The gym is an interesting world to venture into with it’s own set of rules, unwritten of course, and it’s own unspoken understanding of proper etiquette.
We’ve all been there; seeing the “unaware” guy or gal breaking every rule of etiquette during their workout and irritating everyone around them.
Why be THAT person?
Here are some basic etiquette guidelines to follow when stepping foot into any gym
- Wipe off the machines, benches and equipment you use. Nobody wants to come to a wet machine drenched in your stank and sweat and nobody wants to be cleaning up your mess.
- Re-rack all the weight and replace all the dumbbells or barbells that you use. Seriously, does this need to be stated?
- Don’t hog a machine, especially if you’re just using it to rest or hold a lengthy conversation. Even if your set isn’t quite finished, have the common courtesy to allow someone to work in their set with yours.
- Grunting and obsessive yelling is annoying, not impressive. We all get it, you just experience a massive rep or set and your muscles are on fire, so letting out a scream or yell is your barbaric way of telling the world “I just did that”…well, DON’T.
Aside from etiquette, here are some simple workout rules you can follow to help ensure you stay healthy during your workout.
- Take your time with adding weight. The easiest way to hurt yourself is adding too much, too fast.
- Don’t go too fast. This won’t help you build faster and will end up doing more harm than good with the associated risk involved.
- The recommended rest period is between 30-90 seconds between sets. Utilize it.
- If you can perform 25-30 reps with a certain weight, it’s likely time to increase it a bit, but always move up gradually (see the first bulletpoint)
