I see things every day at the gym that no one should have to deal with, including bad technique, excessive grunting and yelling, and lazy people making a mess of the place.
I’m going to share some of the essential rules of gym etiquette that are completely controllable by every single person — the rules you should never, ever break.
Rules that might seem like common sense, yet are broken at every single gym in the world by men and women alike. If anyone habitually breaks any of these rules, hopefully you’ll stop and make gyms a better place for the world.
The worst habit I see, and I believe plenty of people would agree with me, is seeing people do bicep curls or wrist curls in the squat rack. The squat rack is for those who want to get under a heavy bar and squat, one of the most challenging and best exercises known to man.
Nothing is more annoying than getting pumped up for some heavy lifting and walking over to the power rack to find someone using it for some eighty-five pound wrist curls while they sit down and play on their phone between sets.
There is usually only one or two squat racks, but plenty of benches and free barbells and dumbbells, so please go do your curls with something else and save the squat rack for the heavy lifters.
Always re-rack your weights – always. No excuses. If you can put a couple plates on a bar for your bench press, you can take them off. Leaving them on and walking away is just pure laziness, and you leave your work for the next person. Clean up behind yourself.
This isn’t your room, and you have to show some respect for other people. This also applies to wiping down equipment when you’re done using it. I can guarantee nobody wants to use a machine after you when there are puddles of fresh, hot sweat all over it. When it’s crowded, as most gyms tend to get, please don’t sit around unnecessarily on equipment.
There’s nothing wrong with resting between your sets near your equipment to make sure no one takes it, but if you’re sitting there with headphones in, checking your Facebook account, and calling your mom while someone else is waiting, you need to stop.
Get focused, work hard, rest only the necessary amount of time, and get moving. Other people want to workout too, not watch you text your friends all day or read a magazine on the leg curl machine or elliptical. If you must have long rest periods, at least notice if someone else is waiting and let them share the machine with you.
A few more simple rules come to mind, although the above three are some of the most important. When you grab your dumbbells, step away from the rack, don’t do your work a foot away from it, blocking the dumbbells from others.
Whether someone is lifting a tiny amount of weight, a huge amount of weight, or just looks really good jogging in front of you, never stare – it makes people uncomfortable, and most people don’t come to the gym for the extra attention.
If you like to work out before you shower, that’s fine, but please wear deodorant. Nobody wants to smell how hard you are working. If someone is using the mirror to check their form, don’t walk in front of them (doesn’t apply to people flexing and checking themselves out in the mirror – walk in front of them all you want).
These are the most important rules of gym etiquette, and if you are one of those people who disrespects others and the gym, please stop.
If you are just starting to workout, then consider these rules when you go to the gym and develop some good habits early on. We’ll all thank you for it.