Gym Etiquette: How Not to Be a Nightmare to Train Around

Gyms work considerably better when everyone remembers that other people are using them too.

You don't need an extensive rulebook to train around other humans successfully.

Put things back. Don't be a dick. Pay attention to what's happening around you.

That covers most of it.

But here's the slightly longer version.

PUT YOUR WEIGHTS AWAY

When you've finished using something, put it back.

Even if the weights were already out when you arrived.

Someone else's laziness doesn't need to become yours.

And if you're strong enough to load the plates onto the bar, you're strong enough to put them back afterwards.

PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR TRAINING

Your phone isn't banned from the gym.

I use mine to record lifts, track workouts, time rest periods and occasionally change whatever terrible music somebody has put on.

The problem isn't the phone.

The problem is becoming so distracted by it that your two-minute rest period somehow becomes twelve minutes while you watch videos of a raccoon stealing someone's Amazon delivery.

Use your phone.

Just remember why you're in the gym.

BE AWARE OF PEOPLE AROUND YOU

Before starting an exercise, have a quick look around.

Is someone about to lift behind you?

Are you standing directly in front of somebody who's using the mirror?

Have you positioned yourself somewhere that blocks half the gym?

Could somebody reasonably walk through the space you're about to swing a kettlebell into?

A little spatial awareness goes a long way.

This becomes particularly important when people are lifting heavy weights, carrying awkward objects or performing movements that require a lot of space.

CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF

If you've left a bench looking like somebody has emptied a pint of water over it, wipe it down.

Nobody wants your sweat.

That's really all the explanation this one requires.

LET PEOPLE WORK IN

If somebody asks to share a piece of equipment and it's practical, let them.

You can alternate sets while the other person rests.

Obviously this doesn't work brilliantly for everything. If you're halfway through a complicated setup involving five bands, three boxes and seventeen carefully positioned plates, constantly changing it might be ridiculous.

But if you're both doing roughly the same thing, share.

The gym isn't your private facility.

DON'T INTERRUPT SOMEONE DURING A SET

If somebody is underneath a heavy barbell, now probably isn't the ideal moment to ask how many sets they've got left.

Wait until they've finished.

Likewise, don't walk unnecessarily close to someone performing a heavy or technically demanding lift.

Give people room to work.

IF YOU'RE SPOTTING SOMEONE, ASK WHAT THEY WANT

Don't assume.

Before the set, establish what the lifter actually wants from you.

They might want help taking the bar out.

They might want you to intervene only if the bar starts moving downwards.

They might want a hand-off but absolutely no assistance afterwards.

Ask.

And unless they've requested otherwise, don't grab the weight halfway through a difficult repetition simply because it slowed down.

A slow rep isn't necessarily a failed rep.

USE THE MIRRORS

Mirrors are useful.

They can provide visual feedback about your position and movement, and occasionally it's nice to look at yourself and think:

"Bloody hell, my shoulders look good today."

Both are allowed.

Just don't spend so long admiring yourself that someone else has to climb over you to reach the dumbbells.

DON'T GIVE UNSOLICITED COACHING

Unless somebody is in immediate danger, they probably don't need you wandering over to explain everything they're doing wrong.

You don't know their training history.

You don't know their goals.

You don't necessarily know why they're performing the exercise that way.

And—quite importantly—they didn't ask you.

If someone asks for help, brilliant.

Otherwise, concentrate on your own training.

PEOPLE WILL TRAIN DIFFERENTLY TO YOU

There's more than one way to get stronger, fitter or build muscle.

Somebody else's exercise might look strange to you.

That doesn't automatically make it wrong.

They may have different goals, different limitations, different preferences or simply know something you don't.

You don't need to understand everybody else's programme.

You only need to understand yours.

IN CLOSING

Good gym etiquette isn't complicated.

Put your equipment away.

Clean up after yourself.

Share when you reasonably can.

Give people space.

Pay attention to what you're doing.

Don't interfere with other people's training.

And generally try to leave the gym slightly better than you found it.

Do all of that and you'll already be considerably less annoying than a surprising number of people.