Welcome back to another round of the unwritten rules of the gym! Just as a refresher: Gym etiquette helps ensure the mutual respect of gym-goers. In the last post, we talked about working in, reserving equipment, unsolicited advice, and hygiene. Let’s chat more about some things you should know when in the gym!
Shoes, Socks, and Heavy Lifting
The beauty of our gyms is that we have a wide variety of members: group fitness fanatics, casual lifters, and powerlifting junkies alike. To respect this diversity, we do lay some ground rules to protect everyone’s safety. That means that we ask you to wear close-toed athletic shoes at all times in the gym. This means no crocs, flip flops, socks, or bare feet. If you have a reason to be breaking this rule, ask for permission from the personal trainers or fitness director. We also ask that you do not use chalk, and if you need to, to again ask a trainer. Liquid chalk is great! Lastly, when it comes to heavy lifting, please always use bumper plates and a lifting platform, if available. Again, we are not exclusively a power-lifting gym, so dropping and slamming weights isn’t cool. It’s also not respectful toward our equipment, so please treat our equipment well so it can last!
Slamming Weights
As mentioned before, please don’t drop weights when doing Olympic lifts. This also goes for cable machines, plate-loaded machines, and dumbbells. If you can lift it, you can set it down! Slamming the weight stack on cable and plate loaded machines shortens the life of the equipment. The more you slam, the more we need to have the equipment take a sick day to be fixed. So please treat it kindly.
Equipment and Re-racking
There is a lot of equipment in the gym! If you’re not using a pin loaded machine, that means there will be at least some part of your equipment that needs to be put away. Please always return your equipment to its home once you are done with the exercise. This helps to keep the gym tidy so that all members can find what they need to enjoy their workout! This includes cable attachments, dumbbells, barbells, plates, resistance bands, mats, and more. If you’re not sure where something goes, you can always ask!
Music and Noise
Good music makes a great workout– we get that! If you’re not vibing with our club music, feel free to play your own, but we ask that you use headphones. Unless you’re a trainer using a speaker in a specific area of the gym, your music should be in your ears. This helps make sure that all of our members can enjoy what they like to listen to!
Alongside playing music out loud is unnecessary grunting. It sounds silly, but it’s more common than you think! It’s normal to breathe heavy, count your reps under your breath, or even grunt a bit when you’re pushing extra hard. But on the regular, please limit the out-loud grunting. If you can be heard across the room, you’re being too loud! Loud groaning and moaning can make the experience for other members (and staff) pretty awkward, so do your best to keep it down.
Filming
In the digital age, many people want to film their workouts, either for themselves or to post for others. In most of our locations, we ask that you do not film your workouts out on the fitness floor. You can always ask your personal trainers or fitness director for permission, and keep in mind that if you are permitted to film, you should avoid getting other members in the background. For many, the gym is an escape, and they don’t want to worry about getting caught in the background of your video or picture! This is a hard rule for the locker rooms. No pictures or videos are ever allowed in the locker rooms, and breaking this rule is grounds for suspension or termination of membership.
There it is, your basics of gym etiquette! We hope that these tips are helpful for you or a friend as you navigate your time at Merritt Clubs. Did we miss anything? Let us know what you’d like to see included next time!
