Melissa Mantor claims she was asked to leave her gym because her belly was hanging out

A PREGNANT woman claims she was asked to leave the gym in the middle of a workout because her belly was hanging out.

A gym user claims she was asked to leave her fitness centre for showing her belly.

A PREGNANT gym user claims she was asked to leave her local fitness centre during the middle of a workout because her belly was hanging out.

Melissa Mantor, from South Carolina, said she was working out at the Sam Rittenberg Planet Fitness gym when an employer said she had to leave.

Ms Mantor, who is 18-weeks-pregnant, said she was using the treadmill when she was approached by the gym worker.

“I was very confused by this and thought I may have heard her wrong,” she told local broadcaster WCIV.

“She told me again that I am not able to continue my workout until I change my clothes because I am in violation of their dress code.”

According to the Planet Fitness Corporate Dress Code “string tank tops” which Ms Mantor was wearing at the time, are banned. However it doesn’t mention anything about exposed midriffs.

She claims she has worn the top before and wasn’t spoken to about it.

News_Image_File: The gym user said she was on the treadmill when she was asked to leave.

“I was very confused. She continued telling me that my belly was hanging out and I need to get it covered up,” Ms Mantor said.

“I told her at that time ‘Of course my belly is hanging out, I am pregnant’.”

She was then handed a white T-shirt and told her singlet was in violation of the centre’s dress code.

In a statement, McCall Gosselin, director of public relations for Planet Fitness, said Ms Mantor was not actually asked to leave the gym because of her clothing choice but rather her refusal to change it.

“Our corporate dress code policy, which is enforced at the discretion of club staff, states that jeans, boots, men’s string tank tops, or revealing clothing are prohibited,” he said.

“This particular location also had a stated policy that prohibited bare midriffs. In this instance, a staff member approached the member to inform her of the policy and offer her a free T-shirt to complete her workout.

“She was not asked to leave the gym as a result of her attire.”

It wouldn’t be the first time a gym user has been told they dressed inappropriately.

News_Image_File: A gym manager allegedly stopped Maja Lukic mid workout to tell her that her shorts were too short.

In January, Darwin woman Maja Lukic was told she needed to wear longer shorts if she wanted to work out at the club again.

The 25-year-old was told she belonged in a strip club when she was wearing Puma shorts and a tank top during a workout at Snap Fitness in Yarrawonga.

Gym owner Griff Davies told the NT News: “We have a standard that we set across all our gyms and have to protect the interests of different shapes and sizes and religious groups because our gym is for everyone.”