Gym Etiquette 101

Unless you have a gym at home all to yourself, where you can conduct yourself in the manner you please, there are certain etiquette’s to be followed in gyms which are frequented by others too.

• Do not strew the area

Keep the gym equipment that you use back in the designed places after you use them. You should even keep your water bottle, cellphones and towels in one place at the gym. It is not your bedroom after all where you can dump stuff all over the place.

• Respect people with headphones

When you meet people you know donning a pair of headphones restrict your communication to a simple hand wave.  As a matter of fact drawing the attention of someone with a pair of headphones can be dangerous as it can startle them while they are working out on the treadmill or with weights and hurt them.

• Do not peep into others screens

It is considered highly ill-mannered to peep over the shoulder of a person and into their TV or elliptical screens. Respect their privacy and personal information.

• Share

Do not hog all the gym equipment for yourself. A gym is for all to use. If there are people waiting to use the same equipment, try to let go of the device sooner than you must.

• Socialize loudly

It might be fun to have a friend to workout with. But it might be a better idea to keep the talks to a minimum while working out. Shouting at each other across the gym to be heard will disturb the others.

• Don’t stare

It is not a good idea to stare at others in the gym. A lot of people feel conscious as it is about working out. Try not to stare at others in the locker rooms too, as most gyms don’t offer you the luxury to change in separate rooms.

• Wipe machine

No doubt you will get all sweaty when you work out. You will get sweat onto the gym equipment. After you use it, kindly wipe the sweat off so that it can be used by the next person.

• Do not use perfume

You must liberally spray yourself with deodorant but do not at any cost spray on perfume. Perfume when mixed with the scent of sweat gives a revolting smell. So please skip the perfume.

• Arrive on time

Gyms usually schedule classes such as yoga, gym or Pilates. Be on time for these classes as a late entry can cause a lot of disturbance for the rest of the members of the class.

• Do not loiter in the gym

Once you have finished your workout please leave the workout area. It might not be a good idea to hang around chatting or texting people on your phone.

So do follow these simple rules at the gym so that you and others can enjoy a workout without getting disturbed.

Written by: Rasha Ashraf