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?

Body odour is something which baffled me when I initially came across it. I come from a race of people who don't have BO so my parents never wore deodorant and it's purpose was never explained to me. One summer holiday in Europe during high school changed that.

Turns out that BO is caused by bacteria eating a chemical produced by apocrine glands and people of my gene pool don't produce this chemical (it also causes us to have dry ear wax instead of the sticky type). Fascinating stuff.

Being a non-smelly person who exercises (and still does not smell after intensive exercise), BO is really offensive to me but my experience is that most people take precautions by wearing deodorant (acidifies the skin which decreases the number of bacteria which cause the smell). Sweating is not necessarily the problem - bacteria is. Men probably are more likely to be the the stinky ones because they are less likely to shave their armpits which helps to decrease the number of bacteria.

I guess the only way to ensure an absolutely smell free exercise session is to stick to the pool.

I have 1 armpit that smells more than the other. I shower daily (sometimes twice if I do exercise), wear antiperspirant, use soap not shower gel and will still smell bad at the end of the day/when I wake up.

It all depends on the individual. I break a sweat really quickly and would always wear freshly washed clothes for each gym session. I imagine that other people who don't break a sweat as quickly as me might get away with wearing their clothes twice. I do think some people are in denial about how likely other people are to notice that they smell, though. If you go to the gym with slightly whiffy armpits and you don't wash, you will smell by the end of your session and people will notice.

@dementedpixie

I have 1 armpit that smells more than the other. I shower daily (sometimes twice if I do exercise), wear antiperspirant, use soap not shower gel and will still smell bad at the end of the day/when I wake up.

Soap! Yes, using bar soap on my armpits instead of shower gel instantly resolved my 'no antiperspirant deodorant ever lasts all day' issue. Amazing.

@Mominatrix

Body odour is something which baffled me when I initially came across it. I come from a race of people who don't have BO so my parents never wore deodorant and it's purpose was never explained to me. One summer holiday in Europe during high school changed that.

Turns out that BO is caused by bacteria eating a chemical produced by apocrine glands and people of my gene pool don't produce this chemical (it also causes us to have dry ear wax instead of the sticky type). Fascinating stuff.

Being a non-smelly person who exercises (and still does not smell after intensive exercise), BO is really offensive to me but my experience is that most people take precautions by wearing deodorant (acidifies the skin which decreases the number of bacteria which cause the smell). Sweating is not necessarily the problem - bacteria is. Men probably are more likely to be the the stinky ones because they are less likely to shave their armpits which helps to decrease the number of bacteria.

I guess the only way to ensure an absolutely smell free exercise session is to stick to the pool.

I'm assuming you're Chinese, Japanese or Korean? It's really interesting re: body odour, I read that recently and was fascinated!

@HavelockVetinari, yes I am. Although we don’t have BO, the stench of our food makes up for it (kimchi anyone?).

I’m white English and I have the white dry earwax and have never used deodorant in my life.

I do not sweat on my body. Anything that would cause wet teashits for others causes me to sweat around my head! It’s the only place that gets damp.

I don’t think I have any Asian ancestry but only gone back a couple of hundred years.

@Ponoka7

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.

Yes this!! I think there’s a general big under appreciation of how bad an unwashed body can smell. The up close & personal smells on my train reinforce this to me daily ☹️ There’s people on here who insist jeans only need washing every 3 weeks, or saying it’s ok to wash hair / shower once a week - it’s really not! There some smelly folk out there. It’s really anti social!

I used to find gym clothes and dh football clothes could cling onto smells that would 'come out' again when warm. Since using dettol laundry detergent in those washes that doesn't happen anymore.