Gym Etiquette

by John Pike
(Toronto)

It happens and it is hard to avoid, but ALL public or private fitness centers are petri dishes of bacteria. This is why you should always practice solid gym etiquette when building your body.

Here are some gym etiquette tips for you:

• Try not to put your fingers in your mouth, nostrils, or rub your eyes when in a fitness center. The benches and bars are covered with sweat and various other body fluids from the many visiting patrons, and you could risk possible infection or disease.


• Please be particularly careful, as although these benches should be wiped clean for you after use, oftentimes they are not. This means when you sit down on these unclean benches (and bicycle seats), you can expose yourself to all manner of nasty bacteria.


• To be safe, take a towel with you from home and drape it over your bench. Also, be sure to have some hand wash gel for between benches just in case. I use the gel directly on the bench - believe me, it could be the difference between you and any unwanted bugs!