Gym Etiquette: How Not to be a Meathead
Being courteous. Polite. Mindful of others. These things seem like common sense in any type of workplace environment. So what happens to people when they step through the doors of a gym? It seems that all these things get thrown out the window. Most gyms have their own rules about these things. But shouldn’t we as fully functional adults have the common decency to behave conscientiously without the rules? What may seem obvious to some may not be so obvious to others. Trust me – I’ve seen them all. It’s time for a change.
Wear Sneakers: Not sandals, not boots, not loafers, and certainly not the shoes you wore to work this morning. If you’re going to work out, do yourself a favor and invest in a good pair of sneakers. Chuck Taylors are my favorite.
Appropriate Clothing: You don’t have to cover yourself from head to toe but please stop wearing these ridiculous tank tops, t-tops, and spandex shorts. Other people would like to work out on the same equipment as you. It would be nice to have peace of mind knowing that I will not be coming in contact with something that your flesh just became intimately involved with. On the other end, if working out in a corporate facility, don’t workout in the clothes you came to work in this morning. It seems a bit silly to me that someone would go through the trouble to hit the gym during their lunch break, but not have the common sense to bring a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. (Please also remember to wash them on occasion.)
Ditch the Aftershave: It’s a gym, not a night club. Keep the sex panther at home. The need for fresh air in a gym environment is critical. The last thing you want to do is pollute the air of hard working individuals. The ladies will forgive you; I promise.
But Wear Deodorant: It’s the hardest conversation a gym owner will ever have. One of their patrons has extremely kicking BO, and none of their passive aggressive attempts at letting them know has worked. You smell. Everybody smells, especially when they workout. Do yourself and others a favor, and just put a little deodorant on. You can wash it off right after if you don’t like it.
Wipe Down Machines: That big sweaty imprint you just left on the incline bench? Get rid of it. I don’t care how you do it, just make sure it’s not there when it’s my turn to use the bench. I’m pretty sure, by law, most gyms have to provide some sort of antibacterial spray for just such causes. Find out where it’s kept, and use it.
Put Weights and Equipment Away: Put it right back where you found it. It blows my mind how many people go to the gym, the ultimate “I’m not lazy” thing to do, yet they leave a trail of clutter everywhere they go. Remember when you were little and your mom taught you how to put your toys away? Use those skills.
Don’t Drop Weights: Simple. If you have to drop them, they’re too heavy. Please, everyone in the gym does not need to know how much weight you just lifted. Alerting people of your strength by crashing weights to the floor is not an appropriate way to gain attention. It might work in the jungle of Congo but not in the gym.
Respect People’s Privacy: It might not seem like a private atmosphere but a lot of people would just rather tune out when they’re at the gym. Learn the signs. If someone is reluctant to respond to your conversation with normal social cues of interest, please just leave them be. It’s not that they don’t like you. Some people just need to be left alone when they are working out. By the way, headphones usually equal “don’t talk to me”.
Ask Before Using: Be aware of what pieces of equipment people are using. If I want to go get a drink of water at the fountain it would be nice if I didn’t have to mark my territory before I left. In the same respect, don’t camp out on any one piece of equipment like a lion over a fresh kill. If you’re not using it, leave it.
Be a Pal: Don’t be afraid to help people out once in a while. Especially if they ask for it. Give a stranger a spot. Hold doors where applicable. Help re-rack weights. It won’t cause you any harm to go out of your way once in a while for someone who may only be an acquaintance.
It’s time that decent, civilized, well-mannered people take over the gym. The Stone Age is over, people. The gym can be ours now. The meathead is endangered and it’s time that he be retired for good.
WRITER'S BIOGRAPHY
Jamie Nischan
Jamie Nischan owns and runs a successful fitness coaching business in Stamford CT. Through the use of posture correction and exercise he treats pain often associated with excessive use of computers. More about Jamie can be found at www.thebuffgeek.com.
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Comments
Eddie says on August 5th, 2008 at 10:27 am
Bring a towel. It marks your territory, keeps you from touching the greasy mark left by the last guy and keeps the equipment you use clean for the next guy.
Brian says on August 5th, 2008 at 10:55 am
Minor gripe, but the weight-dropping thing is okay in some circumstances, e.g., powercleans, etc. Unfortunately it can offend the sensibilities of the gym-as-a-social-event types.
Mathieu says on August 5th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Yes, drop the cologne all together when you go to the gym or practice any sport in general. Bring the towel…That cannot be stressed enough. I also agree with privacy, sometimes I go to the gym just to take out my stress, my anger and I don’t want to be bothered, not matter how hot you are =P
Lauren says on August 5th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Ummm, you forgot to mention the loud grunts and screaming.
Dan says on August 5th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Appropriate clothing? Well, if you’re going to be in a cycling class than spandex shorts IS appropriate. And, if you plan on running a 10k on a treadmill so is a tank top.
I think the key here is to just wipe down the machine after you’re done.
Doug says on August 5th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Wow – I thought for a second there that I wrote the article. I run a gym and could not agree with you more. I would add what Lauren said – “loud grunts and screaming.”
The one item I disagree with you on “it’s the hardest conversation a gym owner will ever have.” Trust me – I have had to do this three times in the last 8 years – tell men to wear underwear under their shorts. Yes – you heard me correctly. When a man lays down on a weight bench and his “stuff” is flapping in the breeze for all to see, because he is wearing lose fitting shorts and no underwear,….
Yeah – have that conversation and tell me how it goes. One of the three was an 80 year old man!!!
Kris says on August 5th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Perhaps as a subsection under privacy… if there’s half a dozen empty treadmills, how about NOT picking the one right next to somebody?
Hey, if it’s packed, it’s packed. But rows and rows of empty treadmills, and some guy has to park his sweaty self 2 inches away from me? Niiice…
willmc says on August 6th, 2008 at 12:26 am
If you’re a guy you must not be lifting much you gotta drop weights at times or you can injur your self .. If it’s heavy sometimes you gotta grunt a little…
Dot H. says on August 6th, 2008 at 10:39 am
I would add something else — don’t dress to attract the opposite sex — dress to exercise. It’s so uncomfortable when you go to work out and suddenly it feels like you’re in a singles club.
We had a couple of guys at our work gym who would make very loud noises on each exertion, and one of them would throw away the dumbbells after he’d worked his arms to exhaustion. The gym carpet had to be replaced with some kind of rubber mat stuff because the carpet was getting torn. Not only was it uncomfortable to be startled over and over by their loud yells, but I was actually afraid of getting hit by one of the thrown dumbbells.
Those were only two of the ways these two guys let us know that women were unwanted, so we decided to switch to another time of day.
Jonathan says on August 7th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
One thing I’d like to add is to please allow others to work in. Sometimes, at peak hours the gym is pretty busy and its nearly impossible to get some time on the piece of equipment I want to use. It is common gym etiquette to let others work in between sets. Believe it or not some people won’t be so kind yet they’ll take 5 minutes between sets to stare at every girl in the place while just sitting on the equipment. I’d say this edges out those who don’t re-rack weights as the worst gym etiquette ever.
Michael@ Awareness * Connection says on August 7th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Sad that some people need to read the ones like wear deodorant. But they do. This is a half step above wash your hands after you wipe your rear end. Though as a grad student, I saw undergrads all the time—at an expensive private college—that would flush and go straight from the stall out into the world at large, probably to food service. Scary.
Jamie Nischan says on August 8th, 2008 at 11:40 am
@Brian you probably shouldn’t be doing Olympic lifts at a maximum effort without an Olympic platform and bumper plates. If your gym has these things then chances are these rules wouldn’t apply.
@Doug I feel for you man. I pray I never have to have that conversation.
@Jonathan I agree 100%
lizzybee says on August 11th, 2008 at 2:56 am
And for the love of all that’s sacred and holy– GET OFF YOUR CELL PHONE!!! No, I don’t need to hear that your best friend Joey went on a bender last night and you just have to tell Bill– duude! No, I don’t need to hear that Freesia cheated on Josh, and like, uh, he’s like all sad and stuff.
Okay, now I feel better ;-)
Tom says on September 15th, 2008 at 10:37 am
I’m a bit bothered by the “yell & scream” part. I don’t consider myself as a “screamer” however once you start lifting heavy, some “noise” seems to give you extra power. The same reason why karateka’s have screams or sounds on every hard hit. You contract every muscle in your body (as so it seems). Of course, you do this at the end of a set, maybe the last two reps as it gets really hard. Not the whole set.
ben says on September 19th, 2008 at 1:19 am
All of these will fall on deaf ears so why not one more: cologne is not a substitute for deodorant / antiperspirant, and neither is a substitute for regularly showering and changing your clothes.
As to noise during lifting, yeah, it gives you more power, but it’s just because you’re breathing. You get more oxygen in your blood when air is moving over the alveoli, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s moving into or out of your lungs or what your vocal cords are doing.
chephy says on September 22nd, 2008 at 10:51 pm
Wow, here is some control freak who knows what everyone else is supposed to be doing… I agree with many points, but some are ridiculous.
1) Why do you care what others are wearing on their feet?
2) Spandex and tank tops are appropriate gym clothing. And in the gym, people will sweat on equipment no matter what they wear – that’s how things are. Bring a towel, wipe the machine before use (after too, if you want, but not rely on others to do it thoroughly), wear long pants…
3) Deodorant? Pfff… Many deodarants are not good for your health and contain antiperspirants… even though you’re SUPPOSED to be perspiring while working out. Let me let you in on a little secret: FRESH SWEAT DON’T STINK. Stink is the byproduct of bacteria feeding on sweat, and it only starts appearing after a couple of hours of sweating . The stinky folks are those who had no shower in the morning, put on the unwashed clothes from the last gym session and then hit the gym. Everyone with minimal personal hygiene will do just fine without stupid chemical shit on her skin.
chephy says on September 22nd, 2008 at 10:54 pm
And oh yeah, observe weightlifters on TV and see what they do with their weights. Yes, they throw them. In fact, in many types of lifts, if you’re able to put the weight down gently, it’s WAAAAY too light. Now, this only applies to really serious workouts with a barbell. I agree that dropping a dumbbell after doing 15 reps of bicep curls is rude and stupid.
Chris says on October 8th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
I had a co-worker who would go for a 30 minute walk at lunch time.
Nothing like the aroma of sweat and B.O. at work.
Brandon says on December 7th, 2008 at 10:50 am
Two of your points are kind of off:
First of all, you forget that the gym is a palce where people sweat their hearts out. I know I am one of those guys who go in and really push themselves with the heaviest weights possible. I have been going religiously for 4 years and I would not have seen the results I see now without pushing my boundaries to get better.
In order to accomplish that, I do need to SWEAT and lift HEAVY WEIGHTS. I do wear deadorant but when you are sweating that much, it is almost impossible to smell good.
Regarding the weights, have you tried to place dumbells gently when doing 8 strenuous reps of shoulder press or incline bench? Yeah, I agree that if you are doing 15-20 sets, you should not be dropping the weights. I also agree that no one should just let got of the weghts at the apex of the exercise, but placing them gently on the floor everytime is not realistic for a guy who is pushing himself.
Clothing wise, I usually don’t care what people think of me. I am not walking on the runway, I am trying to get my workout done comfortably. That means I will throw in some worn out clothes and tank tops, they help motivate me and maintain a level of breathability.
WOmen should be the ones controling their outfits. How many times have we seen women with 5 inch shorts and skin tight spandex bending over and whatnot – that to me is distracting. So, you can’t just blame guys. Men are usually surrounded by other men, because women do usually go in the weights area, so what is wrong with wearing comfortable clothes to see how your muscles are reacting?
It seems to me that you are spending too much time looking around when you should be working out.
ONE thing that I should mention is the “working in” thing. I noticed some people act strangely when we ask them to work in, like their private space has been invaded or something. You have to know that people have a small time to get in and get out, no one has the patience to wait 20 min for someone else to finish with the machine.
Lastly, there are a few guys who sit down for like 4 min between sets, which also aggravates me, especially if I am waiting for that particulr equipment.
Travis says on June 23rd, 2009 at 10:50 pm
The loud grunts are always good for a laugh when you’re at the gym. The guy who has to compensate by getting all buffed up, and then grunts through each rep like he’s having a bowel movement or something.
I also get a kick out of the cologne guys. They come in from the weight room and drench themselves in cologne… why?! Since when did the gym become a singles club? Can’t help but laugh to myself…
van dealer says on July 30th, 2009 at 9:53 am
although slightly harsh in places, the sarcastic tone made me chuckle.
Jerry says on August 14th, 2009 at 12:49 am
Lauren:
People can’t help grunting. When you have a good lift your diaphragm flexes to protect your organs. Its part of working out. Sometimes it comes out as a scream. You’re at a gym. Its like going to a bathroom and asking people not to fart.