Gym etiquette is a topic near and dear to my heart. I cannot stand when people misuse the gym. I recently wrote 5 Things You Should Remember at the Gym and these are 5 more things to add to that list.
- The squat rack and power rack are for squatting, overhead presses and other compound barbell exercises, not bicep curls. It irritates me when I see someone using the squat or power rack for barbell curls. Seriously? I have never seen anyone who could curl enough that they needed the rack in order to accomplish it. This is just silly. Stop it!
- Don't be afraid to ask for a spot. Nobody wants to see someone get hurt. When you are doing a heavy bench press there is no shame in asking someone you don't know to spot you.
- Don't completely tie up 2 pieces of equipment at once. I have no problem with doing supersets on two pieces of equipment, but allow others to work in with you. It is the right thing to do.
- Don't be afraid to ask questions. When you don't know how to do something, speak up! Asking for help is a sign of strength to me.
- Always be courteous to other members. Don't sit on your phone or interrupt others mid-set. Especially don't get in the middle of another person's workout. I recently had a person interrupt my workout. I was doing stiff leg deadlifts and the Fitness 19 didn't have the right platform for it, so I put a step next to a bench press station and used the bench to hold the bar. Another member complained to me that I would break the padding on the bench by doing what I was doing. I asked him if he thought the bench could support 400 lbs. He said it for sure could. I then said “then this 225 I have sitting on the bench isn't going to hurt a thing.” I proceeded to ignore him from that point forward.
Pay attention to gym etiquette when you train. Keep that in the front of your mind and you will not be accused of poor gym etiquette.
