the online survey by Kelton Global of 2,006 Americans men and women 18 and over was commissioned by Planet Fitness. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percent.
Now you might think that a study commissioned by Planet Fitness suggesting that men need not go to gyms like Planet Fitness to hone their bodies would be the last thing that Planet Fitness would want to promote.
But at Planet Fitness, it’s all about acceptance.
“We want our members to know they will never be judged while working out. So on Father’s Day this year, we thought it would be fun to look at how men and women – parents or not – feel about the dad bod,” said Jessica Correa, senior vice president of marketing at Planet Fitness.
“Our survey results show the majority of people think positively about dad bods, and men who identify as having them are proud of who they are. That’s exactly how we want all of our members to feel when they come to Planet Fitness.”
So they’re still on the Judgement Free Zone play, huh?
Also, I fail to see where clinically observed “swooning” comes into play in the study
Were there women subjects who were offered photos of six-packed men vs. dad-bodded men while their blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration were monitored ?? ?
I’m sure there are more Masters/Johnson-flavored observables, but we’ll leave those for another place & time
I just asked my female friend sitting next to me (she is a thin but not unhealthy thin runner) and she said and I quote, “I feel the only justification is that if we let our partners get a dad bod, then it allows us to let ourselves go a little bit as well and they can’t say anything to us about gaining a few pounds. It is also a bit of security like if we are in great shape and they aren’t then they probably wont cheat on us. They are also better to hug, softer, than a guy who feels like a roman statue. So if I were just dating a guy or booty calling - I want a roman statue. If I were to get into a long term relationship with someone, he would probably have a very very mild dad bod”
and here I thought it was my shit personality and commitment issues that are keeping me single - turns out its my abs! Who knew haha
Interesting… but I really don’t care what that survey says in terms of the body type I intend to have, triathlon or not.
Also interesting that Planet Fitness is behind the survey… some of the questions are a little leading IMO. I’d really like to see the survey as it was presented to people.
It’s true. Wherever I go I can’t get ladies to stop swooning. There’s so much swooning, all over the place. It’s getting kinda annoying, actually. I need to lose a few more pounds around my middle so they’ll stop swooning so much…
Also interesting that Planet Fitness is behind the survey…
In a way, they’re kinda smart
First, they get you motivated to choose their brand by offering state-of-the-art equipment and the Judgement Free Zone
Then, they say “y’know, it’s OK if you’re not getting the exact results you wanted; we still respect you, and you’re doing great”
Gyms make money when you DON’T come in, but just let them bill you on & on & on, in case you say “Hey! I should do a 5K someday” and actually make a visit
Interesting… but I really don’t care what that survey says in terms of the body type I intend to have, triathlon or not.
D’Kid and I were at Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens a couple Fridays ago. We were having a great day, and she had someone get a pic of us. Yeah, well, since I haven’t been running for a couple months - only cycling - I’ve got a baby Dad-Bod. Not such that anyone but me would even notice. The spare tire, such as it is, is barely a bicycle tire
“You look fine. Dad bods are cool” she tried to console me
“Nope. Unacceptable”
Determining what women are attracted to is pretty difficult to figure out. I think there is some truth in that women do prefer that their partner is not more fit or leaner than them. It does bring up a lot of insecurities among many women who struggle with body image issues. I lost close to 25lbs this offseason and got really lean. I think it got under my wife’s skin initially. She hated it. I don’t think it bothers her so much anymore, but I was within about 10lbs of her weight, which was kind of an eye opener for both of us. She was doing a lot of tactful things like buying foods I told her I had given up. She would bring home stuff like peanut M&m’s, ice cream and Pringle’s, even after I told her junk food wasn’t going to be part of my diet. I kept telling her this body composition change was performance based and not for appearance. She’s eased up a bit, but I think in the back of her head it’s still there. It has less to do with me and more to do with the image of men and women that the mass media portrays and what is socially acceptable.
My girlfriend and I both do triathlon. I wouldn’t say it gets her pissed, because I’ve been in better shape. But when I recently got into better shape it sort of affected her self-esteem because I had more time to train and she had been skipping workouts. But overall she likes it when I’m cut up provided I don’t shave my chest. . .
Didn’t Planet Fitness used to have free pizza days?
I would say “Planet Fittingdis pizza in my mouth”. Fitting this, fitness…whatever. It’s a stretch.
When I used to use one in our neighborhood, walking distance, they advertised free pizza night and free bagel morning. I would chuckle at that.
I still think fitness works better as a hobby. I’ll even be generous and include the crossfit people into that idea. It’s just more conducive to consistency even at the cost of being less well rounded.
I mean, do something as a fitness hobby. Run club, bike club, tri club, tennis, adult soccer, crossfit, hiking, etc… I think it’s rare to find someone who’s all like “I totally look forward to doing the same exact 30 minutes on the same exact elliptical for the rest of my life while watching Kardashians reruns”. Shoot, even toss golf in there if you bother to carry your clubs and walk the 18 holes instead of using the cart. The average course is decently hilly and about 4 miles long. A 4 mile walk with a 20 lb bag ain’t nothing.
At hobby based fitness groups and activities, people are generally there because they want to be and because it makes them happy.
Oi - I get the same thing. Im pretty lean but I am also tall and muscular - swimmer/surfer build. I am dropping weight to get to race weight by fall (train heavy, race light) - and everyone just hates on the idea. “You look fine. You look great. You are fit”. That is super rad but I don’t care how I look haha I want free speed and fat does not allow that (to a certain point then the law of diminishing returns hit). They always have that slight edge in their tone too.
I would PREFER to date a girl as fit or more than I am - she can keep up and understands and is not petty about being fit for sport.
I almost bought this shirt at the Kwik-E Mart at Universal Studios. But I already have more T-shirts than I need, so I passed.
I have found that in much the same way that a tech race shirt makes a pretty effective Invisibility Cloak in the weight room, I’ve found that a black t-shirt can nicely camouflage a little bit of non-flat tummy
I almost bought this shirt at the Kwik-E Mart at Universal Studios. But I already have more T-shirts than I need, so I passed.
I have found that in much the same way that a tech race shirt makes a pretty effective Invisibility Cloak in the weight room, I’ve found that a black t-shirt can nicely camouflage a little bit of non-flat tummy
