Canadian Gym Bans Skinny People

So, what happens if the business model works, and people drop a lot of weight? Will they then be banned for doing well?

I know the issues are different for men and women, but I remember walking into a gym over 350 pounds. It sucked. But it's harder to show up outside on public streets in lycra, and be the fat guy in a sea of fit people.

Maybe tris should institute the same policy.

Another cynical side of me says that this just falls into the cycle of failure mentality that the "diet industry" thrives on. Keep coming back and flailing away but make no real progress, and we can keep selling you new things. God forbid you get examples from actually fit people and model what they do - we can't sell you more stuff that way.

They use metric.  So, it's cool.

That's funny a lot of the skinny girls at my gym are not fit people they are there for the guys, period... end of story.  They get on the treadmill or the eliptical and don't even break a sweat; it would mess up their make-up and cute outfits.  If it is a machine they bend over for they are all over it but what they are doing can only barely be called a "workout".

There are however a handful of very fit women that rock the workout floor and they are some of the most awesome people there if you are serious about what you are doing.  They take a while to warm up to you though, probably because of the number of women in the first category.

As for tris for specific groups there are a number of women's only tris here in FL, likely for similar reasons.

Smart!

Its really not about morale, discrimination, protection of anybody's feelings, or anything else. It's all about marketing.

A new gym is trying to figure out how to compete against the established, bigger gyms with more resources than them. Better machines? Better trainers? Only males or females? not practical, impossible, or too expensive.

This way, they immediately create a captive audience (and a strong loyalty) from their customers. Let's face it. if you are obese and planning to start going to a gym, this would be your first choice as you know they cater to your specific needs, as that is all they do.

Cannot tell you if it will work long term (they need to make sure the programs they conduct motivate people for the long haul), but smart marketing technique.

Maybe people who get skinny can be grandfathered in, or accepted as honorary heavy people.  The only condition is that they need to produce their original ID card (with picture) for inspection on demand.

Good point. Major legal implications on either case, but my guess is that we would only experience it in your stated case. I still think it would be smart marketing move (catering to a group of gym-addicted people), but the outrage and discrimination suits will be immediate.

The reason I say its a marketing move, its that if a gym clearly states that its targeting obese or out of shape people, and that the programs/training methods/classes will all be targeting them, gym-experienced people (nice way of putting it, no?) would probably stay away anyways. By officially "Banning" them (and put it in the media), you get a lot of publicity and brand recognition.

The dychotomy of political-correctness. Any discrimination should not be tolerated, and yet in this case society seems to accept reverse discrimination more than the "normal" discrimination we are used to see. I guess in this case "skinny" or "fit" (or however you want to call them) people don't care enough to make an issue out of it. But I agree with you. I am sure that any gym wanting to ban obese people will not be launching a media campaign behind the idea.

In other words, not really a gym.

Awesome business model from a profitability stand-point:

Pretend to be a gym, ban fit people, charge people for fitness that will never happen! Nobody ever get's fit, nobody ever leaves and the dues keep on flowing!

If they surround themselves with other fat, out of shape people, they will then become average by self selection and feel like they have accomplished something for nothing.  And if they start to actually get fit, they will back off when they realize they might get kicked out.

Captive audience. Genius.

Well if it get more people to work out then its a good thing. 

well I was part of a weight lose group and if you lost the weight you did not have to leave.  In fact you were a great asset since you can help inspire people and keep motivating them to show that it works.  Just be smart and put there picture on the wall so people know your cool.

This reminds me of an encounter that I had when I went to check out the gorgeous new gym that opened up down the road from me: they have a "dress code" in effect. You must wear a shirt that has cap sleeves. 

No tank tips.

And no working out in just a sports bra and shorts...... which tends to be  my preferred gym attire because I get so darn hot.

I was told that this policy was in place to prevent the "less fit" members from becoming intimidated by the "more fit " members. Silly.

Needless to say, I did not join this particular gym. 

They all heard of your awesome abs, so they had to ban your attire for the sake of any future issues.

I agree, when I get to the gym, it is almost gratifying to know that just because I don't look the most "fit" I can run longer and faster than people who are skinnier than me.  So true that just because they look "fit" doesn't mean that they are.  

I also agree that there are some women in there that can give wonderful advice and most of the ones I have encountered are more than willing to help if you are interested.