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How to Stay Safe at the Gym; the Do’s and Don’ts

How to Stay Safe at the Gym; the Do’s and Don’ts

Being forced from the gym was never a 2020 bucket list item. However, it was worth it, and after months of being away, reopening is finally imminent. When we look back at this time in history, hopefully we’ll acknowledge how much we learned about both infectious disease and the common good. That’s pretty heavy but important nonetheless.

 

That doesn’t mean the world is out of the woods, though. Reopening gyms is only half the battle; the other half is keeping them open. Exactly how does this happen?

 

Each individual gym will likely have its own policies and procedures. These will be well intentioned and useful, but there are additional steps each individual can take to further protect themselves and fellow gym-goers. In this article, we overview these additional precautions. In the interest of full disclosure, my clinical speciality is not in infectious disease, but after having worked in the clinical environment during all of this madness, I’ve learned some useful tips to keep safe.

 

  1. Clean equipment before and after use. So, this is hopefully very obvious. However, most of us probably didn’t sanitize equipment properly prior the pandemic, nor were we scrubbing our resistance bands and dumbbells while working out at home. It’s up to us to create these new and very important habits.

 

  1. If it makes little difference, use fewer pieces of equipment. Here’s something less obvious. When programming your training, attempt to limit the pieces of equipment which touch your hands. Maybe this looks like knocking out more barbell training on Monday and more dumbbell training on Wednesday.

 

  1. Bring your own water. The water fountain tends to be a high-traffic area, and limiting unnecessary exposure to pathogens is in the best interest of everyone. By bringing your own H2O, you’ll save both time and risk.

 

  1. Plan your training regimen prior to entering the gym. “Get in and get out,” right? By having preprogrammed your workout, you’ll save both time and unnecessary footsteps. Not to mention, if you aren’t programming your workouts in the first place, it’s a good custom to adopt.

 

  1. Don’t wear your work clothes into the gym. By changing your garb prior to entering the gym, you’re saving everyone exposure to germs you may have encountered. Also, it likely limits a trip to the locker room.

 

  1. Change clothes upon returning home. Similar to number five, we’re going to pick up germs wherever we go, and in normal times this is of no grave concern. However, times aren’t “normal.” Save your loved ones any unnecessary exposure to both these germs and your smelly clothes.

 

  1. Leave nothing lying around. Besides this being brutally bothersome anyway, leaving things scattered around the gym such as plates, dumbbells, bands, clips, etc. means some other poor soul must pick them up. Please do everyone the courtesy of tidying the floor prior to your departure.

 

  1. Keep friendly conversation to a minimum or at a distance. Despite the emergence of the garage gym craze, loads of people enjoy the socialization inherent to gyms. There’s probably no need to be a hermit, but a friendly conversation and spotting your find doing a back squat shouldn’t look similar distance-wise.

 

The Bottom Line on Staying Safe at the Gym

 

At the risk of sounding crass, just be smart. It’s a privilege to push yourself through the voluntary hardship we know and love. Many of these suggestions take no extra effort, and as such, they’re very easy to adopt for yourself and for the entire gym community.

 

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