So I joined a new gym last year and was pleasantly surprised. They gave me a smart card to get in and out, that’s it, no app, no accounts, no nothing. Well, today I got to the gym and saw the announcement that they are phasing out the access with the smart card and starting to use, you guessed it, an app.
Now, I know this is not such a big deal in the grand scheme of things. But I’m just tired of this trend of replacing perfectly functioning systems with apps (public transport tickets come to mind). Just more ways to harvest people’s data, I guess…
Ah and by the way, in my previous gym they not only required an app for accessing the place, they also incentivized people to track their workouts, meals and bodyweight using the gym’s app (of course I never used any of these features).
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Impulse? Got a similar mail yesterday for my gym too, doubt I’ll bother until my card stops working. Cards are simply more reliable than apps.
My gym did that. But it’s not really an app, it’s a QR code you pull up to scan, wrapped in some semblance of trying to be an app. Which means I took a screenshot and just pulled that up. Still stupid.
But you can also just print it out and put it on a card 😎
wonder how much of a kickback they get from this. I can’t see another good reason to fuck with your userbase.
My old college dorm did this, I told them I don’t have a smartphone (lie) and they gave me an access card that works 100% of the time without needing a charge. They might do the same at your gym.
The apps requirement pisses me off. Both Android/IOS have some sort of pass system.
I’d speak to management and voice your concerns regarding the app, and ask if there is another method available for entry. If not, I’d cancel my membership and look for another gym that respects my privacy.
I’m going to be moving into a van in the next few years full-time, travelling around Australia and using gyms for showers and, well, exercise. I don’t know if it’s already an issue over here or not, but I sure hope it won’t be by the time I can move out in the van full-time, cause this is one of the best ways of accessing showers without building one into the van.
Join a local sports club, meet new people, volunteer, have fun for cheap.
For gym next to me you need smart card and also fingerprint to enter 🤣. Im happy I dont do any workouts
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This desperately needs to become an illegal industry. Perfectly legitimate businesses are letting their real business fall to the wayside as they convert their profits to a fucking consumer spying business. I’m sick of it. I’m sick of all the tracking, and I’m sick of ads popping up in new places all the freaking time. You go to pump gas and a commercial starts blaring in your face. You can’t escape it. You can’t get a moment of peace to sit with your thoughts. It’s negatively affecting our entire society, yet every business is pursuing it with zeal and the politicians aren’t doing jack shit to protect the people. Matter of fact the government is buying the data too. I never imagined this is what the future would look like when I was growing up.
totally fair to be upset IMO. spare a thought for my friend whose gym rolled out mandatory fingerprint scanning for entry, then mandatory facial recognition a few months later (they cancelled their membership)
The only thing I want that a gym might have is a pull up bar. Other than that, two kettlebells plus cals plus running give me more than enough challenge. Gymnastics rings on a long belt plus a sturdy tree branch can stand in for a pull up bar.
Unless you are a pro and need access to a climbing gym, which is very hard to completely replace without a trip to a boulder, gyms are rip offs.
I exercise on and off all my life, with at least 20 exercising years. I did college gyms, ymca, paid gyms, and once even a bona fide body building club with a proper hulking ph. d. as a trainer. I have plenty of experience with many modalities.
My two cents, look into advanced cals, and running, and look up “dynamic tension” by Charles Atlas, and screw the gym. If you can, add some kettlebells and a pull up bar. With dynamic tension you can do pulling movements without a pull up bar.
i don’t even take my phone with me when i go out for the gym 🤷
people are stuck to their phones! i see people doing crunches while watching a video on their phones in one of their hands. Hurts to look at their pitiful postures.
aren’t there any laws there for guaranteeing accessibility?
Sometimes the app just shows a barcode that they scan. I always screenshotted the barcode and deleted the app. Better yet, save the barcode in catima https://catima.app/
This would be the best way. Unfortunately they made it the other way around. A screen at the door shows the code, and you scan it with the app.
In my previous gym the code was on the app, but I’m not sure anymore if it was static or it changed over time. But the reader on the door was awful, I used to spend a good 3 minutes trying different angles with my phone to make it recognize the code.
First time i hear of this, sounds handy, although I’ve seen some of those “loyalty card” thingies with chips for hands-free usage, i tend to avoid them as a general principle as they’re the opposite of privacy-oriented but for the few that you do want (like the store where you always buy your groceries from, to get extra discounts) might be handy
Or Barcodes on iOS
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/reward-card-wallet-barcodes/id1610894014
Ask to speak with management
and then?
Scream, “Do you know who I am???”
60% of the time, it works every time.
My gym does this. I carry one my old phones in my console with nothing but the gym app on it. I turn it on when I park, it connects to wifi while I’m walking in, I scan the code then turn it off and throw it in my bag.
That’s cool but also a bit dystopian in a way.