Whether you’re gaining or losing weight, man or woman, or just trying to stay healthy, you must understand and practice the etiquette of the gym.
Many gym-goers often neglect common courtesy when they step in the facility. Whether this is because they’re so focused on their workout or just flat out rude, it must be corrected. The following are five rules of etiquette one might consider when entering the gym.
Etiquette Rule No. 1: Tone down your ego. This is the most important rule to harmonious gym interaction. Toning down your ego means respecting all patrons of the gym. Oftentimes, many gym-goers will strut through the facility like they own the place, disregarding the other patrons around them. An example of this might include the guy who just benched 225 pounds as a warm-up barging through the dumbbell area and knocking the poor kid doing bicep curls with 10s against the cubbies. It takes another man as big or bigger to stand up against this kind of tyrannical behavior, and rarely does it happen.
There is an unspoken hierarchy based on size and strength in the gym, but many of those at the top (and a few big-headed ones at the bottom) abuse their power. Earn the respect of your fellow scholars of the “swole” by giving it. Don’t be that guy who overestimates his “bad” factor.
Etiquette Rule No. 2: Don’t hog the equipment. For example, you’ve just finished your second set of pectoral flies on the fly machine and you’re feeling extra “swole.” The manliness is too overwhelming to stand up, so you need to take a little rest. Please, don’t sit on the machine and act like you’re getting ready to start another set when you still have another minute and a half of interval time.
On the average afternoon, there is a good chance another group of patrons is waiting to use your machine. Stand up, observe the surrounding patrons, and notice the ones glaring at you. They probably want to shred their pectorals too, so go ahead and extend the offer to rotate in with your sets. Not only will you feel like a real man for being so kind, but when those other guys lighten the load 65 pounds on those plates, you’ll feel the wholesome gratification of being a gentle beast.
Etiquette Rule No. 3: Clean up after yourself. They give towels for a reason. Please wipe your sweat off of the equipment and yourself because nobody wants to rub up on your leftover man ooze.
Also, have you ever noticed that guy carrying a flat bench or a dumbbell all the way across the gym and using it for some lift he could’ve done without carrying that extra equipment so far away? The chances are he left it right where he used it when he finished.
The most annoying thing is stumbling through bars, grips, dumbbells, towels and even a bench just so you can attach your ropes (for some mean tricep pulls) to the pulley. Not only are such messes a recipe for a nasty fall, but they also trash the gym.
Do the TRECS staff a favor and return your equipment to the right place after you’ve used it. You’re a mama’s boy at heart, and you know she wouldn’t put up with such laziness.
Etiquette Rule No. 4: Exhibit consideration for others in the locker room. This rule applies to everyone, but college students are not the most prominent violators. When it comes to nudity, most college students are mature enough to accept the anatomy of their fellow sex, regardless of age. This is not a pass to walk around with your towel on your neck after a shower or to kick back naked on the bench in front of your locker before getting dressed.
It’s not a matter of immaturity on the part of the surrounding patrons, but a matter of politeness on the part of the nude to keep your private parts private. We appreciate your efforts to look great and stay healthy by working out, but the rest should stay under the towel.
Etiquette Rule No. 5: Go to the gym to work out, not to socialize. Everybody has witnessed it at some point: The group of three or four people that stand around and talk about how much they want to gain by Spring Break instead of actually lifting to gain it. The gym is not a place to chill. Keep your gym crew minimal so you’ve got less talk and more pump going on. Stay out of the way of the people who actually want to accomplish something and get on with their day.
Honor these rules of etiquette and your presence will be noticed. The bulging regulars will treat you with respect and the frail newcomers will admire your satisfying blend of strength and sensitivity. Never let the testosterone flowing through your body with every repetition interfere with your true gentlemanly self. The true champion of the gym sets and achieves physical goals while respecting his peers in the facility and the facility itself.
— Oliver Casey is a sophomore in enterprise management. He can be reached at [email protected].
