Hitting the gym has been a part of my plan for some years now. For 3 consecutive years, it was always a part of my “New Year Resolution”. Yes! “#3 Enroll myself to a gym”, always next to “#2 Eat Proper Breakfast” and “#1 Less time in Social Media for More Sleep Time”.
This year, I am so happy to FINALLY get the chance to –YES– enroll myself in a decent gym! It was a mix of emotions- happy, anxious, excited, nervous, but most of all, I felt very pleased.
I have decided to write this article because of a certain incident that happened to myself and that was the day I forgot my earphones at home. It’s a normal habit of people to listen to music when they’re in the gym (especially when we’re on the treadmill or bike) so since I left my earphones, what I did was I played music through my phone’s speaker. Well, everything was going alright until one guy approached me and told me that it wasn’t proper to play loud music because some goers wouldn’t be able to concentrate.
Yep! It was a pretty embarassing moment but a welcome one. Atleast I knew that there are some unwritten rules to be followed inside the gym. From then on, I decided to be sensitive to my co- gym goers for a happy and harmonious gym life.
So here are the top 8 gym etiquette every gym goer should follow:
1. Respect boundaries and other people’s personal space
If you’re an extrovert, this may be a bummer. Not everyone who goes to the gym wants to socialize. Remember, people go there to do their thing. For some people, gym time is like their me-time, now we don’t want to ruin their moment by being overly-friendly and randomly going in for a small talk.
2. Be mindful of your surrounding
This is similar as to what happened to me, yes, people have different takes when it comes to listening to music while in the gym. Everyone should be mindful to all gym-goers and be sensitive. Yes, some gyms have a house music and some people like it when they listen to their power songs while lifting but at times that there’s no music available, just enjoy the quiet. Some people love this, it helps them concentrate.
DO. NOT. HOG. AN. EQUIPMENT! Staying in a station for too long isn’t a cool thing to do especially on busy days when other people might want to use it too! Once you’re done using it, go to a free space to check on Instgram and Facebook. Sitting on a popular equipment while scrolling down on your phone is a definite no-no!
3. Put your equipment back!
This one actually goes without saying. It’s one way of being considerate to other people who might use the same equipment. Putting your weights back to the rack is also a safety precaution! We don’t want a dubmbell lying around the floor, someone might trip on it!
4. Avoid loud chit-chats
This goes for some friends who go to the gym together. Lower your voice if you guys are going to chat. Sometimes, all we need to do is to be sensitive to other people. We don’t want to hear what happened to Gina and her boyfriend. Please keep the gossips to a mininum.
PS: When someone is wearing earphones, it means they don’t want to be disturbed or their in the zone so please do your best not to disturb them. If you wanna talk, wait until their free or finished with their program.
5. Clean Up!
After using a mat or a sit-up bench, it won’t hurt to wipe those sweat you left. We don’t want to waste on our hygiene class when we were little, right? No need to wait until the end of your program to place the equipment where it belongs. If you’re not sure where used mats are placed, you can always ask a staff.
6. Do your thing away from the rack
For your exercise, you’ll be needing a 20KG dumbell so you walk towards the rack only to fine someone doing their thing in front of it, that’s a bummer right? So don’t do the same! Please do your deadlifts on a free space so that when someone needs an equipment from the rack, you will not have an awkward encounter PLUS your exercise won’t be interrupted.
7. No gawping. No staring for too long!
No staring through the mirror as well! This comes off as creeeeeepy! If you admire someone for lifting heavy weights, don’t stand and stare! This may distract the person and they might feel awkward and conscious.
8. Read the house rules!
The most obvious one but many people still forget to do so! If you are new, take a tour around the gym first and read some announcements and guidelines. It’s one thing to be updated! For everyone, once you step in the gym read the house rules first. Not all gyms are the same, if you’re not sure, ask a friendly staff member.
