Unspoken Gym Etiquette

[ToBeOrNotToBee]

Having never stepped foot in a gym before, I'm worried about doing something unspeakably uncouth.
So, for all the newbies can you gym bunnies tell us all those little secret rules you swear by but to the uninitiated are unknown.

Easy checklist:

• take a little towel if you're a sweater
• remember your water bottle
• don't wear a pony for squats
• put your weights back after use and un-rack your barbell once done
• leave your keys/little towel/water bottle on or next to a bench if you'd like to use it or expect it to be taken while you go off to get weights.
• have rest periods between sets if you need to (no idea why people are saying not to, enjoy your injuries!) but if you're new and might take a while, perhaps go to the gym when it's quieter if you're trying new routines
• get a gym induction and make sure you tell them if you've never used any cable/weight machines before or cardio etc and they'll show you all of them. That's what they're there for!
• start low with weights and engage the muscle you're focusing on both lifting up and back down. Going heavy will lead to injuries - using 2KG is fine!

I can't think of any others.

And to add to the "gym bunny" debate - as a woman that dresses like Adam sandler/Miss trunchbull to the gym and goes for both health & fitness (I lift more than almost all men on legs at my small private weights gym and many on upper...) and aesthetics in a bikini - most people wouldn't care about being called a gym bunny. Unless you were trying to patronise a young girl who was training wearing a gym set trying to passive aggressively call her basic - which doesn't appear to be the case with the protesters above...!

This is a very useful thread thank you OP for starting it and to all for the advice.

from PP above, what does this mean please?
“don't wear a pony for squats”

It doesn't 'just happen', it happens when a user doesn't take care that it doesn't happen. If it's too heavy for you then use a lighter one.

I'm talking about the repetitive clanking, not a one off. It's really irritating and unnecessary.

Oh - basically if you so squats with a barbell, you need to learn to "abandon" the bar for safety, even more so if there are no safety bars (these are metal bars that sit horizontally either side of you squatting and should be just below your squat height so if you fail a weight lift, the bars catch the weight and it doesn't land on you. Even with safety bars, if you had to drop your bar behind you, there are some that have suffered with a ponytail as the barbell catches it on its way down and drags you with it. No idea of statistics but I like a high or low bun or to clip my hair up. ☺️

I would add:

• Be reasonably clean / Wear deodorant

• Wipe down equipment with spray rather than just a dry paper towel
• Refrain from moaning / loud puffing and constant sniffing

I have a high bun. I've got a long enough plait that it goes down my back and I end up leaning on it and restricting my head movement when sitting back on the resistance machines.

I don't know how swishy long-haired women manage with loose hair!

If you book a class and can't make it cancel the class so someone else can take the space. If you go to dance classes stand towards the back until you know the routine.

1. have a full induction
2. wipe all machines you use
3. put things back in the right place
4. rest away from equipment so people don’t think you’re still using it
5. Try not to be noisy with equipment or grunting
6. try not to stare too much if your trying to copy someone elses form

However, do not feel intimidated to reduce properly programmed rest periods because some other user is glaring at you. Since OP is a new gym user I am guessing it will take some time to reach the stage at which a rest period of longer than 60s is necessary.

Never walk across someone's yoga / pilate mat.

Dropping weights is an interesting one. If you are powerlifting heavy, you cannot just place the weight down. They are going to bounce.

’Don’t clang the weights’ does really depend on what you’re doing though. If you’re doing deadlifts, or some Olympic lifts you are going to be making some noise when the weights hit the floor, even if you try and be as controlled as possible. On the other hand, I did once watch someone throw a 10kg dumbbell onto their phone because they weren’t taking care, so there’s that.

My biggest bit of advice is to always use clips to stop weights sliding about, and to be careful about loading/ unloading bars unevenly. If they slip off you could easily have a 20kg pies of metal flying at your face.

Get an induction but also book a session with one of the personal trainers. They might offer a free or discounted session the first time, & they’ll be able to give you a good idea of what you should be doing to reach your goals.

They are designed for it and the floor should be designed for it too. They should still be under control though, you don't just let go.

Or move the rowing machine to the other side of the gym to set up a circuit of three things meaning you are hogging those three things.

if you are going from running machine to something else and then back again don’t leave the running machine going as you know it’s running but some other person will step on it assuming it’s stopped.

To clarify, it's the weight machines rather than free weights. There's no need to clang machine weights.

For sure. I train heavy. If anything, I aspire to be a gym bison.

I don't overly mind 'gym bunny', although my preferred term is 'gym freak', but it is a touch patronising.

where has anyone said not to rest between sets? Surely the very fact they've been referred to as sets means there must, by definition, be a rest period between them, otherwise it would just be constant exercise? I would say to try and limit your rest period - there are soo many people in my gym who do 1 minute weights, 5 mins faffing on phone, repeat for 3 sets = tying up a machine for nearly 20 minutes. If you are going to do this alternate with someone else, or arms/legs on different machines, or go at quiet times.

For OP - if there are multiples of the same machine empty, do not go on the one right next to someone else, leave a gap. aka the urinal rule. i.e. if someone is on treadmill 3, choose treadmill 1 or 5, not 2 or 4. Some people might complain about this 'I like the positioning of/view from this one' etc but it's weird, particularly in a gym where the machines are very crowded together, and, if you're a run-farter, very unpleasant for the person/people next to you. Obviously if it's busier it's fine.

Use the changing room to GET CHANGED and then LEAVE. People in mine spend ages just sitting there on their phones, which is disconcerting (never sure if they could be filming etc), I've stepped over people using it to stretch before, etc.

To be honest most gym etiquette is to just act like a normal person. Most people at the gym just want to do their own thing and ignore everyone else.

I'm a sweater 🥵 and always carry a towel around the gym but I'm the only one! I wouldn't mind but there isn't even any spray or paper towels...

Learn to work in (share) equipment.

Put your weights away - In.The.Correct.Place

Keep out of the way of people moving/exercising. The person pushing 100 kilos on the sled track always has right of way.

If you go to failure, you fail a rep.

You can't always control that down, machine or otherwise and failure is where the gains are made.

So respectfully, this is incorrect and the machines cope with it fine.. unless yo

Lots of good advice here.
Also, please don’t wear perfume. It just doesn’t mix well with other odours in the gym especially classes when you’re quite close to people eg. spin classes.
Don’t worry about asking for help with equipment. Most gym goers are happy to help out.
Smile and enjoy 😊

Don’t stare at people. As expected there are more than a few new starters in my gym at the moment. And they are staring at people. Caught a few staring at me while doing my weights the other day. Makes me feel uncomfortable and no one likes it.