentions that went into the creation of the alarm, it has received criticism for fostering gym toxicity even though that was something it aimed to prevent.