January brings about a predictable and consistent phenomenon in gyms: a sudden influx of new gym-goers. I strive to be supportive and excited for these people, who are getting a new or revamped opportunity to better their health and thereby their lives. At the same time, I personally struggle against being entitled, envious, or territorial about having so much more traffic. I acknowledge I have no more right to any weight than any other person. I have no more right to any equipment than any other person. . .
(Except for those who aren't USING said equipment for anything more than a couch, which drives me batshit crazy and I will comment upon 1. When I see it and 2. When it is an inconvenience to me, such as last night, when I could not find any available stability balls on which to execute my abs workout, only to later find three of them being sat upon, couchlike, throughout my 30 minute cardio session by three mommies sedentarily watching their kids be active in a class. I WILL state that gym equipment is not a couch any more than it is "yours," so share and be considerate of others.)
As there are these new exercisers, I notice certain courtesies being overlooked, either due to ignorance (correctable! Read on!) or through entitlement and lack of consideration for others. The first can be corrected, the second is inexcusable.
Unspoken Gym Rules Everyone Should Know (and follow!)
Please keep in mind all of these are common courtesy to other users and staff. If you can't follow them, you probably don't belong in public, let alone the shared space of a gym. So now that you know, be aware.
1.) Re-Rack your weights. Or in other words, put things back where they belong when you're done using them. Don't put them back where you found them, if you found the 25 pound dumbbells in the 55 pound dumbbell spot. Use common courtesy and don't be lazy about it, the next user has as much right as you to find their weights where they belong.
2.) Smells: You're in a common space, use whatever needed to ensure your scent does not encroach on others in a negative way. This may mean wearing deodorant, if you do not otherwise. This may mean brushing your teeth or chewing gum, if prone to halitosis-scented breath, since exerting oneself often leads to open-mouthed-huffing away. This CERTAINLY means not bathing yourself in cologne or body spray prior to your sweat session. Even if your goal is to attract a member of the opposite sex while at the gym, dousing yourself in a shower of scent is just rude.
3.) Respect the water fountain: It is not a receptacle for loogies, gum, garbage, or the remnants of your fruity protein shake. This is not your home kitchen, other people put their mouths there to drink water.
OH, and don't you DARE spit on the floor. I've seen this. Are you kidding me? ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? Oh, I'll call you out right there if you do. Your mama taught you better than that.
4.) Wipe down the equipment. If you get your sweat on something, use the spray and towels provided (and they are, you just have to look. If you don't see these items, ask a gym employee) to wipe away what you leave behind. MRSA (disgusting, look it up) is everywhere, it behooves everyone to sanitize as often as possible on equipment used by many.
5.) USE the Equipment if you're on it: Should be self-explanitory, right? I can't count the number of times I see people lounging on machines, monopolizing treadmills, not actually using the equipment, but instead standing/sitting/leaning on it possessively while talking to a friend, or on the phone, or playing on their iphones for extended periods of time with others actually waiting to WORK OUT. Don't do this. Please don't be that person. I occasionally take photos of these people, and have every intent to tweet them with appropriate "Lazy Treadmill Monopolizer Chatted for 15 Minutes with Onlookers Aghast" captioning.
6.) Use the Equipment for what it's for: If you don't know how to use a particular piece of equipment, ask. Do not hurt yourself, please! Also, if you're in the only squat rack in your gym, and you're using it to do barbell bicep curls, please stop. There are areas for legs, there are areas for upper body. Learn the difference and use accordingly.
7.) Don't steal other people's stuff. This extends to equipment they're using. If someone is clearly doing supersets using two machines, or two sets of dumbbells, for the love of pete ASK them if you can work in before using the stuff they're using. If in doubt if it's in use, ASK. If there are plates on a piece of equipment, or a towel, or someone's water bottle within arm's distance, it may be in use. So ask. It all comes back to sharing.
8.) With #7 in mind: SHARE. Don't monopolize a bunch of different machines and weights and equipment all at once for your personal 12 exercise rotational circuit. Expect to have to share. Your workout timing is no more important than the next person's, so work it out as you work out. People who don't let others work in look like douchebags. Sorry. They do.
Now For Some Personal (Possibly Absurd) Ones I Advocate
1.) If there are multiple cardio machines (say ellipse) available, pick one that is NOT directly next to another user. It's like a bathroom stall or urinal. Give people as much space as you can, so they don't feel you're looking over their shoulder or otherwise getting in their workout. Maybe it's picky, but when I'm sweating away on a machine, huffing and puffing and generally being gross, if someone ignores the other 10 available machines and plops down on the one NEXT to mine (which I have picked precisely because it is out of the way and allows others the maximum number of available machines away from mine to use) I see it as obnoxious, intrusive, and potentially creepy. So don't do it.
2.) Smells 2: I (and others attuned to scent) can smell what you eat and what your habits are by your scent. Creepy? Sure. Sorry. It's an ability I didn't ask for. I can smell cigarettes on you, and it reeks. Please try not to smoke right before the gym, yes, it's THAT strong and yes, it bothers others.
Same with weed. The influx of newbies (said affectionately) that reek of marijuana baffles me. How can you be motivated for a strong workout if you're high? How can you find your feet, let alone use them to lift or run? Please don't. Mostly because it smells, but also because you should operate heavy machinery (weights! gym equipment!) while high.
3.) Respect others' space. Don't infringe on someone else while they're watching their reps in the mirror, try to avoid walking between them and the mirror. Try to allow everyone the space they need to perform the exercise they're doing.
4.) Staring. SIGH. I know, I can't stop others from looking at me. I can't help occasionally glancing at others, or pausing to admire a really perfect form while an usual exercise is being expertly executed. But the long, looooong, creepy stares while someone's doing squats, or whatnot, is probably unwelcome. There are, I'm sure, exceptions, some people probably love being stared at for whatever reason, but for me, it's unwanted. I also don't welcome being hit on at the gym. Never have. The gym is my me-time, my-space, leave me alone I'm sweating and fixing myself time. Always happy to have a short conversation between sets to be friendly, or wave at gym-acquaintances, but I'm not there to be social, I'm there to work out. It's a gym.
There will probably be multiple amendments to this post as more things occur to me in the future. I'll try to provide humorous anecdotes to accompany them for your ongoing entertainment.
