The Gym Hygiene Guide
A gym is a place where you go to get a healthy body. A gym is also a place where you can fall sick! Being hygienic is a part of being healthy. Since the ultimate goal in visiting the gym is to get a healthy body, it is very essential that you follow hygienic practices in the gym too. Here are a few basic gym hygiene etiquettes you must follow.
Wash your hands
Do not touch your face till you have washed your hands after touching the gym equipments. Human hands are the very good at carrying germs and you don’t know who had used the equipment before you. So you wouldn't want the germs from there to travel into your body! So make sure you wash your hands well after your workout.
Gym equipment
Wipe the instruments before and after you use them - Gym equipments are used by one and all. Be sure you wipe them with a disinfectant before and after using them to avoid germs from being transmitted.
Exercise mats
Wash, Exercise, Repeat. Exercise mats would be drenched in sweat of the previous user, so it will be advisable to wash it before you use it. Similarly you wouldn't want to leave back your sweat. So wash it after you use it. Better still, bring your own mat.
Towels and Napkins
Working out makes you hot and sweaty and you reach out for your towel to wipe off your sweat. Make sure you don't just dump it in any corner that you find. This will only result in germs having a free time. You could spread your germs around or your towel could end up picking up other germs.
Saunas and steams
Do not use the sauna or the steam room if you have an open wound. It will result in your wound becoming more infected with all the germs already floating around, plus you will be making the place unhygienic.
Shower
It is advisable to carry your own footwear to the gym shower as the common ones are bound to harbour a lot of microbes.
Gym bag
You may dump your sweaty clothes into your bag after your shower, change into fresh clothes and head home. Warm moist clothes in a closed bag are the perfect environment to grow. So even though you may be washing your gym clothes immediately after you reach home, it is also equally important to wash the gym bag regularly too.
Take a Break
If you have a cold or the flu, take a break from the gym. Your body won't gain all the pounds you have lost if you rest for a day or two. Staying at home and resting is advisable as it will prevent you from spreading your germs and making others sick too.
Sauna
Always carry a towel to sit on in the sauna. Never assume that the high temperature in there means no germs. Spread a towel and then sit. This will avoid painful rashes or boils in awkward places.
Water
The common tap in the gym is a breeding ground for germs, as every sweaty person heads there for a drink. It will be a good idea to carry your own bottle of water to the gym.
