Basic Gym Etiquette

There are a lot of questions about gym etiquette.  Can you use your cell phone? Should you workout when you're sick? Where do you put your used towel if the towel bin is full?  The list could go on and on! We're here to help!

You may have noticed the signs below make their way to your club recently.  Here's a quick recap:

Two basic principles are the foundation of gym etiquette:

1. Be courteous.
2. Practice the Golden Rule.

Following are some key points that support these basic principles throughout O2 Fitness:

• Courtesy is contagious. Start, and contribute to, an epidemic of courtesy.
• Please do not work out when you are sick. Not only are you likely to infect others, exercising could be counterproductive to getting well.
• Limit cell phone calls to emergency use only. Please move to the lobby if you wish to carry on a conversation.
• Do not wear scents such as perfume or aftershave; many people are allergic and many people find it off-putting. And along those same lines, please ensure you maintain your personal hygiene.
• If a towel bin is full, alert the front desk and please do not leave dirty towels on the floor.

Work-out Floor Etiquette

• Please be respectful if all treadmills, all ellipticals, all bikes, etc., are in use and others are waiting for that particular style of cardio equipment.
• When you are finished using a piece of equipment, use a towel or gym wipe to wipe off the equipment and floor underneath your equipment if you’ve perspired a lot. It’s the courteous thing to do for the next user.
• Place all equipment, especially free weights and weight plates, back where you found them. The person following you might not be able to pick up the amount of weight you were using, and again, it’s the courteous thing to do.
• Do not sit on equipment you are not using.

Group Exercise Etiquette

• Please feel free to enter a class if you are late but respect the instructor and other members by entering quietly and courteously.
• Wait outside the aerobic room for an upcoming class, entering only when the previous class is finished.
• Return equipment to their proper places; be sure you take with you your towel, water bottle and anything else you have brought into the class.

Locker Room Etiquette

• Please reserve the bathroom stalls for their intended purpose; change your clothes in the dressing room by the showers or in the main locker room area.
• If you have placed a wet bathing suit on the bench while dressing, wipe up the water before leaving.
• Limit towel use to 2 towels per visit - you know what it’s like when we run out of towels! If you need more, please bring them from home.
• Before you leave the locker room take a look around and make sure you have not left any belongings or any trash behind.

Pool Etiquette

• Showers are required before entering the pool.
• Wait on the pool deck until the allotted time for your activity; do not enter the water.
• Respect the time allotted to all activities and exit the water when your time is up.
• If you have a pool-related problem and you can’t resolve it on your own, please see a member of O2 Fitness staff.

Original article can be found at Dekalb Medical.