Gym Etiquette

It happens to all of us at some point. You walk into the gym and are about to jump hop on a machine to do cable rows, and someone has left a giant puddle of sweat behind! Were these people raised by wolves? Worse yet, is the fact that you are the only one in the gym! How long has that puddle been there? It can be very frustrating having to clean up after other adults in a public venue, so I bring to you this gym etiquette guide.

1. Don't stink. Yes, I know you are going to the gym to workout, but there is no need to smell bad. You are going to have plenty of time to get all musky and smelly. Please apply deodorant before going to the gym. But don't overdue the deodorizers. Putting on perfume or cologne before hitting the gym can also make it unpleasant for others. Keep it simple, don't smell like trash when you go in, and you should be fine.


2. Don't hog the equipment! I understand you want to get your workout done, but there are others that want to get their workout in as well. It's fine if you are the only one in the gym to hog what you need, as long as someone else doesn't need it. But if you workout in a small gym, be kind and share. Equipment can be very limited in smaller gyms, and everyone there has paid their dues to use that equipment. At the same time, don't get huffy if someone is on something you want to use, ask if you can work in between their sets. Most people should be fine. If you do work in, re-adjust the machines or barbell to what the previous user had it at too. They will think you for it.


3. Re-Rack the weights! Yes, you just did a 300 LBS bench press, I'm so proud of you. But re-rack the plates when you are done. No one wants to clean up your weight mess after you have left. By leaving the weights on the barbell and other plate machines, you are cutting into someone else's precious workout time as well. And what if they have difficulties lifting a 45 LBS plate?


4. Clean up! We are all guilty to a point I'm sure. You finished your workout and left without wiping down the bench or machines you just used. You left a nice butt puddle too. Take the time and wipe the machines down that you used when you are all finished with them. It's not that hard. Sure, we are all human and forget sometimes, but it shouldn't be constant. Also, throw away the wipes! No one wants to pick up your nasty wipes that you decided you could just leave in random areas of the gym.


5. Finally, put the cell phone away! Cell phones are great, we can play music and track workouts on them, but they can also be a huge distraction. Invest in a cheap mp3 player for music and use a notebook to track your workouts and enter them in your phone later. It gets really annoying when people are texting or talking on their phone at the gym. This can also be very dangerous as well. Distracted lifting is no joke. Sure it's funny to see someone texting while on the treadmill right before they face plant, but really? Was that text that important.

We are all bodybuilders

You have decided to change your life, you have put the first step forward into living a healthy lifestyle. Maybe you have been living this lifestyle for a while now. The simple fact is, you don't think you are a bodybuilder, that word might even make you shudder a little bit. But you are, in fact, a bodybuilder.

Oh yes, you may want to argue and say "But I'm not lifting heavy weights" or "I don't want to be a bodybuilder". Well TOO BAD! Ok, maybe that was a little rough, and you are not a bodybuilder in the way that you traditionally hear about it or that you may even think you know it as. You are building yourself a new body.

Yes! You are tearing down the old body that you don't want anymore, and building a new one that you want, that you want to share, that will last you a full and fun filled life. Just because you are a "Bodybuilder" doesn't mean you are hulking out. Look at bodybuilding shows, they have the ranks of Bikini, Figure, Physique, Fitness, and Bodybuilding. But all of those fall under bodybuilding. Look up bikini competitors like Alexis Burke, she is not big and bulky, but I can tell you now, she goes to the gym and lifts, she works her whole body.

So let's look at your bodybuilding in this way, shall we? You are changing your life. You have torn down the original structure of your body to force new habits, and to start building it to last. You may not fit into the general meaning of the word bodybuilder, but what else would you call it? Getting fit? Getting healthy? Embrace what you have become, and have fun with it. But don't scare the children, no one wants to scare children..ok, you can scare the children.