Gym Etiquette: Gym rules everyone should follow

The gym can be considered the second home for us fitness enthusiasts. However, when we start at first, the experience can be quite intimidating because of certain experiences.

Those certain bad experiences make many beginners discouraged and some also stop going to the gym or even stop working out.

Many gyms set their own rules to enhance the gym experience, but every member is expected to fulfill some basic codes of conduct.

If you have been going to the gym for some time or just started going, you might have seen or faced some of the unpleasant experiences that we are going to discuss. Everyone should follow gym etiquette rules, but most often the etiquette rules get ignored.

In this article, we will discuss the common mishaps that usually happen in almost every gym. Make sure you read the article to the end, as there is a chance you are not following one or more etiquette rules in the gym.

1. Not Re-racking the weights

No one likes to clean others’ mess. There is always that one person in a gym who never puts the equipment or weight back in their place. If you have been going to the gym for some time, there is a 90% chance that you have faced a similar situation where weight plates, dumbbells, or yoga mats are scattered everywhere.

Please do not be that person in the gym. It only takes 1 or 2 minutes to put back the stuff you used. The most irritating part is that when the person is asked to put back the weights, they usually disagree that they caused that mess in the gym.

2. Leaving behind sweat marks

Unfortunately, one of the most common things in the gym is not cleaning sweat marks after using gym equipment. If we write a book on gym etiquette, sweat marks should be called “Gym Etiquette 101.”

It is normal to sweat during the workout, but that does not mean you should make others suffer. Just use a towel to solve the problem. If your palm gets sweaty, then just wipe out the handles of the equipment after usage.

Everyone should maintain hygiene. No one would want to share a bench that is dripping with sweat.

It just takes 4 to 5 wipes to clean that and we are sure everyone can do that.

3. Taking pictures or recording others without consent

Gym possesses a positive environment where everyone is working out for betterment, and no one wants to get creep out in a place like this by a stalker.

Many people intentionally or unintentionally take pictures of other gym members without their consent, which may creep out that person.

Most often, the pictures are taken to make memes or to make fun of that person. That is not right. If it happens to beginners, that beginner may totally stop coming to the gym as it can cause trauma.

However, sometimes the intention may be positive. Someone may record another gym goer to see how that person performs an exercise or get impressed by someone’s physique and click a picture. Although the intention might be positive, obtaining consent from that person before taking any photo or video is always recommended or a must thing to do.

4. Not sharing the equipment

You might need any equipment or machine for a longer time, which is quite normal, but you should also allow others to use the machine or equipment between your sets.

In a public gym, there are always people waiting for their turn, so it would not be appreciated if you occupied a machine or equipment for way too long. Typically, after doing a good set, you need at least 2 to 3 minutes rest between your next set of that exercise. If someone is waiting, you should share the equipment between your sets. It will save time for both of you.

We all know “Sharing is Caring,” and no one would appreciate it if you act selfish; remember, the same thing can happen to you also.

5. Providing advice unnecessarily

Everyone trains differently. Some may train to build strength, whereas others may train for hypertrophy. If anyone does not ask for your advice, please do not deliberately provide training advice.

You can give your feedback if you see that a beginner is doing an exercise completely wrong, and there is a high chance that the person will get injured. If you have sufficient knowledge, then warn that individual so that the person does not get injured. Even in that case, it would be wise to point that out to the gym trainer or the gym staff.

In all other cases, let others train as they want to. No one wants to get bothered if they know what they are doing.

6. Unnecessary Grunting

Sometimes, in the gym, you may hear wild roars and wonder when Tarzan started training there. No, it is not Tarzan; in most cases, it is the gym’s ego lifter doing heavy lifts.

Jokes apart, yes, it is normal to grunt a bit if you are doing a hard set, and in the last rep or two, you grunt to bring out the blaze to complete the rep.

However, some people start grunting from the very first rep. Our advice to them is to keep their egos out of the gym and use the weight that is appropriate for them.

7. Bashing the gym floor

Many gym goers bash the weight on the floor after completing their set. It has become a show-off trend.

Please stop doing it. It is very risky, and many people either injure themselves or other gym members by doing so.

Even if you are using a public gym, you must respect that it is someone’s property and should not harm it. Please do not drop the weight like a beast. Rather, be a gentleman when dropping the weights into the ground.

Some Honorable Mentions

Many other etiquette-related issues are worth mentioning, but it will make the article very long, so we are mentioning the top ones among them as honorable mentions:

• Not coming to group sessions on time. Barging in the middle of a group session (Yoga session, Zumba session) can be distracting for other members.

• Using your mobile’s loudspeaker to listen to music, videos, or podcasts. Please use earphones if you want to do that.

• Not maintaining personal hygiene. Please wash your training clothes before the next session.

• Putting towels or water bottles on benches or machines to pre-occupy the equipment when you are not using it.

We hope you are not involved in any of these activities. Even if you are, it is high time you correct your mistake.

Let us know in the comments what kind of gym etiquette your gym or training community needs to improve.