Top 10 Unwritten Gym Rules

[DJM]

Whether your goal is to pack on slabs of granite-hard muscle, get shredded to the bone, add power and strength or crush a new PB, we’re all in this together! Face it, we all have our own demons to contend with and the last thing we need to worry about is one of our comrades holding us back because of bad gym etiquette. Below are ten gym rules everyone should abide by. Remember them, write them down or take a picture – I don’t care! Just follow them for your best interest and the interest of your fellow iron warriors.

1) Strip the Bar – Simple enough. When I get set to begin any lift I expect to start off with a clean bar and I trust everyone else feels the same.

2) Step Away from the Rack – 90% of the time the dumbbell rack is in front of a mirror. This doesn’t mean you can pickup a pair, take a 1/2 step back and start lifting. Grab your equipment and move away from the rack so there’s an unobstructed path for others to get what they need. Additionally, if your bench is too close to the rack, pull it back a couple of feet.

3) Don’t Horde – Supersets and giant sets are great but taking up multiple machines or gathering up dumbbells like a squirrel is a no-no, especially when the gym is packed. If your program calls for you to jump from one machine to another, train during off hours. If you need several sets of dumbbells, hurry up and re-rack after every set.

4) Learn to Share – Mondays have become national chest day which usually leaves benches in short supply. However, don’t think for a second that this rule doesn’t apply to all equipment. Let someone else work in. If you’re on a piece of equipment or using the only 150’s in the house and have more than one set left, let someone work in if they ask. You have to rest between sets anyways, so be a decent human being. Conversely, if you’re waiting for someone to finish their set, don’t linger around them. Ask to work in or get out da way!

5) Enough with the Walking Lunges – Most gyms have a walkway through the weightroom that people, mostly personal trainers and their clients, feel they can use as a one lane track for lunges. Stop it! Either take it outside, to the yoga studio or just do stationary lunges.

6) Squat Racks are for Squats – Unless you’re the only soul in the gym, don’t you dare do bicep curls in the squat or power rack, that’s an offense punishable by death in some states! Heavy rows, rack pulls, push presses and cleans are acceptable lifts, but never curls.

7) Cell Phones…Really? – Unless you’re a doctor on-call or your baby momma is expecting, your cell phone should never taint the sanctuary of the weightroom floor. If you must take a call here’s what you do: (Ring-ring) “Hello…hold on a second, I have to strip this bar real quick and take this call outside before this 250 pound gorilla kills me.”

8) No Reservations – A towel or water bottle on or beside a piece of equipment does not constitute a reservation. If you’re bench pressing, stay by your bench. Don’t drape your precious towel or leave a water bottle on it and walk away to chat. If no ones around, I count to 30 before your possessions go flying and I start lifting.

9) Buffer Zone – Imagine an invisible circle around a person lifting and if you get within three feet of that circle you’ll get an electric shock. When someone is in the act of lifting try and stay away at all costs and never walk in front or behind them. Wait until they’ve completed their set.

10) Respect the Headphones ­– First off, you should not be bugging anyone while they’re lifting, but if they’ve got headphones on, leave them the hell alone. If you’re like me, I wear headphones for three reasons: 1) To play my choice of music, 2) Drowning out the background helps me focus on my mind-muscle connection and 3) As a social repellent. Headphones on = world off! If you come to the gym to socialize, fine, just do it away from the warriors who are there to get some serious work done!

CREDIT:MUSCLEMAG
Top 10 Unwritten Gym Rules - MuscleMag

[sandman]

Only thing I question is the cell phones, I agree that it's annoying to see people on their phones and texting between sets all the time. However cell phones have basically replaced mp3 players as the main players of music in the gym now a days.

[DJM]

its the txting for 10min from a hammer machine

i have a vivid picture of someone in my head right now

[AestheticOne]

I lift in probably one of the busiest gyms in Manhattan and i have to say the level of disrespect people show blows my mind. Something as simple as unloading your pussy 2 plate deadlift seems to be an issue for 90% of the people at my Gym, not only that but theres only 2 power racks in the whole gym and nothing pisses me off more then when a cross fitter gets into one and spends a good 30-45 minutes doing the most retarded shit i've ever seen and they refuse to let you work in..... i cant wait till i switch to powerhouse.

/endofrant

[DJM]

nautilus plus ile des soeurs takes the cake, trust me
everything on that list is on full display all the time, plus alot of other shit

[JM1000]

I have to second DJ on Nautilus,

Thinking about all the mangina in there makes me sick

[rockstarjacked]

Good rules for everyone to follow. Also, wipe down the equipment with those antiseptic wipes when finished. No one who works out wants to get sick from some jerkoff who contaminated the bar with his germs. Or touch the machine that the really nasty dude was profusely sweating all over. I could just be a germaphobe, but most gyms have those antiseptic wipes for a reason haha

[AestheticOne]

Good rules for everyone to follow. Also, wipe down the equipment with those antiseptic wipes when finished. No one who works out wants to get sick from some jerkoff who contaminated the bar with his germs. Or touch the machine that the really nasty dude was profusely sweating all over. I could just be a germaphobe, but most gyms have those antiseptic wipes for a reason haha

Eh i think this one should probably be you wipe it down if you have a problem with it, idk about you, but i love exposing my immune system to as much shit and germs as possible, keeps it stronger

[rockstarjacked]

I'm in college full time, so i am exposed to plenty of germs all the time. In the gym tho, i wipe down everything before and after i use it. Idk, i just think everyone should do the same... it only takes a few seconds.

[Sorrow]

Thats why I have no place in a commercial gym 90% of the time.
Rule 9) Although the three foot barrier is hard to follow in a basement, the sole exception to that rule should be for the guys spotting the guy doing the lift. Otherwise yes stay the F*ck away!! Or enraged lifter will break the chicken legs off!!