ExtremeFitnessForum

admin · Site Admin Joined: 20 Jun 2007 Posts: 132

Rules of Conduct in a Gym:

• If you use a piece of equipment, put it away when you’re done
• Unload heavy weight plates when you're done using them so the next person doesn't have to.
• If you are using equipment and you’re sweating, put down a towel, and / or wipe it down when you’re done. There's nothing worse than having to sit in another guy's sweat
• Don’t spit in a gym, anywhere (except the toilet). It’s unhygienic, and offensive
• If someone is using space or equipment, wait until they are done, don’t prompt them to hurry.
• If someone is using the mirror to observe his training form, try not to block his view when you pick up or return your weights
• Don't "take over" a machine you aren't currently using by relaxing on it or putting your things on it
• Wear clothes that cover your body. Particularly women. Those P.E. shorts from high school are too small now, and they are formfitting in the worst possible way. Keep your shirt on, no matter how warm you are or how pumped you feel. If you need to admire your gleaming muscles in a mirror, do it at home or in the shower room.
• If you make a mess in the locker room, clean it up. Don't leave puddles of water on the sink, piles of paper towels on the floor, or your clothes all over the bench while you're showering
• Dry yourself off inside the shower stall. Nobody wants to walk through pools of water that dripped from your body
• If you have to blow your nose, go into the locker room, use a tissue, and then wash your hands. Germy equipment is one reason illnesses spread so fast in health clubs
• For the same reason, don't even go to the gym when you know you have a communicable illness. One person with a cold will coat 30 percent of a weight room's surfaces with viruses
• The vast majority of guys realize that used tissues and Band-Aids must go straight into the trash can. For the few who don't--eeeew!
• If you didn't shower after your last workout, make sure you shower before your next one. Please.
• Speaking of which, be smell-conscious. Heavy colognes can be irritating, and some people are allergic to them. Don't disperse personal-care products into the locker-room air--these include antiperspirants, aftershaves and, especially, foot-fungus spray. Use roll-ons and lotions whenever possible., remember, people with asthma cannot breathe in a room freshly loaded with spray deodorant!
• If someone is in the middle of a set, don't break his concentration by asking to work in, by standing nearby looking impatient, or by staring at him. If you want to use the equipment next, wait unobtrusively until he's done
• It's fine to ask to work in if the guy's between sets, but don't demand it. Some programs involve precise rest intervals, and interruptions can compromise them. On the other hand, don't be too possessive: Let other people work in whenever possible
• Most gyms tell you how long you can use cardio machines when others are waiting; if not, consideration dictates that you don't hog a machine when there's a line. If there aren't enough of the machines you like, ask the manager to purchase more of them
• Unless you're a certified personal trainer and you're convinced someone is about to harm himself, never insist on giving unsolicited advice on how to lift weights. You don't know what kind of program someone is on, and that person has no way of knowing if your information is any good anyway
• If you are a personal trainer, don't take over equipment or space for you and your client's exclusive, long-term use. You have no more right to a public gym's real estate than anyone else (plus, the nicer you seem, the more likely you are to get new clients).
• Leave ample room between you and the people nearby. They don't want to worry that they'll hit you with a weight--or that you'll hit them. As you pass by an exerciser, be aware of the amount of training space he requires, and don't distract him by entering it
• Working out with your buddies can be a good way to stay motivated, but don't let it get in the way of other people's efforts. Keep your voices low, and don't commandeer whole sections of the gym
• Don't grunt like a dying moose with every rep. Whether or not this helps your performance in the gym (it generally doesn't), it hurts everybody else's.
• Between the physical discomfort, exhaustion and testosterone surges, some guys get downright grumpy in the gym. Treat people nicely, even if you don't feel like it
• If you do have a problem, with someone, don't yell or get into a fight. Its dangerous to you and everyone around you, and it may get you kicked out of the gym for good. Instead, immediately get the manager or a staff member to help deal with the dispute. It's not about personalities, it's about protecting your workout.

ExtremelyAngry · Joined: 18 Aug 2007 Posts: 114 Location: Riverdale, Toronto

In the Oxygen days, there used to be a ginormous poster with 10 rules of basic gym etiquette -- rack your weights, etc. -- over by the water fountain on the main floor. There was no reason to take it down but they did.

If I am not mistaken, and I could well be, it was removed when Extreme took out all the equipment that weekend last December for the staff Christmas party.

I remember that perfectly well! They had put up a notice informing us that the gym would be closed that Sunday afternoon -- without offering us any compensation.

It was Saturday around 4 p.m. and moving guys with dollies were hauling the machines out right from under us. I was about to get on the leg extension machine when some guy told me to get off. Half the equipment was gone, without warning or notice! (And some of it never came back I believe.) The mover told me he had to get it all out by 7!!!

I blew a fuse. The assistant manager at the time -- named Andrew -- was a very reasonable guy and said he agreed that it was wrong but he was not in charge. He held off the movers for a bit and gave me a few guest passes. (Another member also complained but most of the others -- newbies -- were kind of sheople-ish about it.)

Anyway, I can only imagine the scene the next morning when people came in to get an early workout before the noon closure and found no equipment at all.

I will cross-post this elsewhere because it doesn't really belong in this thread.