Terrible BO at the gym

[AG247]

I go to my workout classes a few times a week, and I’m guessing since the weather has been getting warmer(?) people are sweating more.

The issue is that there is frequently a TERRIBLE smell of BO in my classes to the point that I cannot concentrate and feel physically ill. I’m talking BO so strong I am constantly checking myself to make sure it’s not me - it literally PERMEATES the entire room and invades your personal space!

I think, it is coming from certain men since they often work out in t-shirts and hoodies and I’ve been told that kind of smell actually stems from sweating in unwashed clothing?

AIBU to ask the gym staff to say something to the class about hygiene? I’ve mentioned loudly that it smells before but I obviously can’t single anyone out. I don’t understand how people can walk around like that and/or how their friends or partners don’t tell them that they stink?

I do quite a few running races and there is always the smell of stinky (BO) kit on the start line.
Certain fabrics pick up the smell more than others I think. Playing devil's advocate I have some dri fit/technical tshirts, and after a while, even when I had washed them they had a faint smell. However at this point (and they have had a lot of wear when it gets to that stage) I throw them out!

Artificial fabrics, technical, nylon, lycra, retain sweat smell a lot worse and faster than cottons or natural fabrics. Is a reason for gym kit easily stinking fast.

I am blessing my poor sense of smell, as ever.

The ventilation is excellent as it is an indoor outdoor facility so you would think that it should help to clear the smell! NOPE!

YANBU I've worked in gyms before and I know the smell ylthat you are referring to. It goes beyond the normal working out hard and sweating smell and is usually caused by people not wearing any deodorant or rewearing unwashed gym clothes or in the worst case scenarios a combination of both. The smell that comes from some of these people overwhelms the entire room and can be eyewateringly bad at times. They generally need to be quietly taken aside and kindly spoken to by a member of staff.

I know that people can smell, and I’m not bothered about that. I’m more bothered about the fact I can smell it from every crevice of the (indoor-outdoor) gym it is so strong. It goes beyond someone sweating at the gym, this is purely really awful hygiene!

I completely agree! It’s shocking! I can certainly smell myself when and if I smell a bit, so I am thinking these people must smell ALL the time to have grown accustomed to it or something? I don’t see how they can even sit in their car to go back home and not realise? Do they have family or anyone to even mention it ?

Thanks for this! That makes sense and I’m guessing it’s something to do with that! The smell starts within about 5-10 minutes of the class so it all adds up now 😭 I always wash my armpits before the gym with soap and reapply deodorant for this exact reason (especially after a long day) - adding deodorant on top of a day old armpit obviously won’t work well, and that coupled with old stale clothing is just such a potent mix!

I thought i might be, until I asked a few people and they agreed they could smell it too! I may start bringing an air freshener with me now… not sure what else to do if the gym won’t do anything !

@AG247 YANBU. There’s a guy at my gym who has awful BO. This is more than sweating. It’s stale sweat cos the person hasn’t showered /put on antiperspirant. It’s like you can actually taste it 🤢. There was a girl at my school who had that awful problem sweat where you cdd as n smell it no matter how often you shower - that’s not it with this guy.

I can tell if he’s in the gym when I walk in the entry door as the smell wafts right through the whole gym. People in my exercise class have also commented on how bad the smell is. It really is that bad. And he smells this way on arrival - so it’s not the actual working out.

I don’t think there’s anything can be done though. he’s a customer and I don’t think the staff would find it in their remit to discuss it with him. I take a mask that I’ve sprayed with perfume and wear it when he’s in. It’s made me consider changing gyms.

You haven’t asked them to do anything yet though. Start with this. Explain it’s way beyond normal fresh sweat exercise / gym smell.

Ask them to make an announcement at the start of class asking people to be mindful of others with regards to their hygiene, to ensure they wash their gym kit after each use and to check their gym kit hasn’t absorbed permanent odours and needs replacing.

Totally not unreasonable to ask for this. It’s effing grim.

Say something to staff and ask them. Jeez people are so reticent to raise stuff that it’s reasonable for staff to deal with. It’s a shared space. If these smelly effers want to stink the place out they need to do it at home.

it’s always men too of course.

I asked the class instructor to say something but she refused. This guy doesn’t take classes - he’s in the weights room next door. She said she couldn’t say anything because of “his culture” so read into that what you will.

Ahhh. I mean. No words.

I bet it is his gym clothes. People often wash themselves but neglect to wash their gym gear or wash it but not thoroughly enough.

I once went to the gym and after about 10 minutes I could smell BO. I was looking around seeing who it might be until I realised it was me. While I was clean, the wash I'd put my gym gear through was clearly too cool to thoroughly clean and I bought Dettol Laundry cleaner after that!

We had this at our gym. If you could take an arial photograph of the class everyone had inched out to the sides with smelly man in the middle with acres of space.
The gym management did have a word with him - they said it was unacceptable and it was his clothes - hoody etc which looked like outdoor clothes which he wasn't washing.

It's the opposite in our gym, people wearing tons of aftershave or perfume so it's hard to breathe. I like a dab of scent generally but it's hard to use a treadmill next to someone who has bathed in the stuff.

Maybe join a more commercial gym full of posers to avoid the problem?

In the meantime, you could pop some Vicks or similar under your nose.

Haha I’m guilty of this but not purposefully. My perfume is quite subtle but really gets strong as my body gets hotter, so if I’ve put it on in the day prior to the gym it really heats up when working out. I won’t do it now though as I understand it’s offensive to some people.

I have horrendous BO if I don't use Mitchum antiperspirant (and I have to always use Mitchum, as literally nothing else is as effective or works).

I remember one horrendous day as a teenager in art class when I wore a tighr fitting top under a jacket that clearly wasn't a breathable material or natural fibres. I stunk to high heaven and even the smell of my own BO made me heave.

I had washed properly and put clean clothes and Mitchum on and I usually never smelt bad. It was just that combined tight under arm clothing of the t-shirt and jacket that made me stink and I felt so awful and self conscious.

I knew that one of the girls on my table was noticing it too as she kept saying the smell made her feel sick. Luckily she hadn't twigged it was me, but i still wanted the ground to swallow me whole.

Unfortunately some people just have extremely powerful BO and sweat glands, and they just don't even need to try and sweat if they wear nylon or manmade materials. The lack of breathable material will make the tiniest bit of sweat stink.

Because of his culture? What culture would that be? That says its ok for someone to reek?

Utterly ludicrous. I would speak to the manager to blame someone's culture just because you haven't the confidence to speak to them about an issue is actually quite offensive.