Gym Etiquette..what to do, if anything, when a sick person works out beside you..
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I also cough sometimes when I am exercising.
It happened just yesterday during Zumba.
When my throat gets dry I get a sudden tickle that makes me start coughing, once it starts its hard to get it to stop.
I try really hard to not let it happen at the gym...because I don't want anyone to stare me down and say, "Really!", and then move to another machine.
This was exactly what I was thinking. I tend to cough and hack a lot when I exercise. I honestly think of someone is sick enough, they'll stay home.0 -
The possibility of being sick is one thing. The not covering the mouth is another thing. And why when there are 40+ treadmills pop on one beside a total stranger..? Just makes for a very uncomfortable situation. Yes I realize some people have to go to work even when they are sick, and that is a different story. But why buddy up next to someone when there is ton of free space and especially if you are sick..?
Oh well. I will just move. And if they do it again I will be equally rude and flat out tell them I moved because I prefer my own space (which is why I tend to go late at night in the first place).
Like I said, I know it might just be a tickle, but I am very susceptible to illnesses.
Better safe than sorry!!
Thanks.
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rainbowbow wrote: »thankyou4thevenom wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »You have 4 possible options.
1.) Confront the person with words. "I'm sorry, can you please move to another treadmill? I don't want to get sick".
2.) Be passive agressive and turn around often giving them a disgusted look. Make sure to go "UGH, seriously?" under your breath for maximum effort.
3.) Move to another machine. (why not also give them the disgusted look at this point just because?)
4.) Complain to management at the gym that they are sick and spreading germs to everyone.
Option 5 is to just move without any of that passive aggressive stuff.
yeah. that was number three. I'm just saying, might as well make it obvious why you're moving.
It's inconsiderate and disgusting to be hacking your germs all over the place, especially right next to someone.
The also (why not give them a disgusted look just because) would cast doubt on that.0 -
Where do you all go to the gym? I don't think I've ever had an obviously sick person get on a machine next to me at the gym. If I were worried about it I'd switch machines. Nothing said, no dirty looks, nothing.
The only time I respond to others who are sick is when I'm in an eating establishment - and then my preferred response (if I only had the nerve to do it) would be to tell off the boss for not giving his employees paid sick leave, so they can afford to stay home and get better.0 -
glimmersilver wrote: »Where do you all go to the gym? I don't think I've ever had an obviously sick person get on a machine next to me at the gym. If I were worried about it I'd switch machines. Nothing said, no dirty looks, nothing.
The only time I respond to others who are sick is when I'm in an eating establishment - and then my preferred response (if I only had the nerve to do it) would be to tell off the boss for not giving his employees paid sick leave, so they can afford to stay home and get better.
Excellent post!! ITA!!!
I've been going to Planet Fitness and once I reach my goal and/or my membership expires, I think I am done. It is not so much because of the gym itself, I actually enjoy it and I think it is great for those of us who are just wanting to get and/or stay fit, but it is clear I am more comfortable working out at home.0 -
I'd stop, wipe my machine, go get a drink, then start again on another treadmill. No eye contact, no dirty looks, no comments, just a casual move.0
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Don't lick the equipment. Eat a balanced, varied diet with a moderate deficit to give your immune system as much support as you can.0
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More times than I care to recall, when I go to Planet Fitness, someone hacking and coughing all over the place (and never covering their mouth, no less) has to pop on the treadmill beside me..,? There must be 40-50 treadmills in that place and I ALWAYS get stuck with some sick person beside me..Even if I go late at night like 11:00pm and all the treadmills are open, I get someone hacking on the treadmill beside me...ugghhh...:/ Or if I am on an elliptical, someone sick will jump on a treadmill or bicycle behind me..WHY...?????
With cold and flu season in full swing, it makes me cringe, all the more. I have thnought about jumping off the treadmill and moving to another one, but would that be rude..? Yeah, I know it is kind of rude of them to hack all over the place, but..at the same time people are so overly sensitive....Plus I hate "losing" my info, like calories burned, distance, etc..and starting over on another machine...
Am I being a big baby..? I guess maybe because I had an illness years ago that made me more susceptible to things, I am a little overly paranoid..
I guess it is maybe one of those things either put up or shut up..?
Guess maybe I am mainly venting..although maybe someone else suffers this same 'attraction' and can relate...:/
I'm not playing devils advocate, but they may not always be sick if they're coughing and sniffling.
I'd never had asthma or hayfever a day of my life, but when I started running? Oh geez. I sniff and cough up mucous and everything like I'm a hayfever expert (I now take antihistamines the nights before I run, but they only help so much). My doctor says it's because my body is not used to all the extra oxygen intake and increased VO2max, and with that comes extra pollens and dust that. So if it's happening to you in the cardio area and not in the weights section, it may be why.
Then again, whenever there's a thread on here about 'should I exercise when I'm sick?' most forum-goers say if it's from the neck up they should, and if it's the neck down they shouldn't, so we're all to blame if they actually go and spread their germy love.0 -
Yes, I am a germaphobe so if someone is coughing that much at the gym, I'm moving! However, I cough pretty much every day due to asthma and allergies which are worse for me at this time of year and really bad in the mornings. While I am not coughing up a lung or anything when I am at the gym, I can certainly see how one could be bothered by it. If my coughing was awful, I couldn't work out anyways without it bothering me so I would just stay home. I don't see many sick people, that I know of, at the gym though. I am more disgusted my the buckets of sweat that pour off the guy that always gets on the treadmill next to me! Blech........0
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I get off and move to another machine. I wipe all machines down before I use them and after0
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A lot of people cough with exercise and it doesn't mean they have an illness. However, obviously germs are still spread regardless. I'd just move to another treadmill. Maybe they'll get the hint then. And obviously wipe down the machines before and after you use them.0
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mangrothian wrote: »More times than I care to recall, when I go to Planet Fitness, someone hacking and coughing all over the place (and never covering their mouth, no less) has to pop on the treadmill beside me..,? There must be 40-50 treadmills in that place and I ALWAYS get stuck with some sick person beside me..Even if I go late at night like 11:00pm and all the treadmills are open, I get someone hacking on the treadmill beside me...ugghhh...:/ Or if I am on an elliptical, someone sick will jump on a treadmill or bicycle behind me..WHY...?????
With cold and flu season in full swing, it makes me cringe, all the more. I have thnought about jumping off the treadmill and moving to another one, but would that be rude..? Yeah, I know it is kind of rude of them to hack all over the place, but..at the same time people are so overly sensitive....Plus I hate "losing" my info, like calories burned, distance, etc..and starting over on another machine...
Am I being a big baby..? I guess maybe because I had an illness years ago that made me more susceptible to things, I am a little overly paranoid..
I guess it is maybe one of those things either put up or shut up..?
Guess maybe I am mainly venting..although maybe someone else suffers this same 'attraction' and can relate...:/
I'm not playing devils advocate, but they may not always be sick if they're coughing and sniffling.
I'd never had asthma or hayfever a day of my life, but when I started running? Oh geez. I sniff and cough up mucous and everything like I'm a hayfever expert (I now take antihistamines the nights before I run, but they only help so much). My doctor says it's because my body is not used to all the extra oxygen intake and increased VO2max, and with that comes extra pollens and dust that. So if it's happening to you in the cardio area and not in the weights section, it may be why.
Then again, whenever there's a thread on here about 'should I exercise when I'm sick?' most forum-goers say if it's from the neck up they should, and if it's the neck down they shouldn't, so we're all to blame if they actually go and spread their germy love.
Ugh. I have the same infliction! I I have been running a year and half, too and I still have this a lot
I feel your aggravation! 0 -
I've got asthma. It's not contagious. When it's cold outside my airways contract and I cough. I always cough into the crook of my elbow, because that's the polite thing to do.
Not everyone who is coughing is contagious and sick.0 -
I'm not a germophobe but I am immunosuppressed. It annoys me to no end that people would purposely put others at risk. An illness you can run through could put me and others in similar situations in the hospital. I don't want to have to quit going to the gym because some people have no common sense and are so egotistical that they risk other's safety. I will probably end up wearing a mask if I see obviously sick people in the gym0
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How often is this happening to people? I can't remember a single time in recent months if not years that someone has been hacking up a lung near me at the gym.0
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Their choice of what machine they use may have something to do with what is on tv. That's what I usually do but if someone is in "my spot" then I will pick another one where I have some distance but can still see what I want to watch.0
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thankyou4thevenom wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »You have 4 possible options.
1.) Confront the person with words. "I'm sorry, can you please move to another treadmill? I don't want to get sick".
2.) Be passive agressive and turn around often giving them a disgusted look. Make sure to go "UGH, seriously?" under your breath for maximum effort.
3.) Move to another machine. (why not also give them the disgusted look at this point just because?)
4.) Complain to management at the gym that they are sick and spreading germs to everyone.
Option 5 is to just move without any of that passive aggressive stuff.
This.0 -
I have exercise induced asthma and cough often but I'm not going to fault someone for assuming I am and moving. When I'm in line at the store and I haven't unloaded my stuff I definitely move when the person in front or behind me is grossly ill. And sick or not I ALWAYS moved when there are open machines and someone just has to go right next to me. I like my space.0
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Move!
The karmic wheel is slow but sure. They'll get theirs!0
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