Lifting etiquette

amyinthetardis1231

Hi all, I'm preparing to start Stronglifts 5x5 at my local gym. I've done at home body weight and light (10-15 lb) dumbbell work at home, but I'm really looking forward to lifting heavy. I've seen a number of threads on MFP poking fun at or complaining bitterly about people doing rude/offensive/clueless things in the weight section. I really don't want to see myself show up on one of these threads, and I try to be courteous in general, so I was hoping I could get some regular lifters to chime in with some general lifting etiquette that you appreciate in other gym-goers. What are the dos and don'ts? I realize it may seem like a dumb or obvious question, but given how many threads there are about people doing the wrong thing, it seems to be a widespread issue. Thanks in advance!

canadianlbs

well, curling in the squat rack probably not going to be your problem

idk; etiquette does get unavoidably awkward sometimes, but ime it's always been worst in the first couple of months of the year.

i think my own worst solecism is forgetting who i promised to signal when i'm done with a piece of equipment they want. working-in etiquette also gives me a bit of stress, when i've told someone i'd fetch them, and then someone else asks to work in . . . i always feel stressed and confused about what to do when i finish my own sets and mr worker-in-er is still there, so he's basically queue-jumped the person i promised it to.

clean up after yourself. that's the big universal always-true one for me. wipe what you touched, put your weights back - where they belong, not just any old where. and if someone does seem to be hovering or warming up for something you're using, it's always nice to catch their eye and just facilitate that 'how many sets' interchange so they'll know you know they're there and they can go fit something else in while they wait.

canadianlbs

also, yay that you're starting sl \o/ sorry, was a little distracted earlier.