If you smell, you should shower before hitting the gym

[SeasonallySnowyPeasant]

Usually I roll out of bed, throw some clothes on and go to an early morning class at the gym, then shower when I get home. I have a quick sniff first though and if I pong a bit then I'll have a very quick shower and put on deodorant before I go.

There's usually someone in every class, even the midday or evening ones, who really smells. It's really unpleasant when I'm in the spot next to someone surrounded by a fug of BO. I'm not talking about fresh sweat but that stale sweat smell.

I know it's a faff having two showers and can feel a bit pointless when you're just going to get sweaty anyway, but AIBU to think that it's common courtesy to take basic steps make sure you don't stink out the whole class?

I think it's downright disrespectful not to be clean in any public setting incl the gym

I leave a spin class looking like I've had a bath. You really think it's acceptable to wear those clothes again?

Well I like to think I have enough common sense to make a decision based on context. If I’d been to a very tough class and was drenched in sweat, then no, I wouldn’t reuse the clothes just because it’s only been an hour and that’s my blanket policy. But do people really get pearl-clutchy about someone wearing the same T-shirt twice for a couple of sessions on the exercise bike?

@cultkid

I think it's downright disrespectful not to be clean in any public setting incl the gym

I think there are degrees of this. Unwashed hair, fine.

BO. Not fine.

But do people really get pearl-clutchy about someone wearing the same T-shirt twice for a couple of sessions on the exercise bike?

I’ve just done a weights class and my kit definitely doesn’t need a wash. Bloody hard work but not sweaty.

I’m surprised anyone is paying close enough attention to what I’m wearing to even notice. I’ve actually got a few near identical black tops so done probably think I’ve only got one outfit if they’re really looking.

I don't think they're looking @PurpleDaisies, but they're definitely sniffing if it smells! (Not suggesting you do, BTW)

@chocolatesaltyxmaspudballs

I don't think they're looking *@PurpleDaisies*, but they're definitely sniffing if it smells! (Not suggesting you do, BTW)

Sniffing is fine! Unavoidable in some circumstances I’d say.

I imagine that in the Middle Ages, although soaps and washing weren’t the norm, they didn’t have to contend with two big stink sources. Synthetic clothing and diets rich in meat. Both of those are known to boost the rank factor enormously in modern life.

Their halitosis would have been quite something though...

Gyms are just smelly places regardless. I don’t think I’ve been to a single class where someone hasn’t farted while doing a burpee/ downward facing dog, etc.

I do understand you, OP, but I think it can be a variety of factors including clothes, how often people sweat generally (and this is going to be especially true of people attending a session on their way home from work).

I have been guilty of really smelly trainers that I’ve forgotten to air out (and don’t realise until I get to the gym at the end of the day )

If you smell you need to clean yourself before going to the gym (or anywhere where you are in the company of others), whether that is just washing your pits and bits or having a shower. You need to wash your gymwear afterwards too if you have sweated in it.

TheFuckingDogs:

Ofgs! It’s just body odour. How some of you mumsnetters would’ve coped in the Middle Ages I’ll never know!
We aren't in the middle ages now though. We have safe water, soap and anti-perspirant. There is no need to smell. Most single people would find it very difficult to have a sex life or relationship these days if they reek of body odour. Imo, most people prefer cleanliness and respect for others to a body that stinks of stale sweat.

Gym clothing needs washing at 60 degrees to kill the smelly bacteria, otherwise they will remain smelly - as you heat up as you exercise, the smell will spread.

People should wash before leaving the house. But on MN you'll see claims that they and their unwashed family don't smell.

They used to shit in the street during the middle ages, we've moved on enormously.

@HavelockVetinari

Gym clothing needs washing at 60 degrees to kill the smelly bacteria, otherwise they will remain smelly - as you heat up as you exercise, the smell will spread.

I'm not washing gym gear at 60⁰C, it would ruin the lycra. I use zoflora or anti bacterial additives in the wash and wash at 40⁰C. I also use Halo sports wash

Some people don't know they smell. Most people also seen unaware that they have bad breath.

You can’t wash Lycra at 60c it ruins the fabric! I wash my gym gear at 30c with additional disinfectant and it always smells fresh, even after working out, despite being damp. I’d never wear it twice, that’s rank.

Historically (perhaps not as far back as the Middle Ages, but for a long time) people didn't wash their bodies or outer clothing as frequently as we do now but they typically wore high-coverage underclothes made of natural materials which were changed and washed frequently. That is also a fairly effective way of cutting down BO.
Even high class Tudor/Elizabethan dresses etc had basically a nightie underneath and removable sweat-pads under each armpit.

Ditto before getting on the bus.

@HavelockVetinari

Gym clothing needs washing at 60 degrees to kill the smelly bacteria, otherwise they will remain smelly - as you heat up as you exercise, the smell will spread.

This ^^

I bet the person is quietly side eyeing others thinking they smell until they realise it is them.

I used to wash my gym top at 40 degrees but that doesn't cut it. I now have to wash it with dettol laundry added to ensure no smell.

I don’t go to the gym anymore but when I did I showered before and after. Usually do two classes back to back like kick boxing, circuits, weights followed by a spin class. It was only the men that ever whiffed.

Yet another reason why I love my women’s gym. So rare to have someone massively stinky.

If you don’t need to wash your gym clothes after going to the gym, you may as well have not bothered. The gym is for sweating!

I’ve just done a weights class and my kit definitely doesn’t need a wash. Bloody hard work but not sweaty.

Does it not feel different to you after you've sweated into it? I know after I've biked into work and changed after, when I go to put that shirt on to bike home it feels awful. It's a different feel to it being water wet - don't know how to describe it.

I agree you should shower in the morning before leaving the house, regardless of what you are going out for.

Smelly people are not just unpleasant, they actually harm some businesses and are one of the obstacles to getting people to use public transport.

I don’t go to the gym, why do people wear Lycra if it retains smell after washing?
Why not wear cotton T-shirt and cotton shorts?

Other day rhis guy stank out the entire room, no joke. It was 🤮 i left my workout half done cos even when I was otherwise od the room the smell lingered in my nose.

Some people do just smell more. There was a girl in my halls that absolutely reeked but no-one had the heart to tell her. We saw her using the showers so it wasn’t that she didn’t wash but it was really hard to talk to her because the smell was overpowering. I feel really sorry for her now as she must have been a bit lonely.