My rant was primarily about my neckYEAST INFECTION (which I realize was more sweat-related and less gym-STD) and the way that the gym staff seems much more interested in collecting contracts and cash than actually orienting the resolutioners to gym etiquette like wiping down the machines after use.
That got me thinking. Sure, I almost always do my part and wipe down the machine after I use it. But do I really trust that the person before me did the same? How many times have I seen people hop off without taking the two minutes or less to wipe down the equipment with the provided sanitary wipes?
Plus, have you seen the movie Contagion? When I first saw it, I didn't want to touch anything or anyone. Ever. I didn't want to go out in public, I wanted rubber gloves and SARS masks and vats of liquid sanitizer to bathe in. Yikes...
I'd like to start a revolution. Rather than wiping down equipment AFTER we use it, because really, most people just don't seem to give a damn about anyone but themselves, we should wipe down equipment BEFORE we use it. And if you don't care about the sweat of the person before you, don't bother! If you do care about the sweat of the person before you, go ahead and wipe it off.
Science-y people - is there a reason that it's preferable to wipe off the sweat when it's fresh as opposed to after it's dried on? Are we really doing any good with those little wipes or are we just fooling ourselves? And, really, isn't there some better solution that could involve the gym personnel coming through regularly and spraying something on the equipment? Or maybe WE could spray something on the equipment?
Anyways, now I wipe down the equipment I use before AND after my workout. It takes a total of maybe 5 minutes extra. It's possible I look like a neurotic germaphobe to those around me, which I'm not (am I?) but whatever. I feel better about the whole deal, so it's totally worth it!
14 comments:
I think that with all the yucky stuff going around right now that a little extra wiping of the machines is a very good idea.
Before and after - always. Just like those disgusting grocery carts. Good for you for doing your part. I wish more people would!
I so totally agree with you! We really have to watch the places we touch, especially in movie theaters too! Those icky bug germs can lurk anywhere!
People wipe both times at the gym we go to :)
Safer than sorry is my motto!
betty
Absolutely before and after! I had to laugh at a coworker with a cold who coughed, sneezed, and touched everything, and THEN would use sanitizer on her hands! Believe me, we wiped and sprayed and sanitized right after her! :-)
Gym? What is this "gym" of which you speak?
That actually is a great idea! It is worth it because the only person you can truly count on is yourself.
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I sweat, a lot, when I work out. Like, a whole lot. If I have two hours to work out, it's not uncommon for me to weigh 7 pounds less, at the end, than when I started.
Because of this, I feel an obsessive need to wipe everything down - even if I know that I keep myself so incredibly hydrated that my sweat is almost entirely, water -- so much so that any of the ickies would be too diluted to affect someone. But, I wipe. And I wipe before & after I use equipment.
It's just the courteous thing to do.
Maybe because I don't want to admit how disgusting people are... I never thought of it that way. AND EWWW!!! I'm totally wiping down the machines before AND after now!
I say look like a "neurotic germaphobe" and wipe away! Unless they plan to pay your doctor/medical bills because of their ickiness.
I'm impressed! You go to a gym? We country yokels don't have such things!
I am liking your revolutinary thought process on the stinky sweat issue!
I have always gone to and worked at a women's gym, so maybe I am not as skeeved as I would be if it were coed. I do not wipe down the equipment because I can't stand the thought of what is in the spray bottles. I just know that when I get on a machine, I am not going to touch any part of myself until I wash my hands. A spider could fall into my eye and I wouldn't be able to wipe it away. Othewise, it all gets too crazy. Are you going to wipe down every singe weight or band or ball or the floor? Where do we draw the line? I also really don't like it if I am working out, breathing hard, and the person next to me starts spraying the cleaner. Now I have to breathe it in and I don't think that's a good idea!
I know that people who work at gyms don't wipe anything down, so the one thing I do worry about is the mats. They are nasty, nasty, nasty, so I bring my own. It's pretty inconvenient in a boot camp class because we use them on and off, so I'm dragging it around like a binkie.
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