Aotearoa / New Zealand

How long is too long to spend in a 24-hour gym? Can you do too much squatting?

That is the question on the mind of Hawke's Bay man Arthur Eagle after what he claims was his unfair eviction from FlexFitness in Hastings after spending all night there.

Eagle, whose membership has now been cancelled after the 4 March incident, claims a clause stating that 'all memberships include unrestricted access' was not followed and he was deliberately discriminated against.

But the gym manager has a different story. He claims Eagle broke several gym rules and was loitering, leaving no choice but to terminate his membership.

Gym manager Meryn Hemmingsen said staff members had spoken to Eagle several times about what he described as "highly unusual" behaviour within his gym, asking him to stop violating rules.

Hemmingsen claimed Eagle spent "numerous occasions" all night at the gym in the very early hours of the day, "for instance, arriving just after midnight and leaving around 7am".

"When he did exercise in the gym, it was nowhere near the entire time of his stay, and some early mornings when he spent time in the gym, he did not exercise at all for many hours at a time.

"Our gyms are not a place for loitering; they are a place for exercising."

Hemmingsen also said Eagle was following people into the gym without using a security tag.

"Our manager discovered on several occasions that he was not using the security key tag to swipe into the gym, but rather following others who swiped ahead of him.

Eagle denied this was the case, saying he asked a few people nicely, and only on two occasions, to use their swipe card to enter the gym.