Gym do’s and don’ts: a practical (not so serious) guide for dummies

Entering in a gym for the first time can be intimidating: restricted spaces, unfamiliar equipments, machines looking more like a torture instrument than a health thing, and, especially, A LOT of people. People of every sort, tough the most ‘intimidating’ are the people in good shape, used to working out there. I vividly remember the feeling of fear, being out of place and not wanting to walk through the most crowded area for the fear of looking ridiculous, or crossing eye with someone.

In other words, I feared judgement A LOT. While it can take a while to get used to the new environment, some basic behaviours will help you get comfortable in this cornucopia of individuals that is a gym. Here is my NOT SO SERIOUS guide to dos and don’ts .

1. DO: realise that people really don’t pay too much attention to you. Seriously, they are there for the same reason as you: to work out. I stopped feeling intimidated when I realised that people really don’t care, or don’t even notice me walking by. Just remember that everyone is there to do the same thing and you’ll be fine.
2. DON’T: stare too much! As said above, it can be intimidating, borderline rude and, also, kinda creepy.
3. DO: look into the mirror. The vanity cliché is hard to destroy, while the truth is much more simple: people at the gym stare at themselves in the mirror to check out the execution of exercises, not really in a narcissistic way. Even if, what’s the problem? Self love is the way to go! This is just a reminder that it is OK to look at yourself in the mirror at the gym.
4. DON’T: take selfies. Really, don’t. It probably means you’re not working out as seriously as you should. You know why? Because the way you look during and after a REAL workout, trust me, you don’t want to show to the world.
5. DO: bring a towel. Basic hygiene rule: people don’t want to sit on your sweat.
6. DON’T: wear see-through clothes. I mean, up to you, but I personally don’t want to see other people’s underwear while working out.
7. DO: re-rack your weights! An extremely important gym etiquette rule, often forgotten. When you’re done with your weights, put them back.
8. DON’T: curl in the squat rack. In general: do NOT use the squat rack for anything other than its purpose. Squat is one of the most important exercises, and it cannot be done anywhere else than the rack, while you can do other exercises (like curling, row, barbell shoulder press) in the free body exercise area.
9. DO: clean your equipment after you’re done. Every gym has corners with spray water bottles and paper towels, if you happen to sweat on a machine, clean it.
10. DON’T: occupy the treadmill for more than 20 minutes during peak hours. If you need to run for one hour, go outside.
11. DON’T: interrupt people during an exercise. We often forget that lifting weights can be dangerous, it requires technique and focus and if you distract someone during the execution, apart from being rude, it can disrupt the focus and make some serious damage.
12. DON’T: call someone’s attention away from the earphones, just because you want to flirt. I mean, like every situation one should be able to understand whether it is a good moment or not, right? So I’ll just say this: if I am working out, with my earphones ON, totally focused, and someone calls for my attention, I shut down the music only to hear some slimy catch phrase… just DON’T.
13. DO: be mindful of other people’s space. You don’t want to step in the middle, and become an obstacle to somebody else’s exercise.

This is my list for now, give me your suggestions in the comments!