Gym Etiquette

For those new to the gym, it can be a strange place. People making strange noises and even stranger faces, music turned up loud, people moving around to different machines at random and a general look of chaos with barbells and dumbbells strewn all over the place. People seem to be either chatting in cliques or intensely focused. At times, it even looks too crowded to walk around, much less workout

But there is order to this madness and knowing how it works can make your stay much more enjoyable. It can even win you some good friends – after all, the gym is a social place.

You don’t need to use a gym to get in shape, but many use it for the simple reason that the gym a fun place to hangout, meet interesting people who have similar goals and generally feel part of a group. In today’s increasingly isolated world, the gym is the only place many people socialize regularly at all.

The benefits of using a gym extend far beyond the social aspects, however and it’s worth noting them:

But going to the gym for the first time can really be intimidating if you don’t know the rules.

Each gym is different and somebody who works there should give you a full orientation explaining them. If they don’t, ask.

Many gyms these days, however, are staffed by indifferent instructors and clerks who are not too interested in helping you out – especially as a new person who will probably last about a week before dropping out.

Ditto for the rest of the gym members – they’ve seen thousands of people come in, go great guns and drop out after less than a month. So don’t expect them to run over and make friends with you.

Plus, people who go to the gym frequently are serious – serious about their workouts and often don’t like to be distracted. So what you might see as being rude may simply be an intense focus on workout goals rather than chatting. This doesn’t mean they aren’t nice people worth getting to know, but it’s best to pick the right time to approach them.

What are the rules? The gym normally has written rules – often prominently posted all over the place - and these should form a base. Things like:

But there are a host of unwritten rules – break these and you might just earn the ire of some pretty large fellows with short tempers. Don’t worry – people who work out in the gym rarely get violent, but they may embarrass you in front of the rest if you make these common mistakes.

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