Note: build gym on the ground floor.

Everything's bigger in Texas.

Target Rich Environment

I doubt the business model is tossing people when they hit 49.9 lbs over. If it's working, people will probably stay until THEY are ready to go.

I'd give them badges as they lost weight. Having a bunch of people in the gym that are still heavy, but are sporting "Down 40" badges could only help in recruiting.

Discrimination lawsuit in 3...2...1...

Jubeebee: It does seem that if it's successful, it will go out of business, doesn't it? But if it stays in business, that means it fails.

The news report on TV said that formerly obese members who lose weight can stay.

wxboy: Elvis_Bogart: How long before they get sued by some skinny twit from the ACLU?

How many skinny people really want to hang out with fat people at the gym?

.


I do.

Makes me feel better about myself.

The catch is that the potential customers don't know who they are. I know a >200 lb 5'9" woman who thinks she needs to lose 40 pounds to be at her ideal weight. Have you ever seen a 160 pound woman that height who was at her ideal weight? Wishful thinking rules the day. They really do believe in big bones, or something of that sort. Not that it would be easy to put an exact number on it. Personally, I don't know what my ideal weight is. I'm losing again, just passing my previous best and closing in on how much I weighed as a freshman in high school, but I have no idea what weight I'm shooting for. (I was already pretty chubby at thirteen.) I'll figure it out when I get closer.

Why is the article formatted like this?

This reads like an elementary school book.

It makes my head hurt.

AustinFakir: The catch is that the potential customers don't know who they are. I know a >200 lb 5'9" woman who thinks she needs to lose 40 pounds to be at her ideal weight. Have you ever seen a 160 pound woman that height who was at her ideal weight? Wishful thinking rules the day. They really do believe in big bones, or something of that sort. Not that it would be easy to put an exact number on it. Personally, I don't know what my ideal weight is. I'm losing again, just passing my previous best and closing in on how much I weighed as a freshman in high school, but I have no idea what weight I'm shooting for. (I was already pretty chubby at thirteen.) I'll figure it out when I get closer.

That's a 23.6 BMI. Not exactly svelte, but not wildly out of the norm.

Just to help you get the image of fat Texans out of your head.....

redstate = fatstate

market accordingly...

PainInTheASP: Frederick:

I like the concept; not sure its a viable business model though. Sort of a catch-22.

I totally agree. This sort of thing may not work everywhere, but I know of a whole shiatload of Midwestern cities where they'd make out like gangbusters. Er, excuse me...fatbusters.

I'm not fat enough. Yet. But then I ain't in Texas neither.

They should still open up in Lexington. Compared to most of my neighborhood I'm almost anorexic .

I feel bad for the exercise equipment at this gym.

For additional lulz the owners should open a Cracker Barrel or Sizzler right across the street from the gym.

Frederick: I like the concept; not sure its a viable business model though. Sort of a catch-22.

It's called Planet Fitness

/shudders recalling the notion of lunk alarms

theesir: Just to help you get the image of fat Texans out of your head.....

[cowboyblog.com image 323x480]

I still laugh how every 3rd or 4th billboard in the North Texas Metroplex is for gastric bypass or some other sort of cosmetic surgery.

The snarky side of me wonders if they came up with the idea assuming that obese people aren't going to ever use the gym, even if it caters to them exclusively. Sign only obese people up for the gym + obese people rarely use the gym = huge profit margins.

Headso: redUS state = fatstate

market accordingly...

Fixed.

And hasn't Planet Fitness already taken this idea?

Heist: The snarky side of me wonders if they came up with the idea assuming that obese people aren't going to ever use the gym, even if it caters to them exclusively. Sign only obese people up for the gym + obese people rarely use the gym = huge profit margins.

That's actually a funny thought... an empty gym that is still making money for its owners.

PainInTheASP: Frederick: I like the concept; not sure its a viable business model though. Sort of a catch-22.

I totally agree. This sort of thing may not work everywhere, but I know of a whole shiatload of Midwestern cities where they'd make out like gangbusters. Er, excuse me...fatbusters.

This is a great idea.

People are ashamed enough that they are fat. They know they are fat and they want to join a gym but have feelings of worthlessness and being judged by the fit people inside it. Irrational thinking? Yes, but that is what happens with these people and it keeps them from engaging themselves. This also provides a nice support group and and meet people who are in the same boat as you are.





Not this boat, though

A Curves gym opened up near me last year, which I've been told is for overweight middle aged women. Within 2 months, a Fudge shop and a Dunkin Donuts opened up on either side of them....and this....will forever be my example illustrating supply and demand.

Good idea. I hope the facilities also provide dietary advice.

"Do these chaps make me look fat?"

Maybe I am a douche for saying this, but here goes. When I see a fat person at the gym, I try to tell myself "good for them", but does a fat person really belong in a gym? It doesn't take a whole lot to be not fat. An obese person can make huge changes by watching what they eat and working basic physical activities into their lifestyle. If you had never been on a skateboard in your life, would your first stop be the skatepark? No, you'd just get in everyone's way and put yourself in danger. Stick to your driveway until you can at least do an ollie.

Maybe the exception would be fat people going to the gym for physical rehabilitation under the watch of a personal trainer.

It's a very sizable market (pun intended) here. You cannot go anywhere without seeing extremely heavy people, of all ages, ethnicities, etc. There are giant people all over DFW.

The question is, how many of them actually want to lose weight enough to bother going to a gym.

Is your membership revoked if you're successful and you lose 50+ lbs?

obese pound wise or obese body fat wize

pound wise is smarter cause it opens your gym to a larger market. but why not open to everyone since your gonna have skinny people with low body fat percentages that are still obese

flyinghouse99: Maybe I am a douche for saying this, but here goes. When I see a fat person at the gym, I try to tell myself "good for them", but does a fat person really belong in a gym? It doesn't take a whole lot to be not fat. An obese person can make huge changes by watching what they eat and working basic physical activities into their lifestyle. If you had never been on a skateboard in your life, would your first stop be the skatepark? No, you'd just get in everyone's way and put yourself in danger. Stick to your driveway until you can at least do an ollie.

Maybe the exception would be fat people going to the gym for physical rehabilitation under the watch of a personal trainer.

Maybe I am a douche for saying this, but here goes. When I see a poor person at the bank, I try to tell myself "good for them", but does a poor person really belong in a bank? It doesn't take a lot to not be poor. A poor person can make huge changes by watching what they spend and working market labor activities into their lifestyle. If you had never been on a skateboard in your life, would your first stop be the skatepark? No, you'd just get in everyone's way and put yourself in danger. Stick to your driveway until you can at least do an ollie.

Maybe the exception would be poor people going to the bank for financial rehabilitation under the watch of a financial advisor.

Litig8r: AustinFakir: The catch is that the potential customers don't know who they are. I know a >200 lb 5'9" woman who thinks she needs to lose 40 pounds to be at her ideal weight. Have you ever seen a 160 pound woman that height who was at her ideal weight? Wishful thinking rules the day. They really do believe in big bones, or something of that sort. Not that it would be easy to put an exact number on it. Personally, I don't know what my ideal weight is. I'm losing again, just passing my previous best and closing in on how much I weighed as a freshman in high school, but I have no idea what weight I'm shooting for. (I was already pretty chubby at thirteen.) I'll figure it out when I get closer.

That's a 23.6 BMI. Not exactly svelte, but not wildly out of the norm.

She'd have to put on a lot of muscle for that to be an ideal weight. At that weight she'd be built about like a typical Olympic heptathlete, maybe a little heavier. (I chose the heptathlon because it doesn't include an endurance element, and two of the six events are raw power throwing events that as individual competitions are dominated by burly athletes. You won't see women with unhealthy levels of body fat scoring well on the javelin or shot put.)

When my friend imagines her "ideal weight," she doesn't imagines herself being as powerfully built as an Olympic athlete. I know that from the way she talks about other women. I might think those women are hot, but my friend does not. For another athletic comparison, at 5'9" and 160 lbs, she'd fall somewhere in the middle of the BMI range for the US Olympic women's softball team. Those girls 1) robustly built, 2) enormously strong, and 3) not what my friend wants to look like, no matter how many men might like her like that.

I don't think anyone needs to get to their ideal weight to be healthy, or that perfection is even the right proximate goal for someone over 200 pounds, but if you use it as a reference point like my friend does, it's best not to be wildly off.

flyinghouse99: Maybe I am a douche for saying this, but here goes. When I see a fat person at the gym, I try to tell myself "good for them", but does a fat person really belong in a gym? It doesn't take a whole lot to be not fat. An obese person can make huge changes by watching what they eat and working basic physical activities into their lifestyle. If you had never been on a skateboard in your life, would your first stop be the skatepark? No, you'd just get in everyone's way and put yourself in danger. Stick to your driveway until you can at least do an ollie.

Maybe the exception would be fat people going to the gym for physical rehabilitation under the watch of a personal trainer.

Losing weight and getting in shape are not the same thing. If they're going to drop the pounds at last, they might as well start working out. Also, in the case of severely obese people, a dramatic weight loss will result in a loss of strength - because their bodies had to be strong enough to haul all that extra mass around all the time.

From your point of view, they're damned if they do and damned if they don't. All the more reason to establish a gym for the obese.

Please don't have pictures, please don't have pictures, please don't have pictures...

'click link'

OMG it's a video.

(don't click play, don't click play, don't click play...)

Link

Did anyone else get this ad banner? Made me chuckle.

flyinghouse99: Maybe I am a douche for saying this, but here goes. When I see a fat person at the gym, I try to tell myself "good for them", but does a fat person really belong in a gym? It doesn't take a whole lot to be not fat. An obese person can make huge changes by watching what they eat and working basic physical activities into their lifestyle. If you had never been on a skateboard in your life, would your first stop be the skatepark? No, you'd just get in everyone's way and put yourself in danger. Stick to your driveway until you can at least do an ollie.

Maybe the exception would be fat people going to the gym for physical rehabilitation under the watch of a personal trainer.

Maybe I am a douche for saying this, but here goes. When I see a lame troll on Fark, I try to tell myself "good for them", but does a lame troll really belong in this thread? It doesn't take a lot to not be a troll. A troll can make huge changes by not being an asshole, or at least not posting. DIAF and GTFO work too. If you had never been on a skateboard in your life, would your first stop be the skatepark? No, you'd just get in everyone's way and put yourself in danger. Stick to your driveway until you can at least do an ollie.

Maybe the exception would be trolls trying to prove a point by using clever statire. But, let's face it. This is Fark.

Thats one locker room I'm happy to never ever ever visit.

flyinghouse99: Maybe I am a douche for saying this, but here goes. When I see a fat person at the gym, I try to tell myself "good for them", but does a fat person really belong in a gym? It doesn't take a whole lot to be not fat. An obese person can make huge changes by watching what they eat and working basic physical activities into their lifestyle. If you had never been on a skateboard in your life, would your first stop be the skatepark? No, you'd just get in everyone's way and put yourself in danger. Stick to your driveway until you can at least do an ollie.

Maybe the exception would be fat people going to the gym for physical rehabilitation under the watch of a personal trainer.

Losing weight is mostly about diet, but the gym really is a good place for fat people to work out. Overheating is a bigger issue for them, partly because they work much harder when walking or running than someone who doesn't weigh as much. Having them walk or run or ride a skateboard just rubs their face in how fat they are. I think the best thing is to bring them inside into the A/C and teach them to lift weights. Might as well start them out on something they can be as good at as any other beginner. It can be a big confidence booster to see improvements from week to week even if they aren't losing weight. That confidence and feeling of control might even carry over to how they control their eating.

Plus, long term, people who carry a lot of extra weight tend to develop knee and back problems. Teaching them to lift correctly will help them avoid hurting themselves and help them deal with those problems when they do inevitably arise.

litespeed74: Thats one locker room I'm happy to never ever ever visit.

Probably less naked, fat old guys than a regular gym locker room

Heist: The snarky side of me wonders if they came up with the idea assuming that obese people aren't going to ever use the gym, even if it caters to them exclusively. Sign only obese people up for the gym + obese people rarely use the gym = huge profit margins.

I think that's why Planet Fitness is only $10 a month.

This seems like a decent enough idea. I've heard more than a few overweight acquaintences state that they'd like to join a gym but feel like they need to get into "gym shape" first.

I try to convince them that no one at the gym is going to judge them and that everyone has to start somewhere, but maybe something like this is a better option.

Seriously though, if you're overweight, just go to the gym! No one is going to point and laugh, or even notice you most likely.