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Manners Matter

Dear Mary Pat,

I just joined a gym to get a head start on my fitness goals for the New Year. Is there such a thing as gym etiquette? I have witnessed a couple of questionable situations. What advice can you offer?

Signed,
Pumped Up
Gills Rock, WI

Dear Pumped Up,

Thank you for your question. Since the first of the year is a common time for people to start their fitness routines, now is a good time to review some of the basics:

1. No one wants to touch a machine that has been rained on by someone else’s sweat. Be courteous and wipe down the equipment before the next person uses it.

2. Wear clothing that is appropriate. Yes, you may want to attract members of the opposite sex, but remember that most people are there to work out. Save your skimpier clothes for the clubs.

3. The mirrors are there to help you improve your form, not to strut in front of or flex for flexing’s sake alone. Save your self-love-a-thon for the vanity mirror at home.

4. Respect the time limits set on the machines. If there are people waiting and your time is up, find another exercise.

5. If you are wearing headphones while having a conversation with someone, keep in mind that you don’t need to shout to be heard. Remove your headphones so you can find your “inside” voice.

6. Don’t overdo it. If you are new to exercise or have come back to it after a long break, ease into it. I’m not sure if it’s bad etiquette to collapse near your gym-mates, however, it would induce unnecessary stress for everyone to witness your face turning purple while you gasp for breath.

7. Just because you can bench press 400 pounds, doesn’t mean the next guy or gal can. Remove the weights and return the bar to a beginning weight.

8. Unless you are an on-call brain surgeon, please leave your cell phones and beepers in your car. I’m sure that you are important, but probably not as important as you think you are.

9. Even if you are comfortable in your own skin and think nothing of walking around au naturel, remember that a little modesty can go a long way. Not everyone is at ease having a locker room conversation with someone in the nude. Exchange recipes and parenting advice while wearing a towel, robe, or at the very least – some underwear.

10. Just because Spandex was invented, you don’t have to wear it. If you look like a sausage casing in your workout outfit, not only could you be causing people to stare and snicker, you might be cutting off the blood supply to vital organs.

Good luck,
Mary Pat