Question: Do you wipe down Barbells at the gym?

Josalinn
Josalinn Posts: 1,066 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
....I currently do this, but I started thinking about the bars being damp and someone dropping the weight and hurting themselves.

However reading all the posts about people not re-racking their weights and how it is just gym etiquette had me wondering about wiping them down too. I find it interesting because it isn't like I was handed a booklet saying "Gym Etiquette" when I joined, and everyone gets super testy on the forums about people having bad gym manners.

Generally I go with being polite and the "leave things better than you found them" mentality that the Girl Scouts drilled into my head.
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Replies

  • craftywitch_63
    craftywitch_63 Posts: 829 Member
    I wipe down barbells, weight machines, treadmills, ellipticals, anything that I touch. I don't want to put my hands in the crud that others have on their hands, why would they want to put their hands on the crud that I had on mine?:sick:
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    no, i don't.
  • 1pandabear
    1pandabear Posts: 336 Member
    Josalinn you are nice. I just wipe down wherever I left sweat- seats, bars and handles included. We have spray bottles and towels supplied at my Y. There used to be signs about wiping up after use, but the signs weren't put back up after the remodel. A lot of clients don't clean up. The trainers go around cleaning in their spare time which helps. Clients don't re-rack either. I didn't know it was etiquette until I read it here.
  • spoiledpuppies
    spoiledpuppies Posts: 675 Member
    Nope, but I wipe my hands down occasionally for my own benefit. (I also wipe down most cardio machines before I use them, as well as after.)
  • player30
    player30 Posts: 65 Member
    I wipe everything I touch or sit on.
  • EHisCDN
    EHisCDN Posts: 480 Member
    I don't wipe down the actual barbell, and I've never seen anyone else do it either. The signs at my gym just say to wipe down seats, benches etc so that's what I do.

    Looking at other people's responses has me questioning whether it is proper gym etiquette to do so though :S

    ETA: Barbells are the only thing I don't wipe down, just to clarify. I wipe down the entire stationary bike when I use it (seat, handles, screen etc).
  • SJ46
    SJ46 Posts: 407 Member
    The only things I see people wipe down at the gym are cardio equipment, mats, and sometimes benches/seats. I have never seen anyone wipedown a barbell, kettlebell, or a dumbbell.

    My answer is no.
  • j6o4
    j6o4 Posts: 871 Member
    No, thats like wiping down a dumbbell after using it.
  • Josalinn
    Josalinn Posts: 1,066 Member
    No, thats like wiping down a dumbbell after using it.

    I do that:embarassed:
  • Raasy
    Raasy Posts: 972 Member
    I wipe down everything I workout on, from cardio machines to dumbells.. I don't want to be leaving nasty sweat on things.
    The only time I don't actually wipe down a barbell or dumbell is when I have my workout gloves on, but I do wash my gloves occasionally!!

    I don't see a lot of people that do wipe stuff down these days, but I do think its the proper thing to do..
  • Gwyn1969
    Gwyn1969 Posts: 181 Member
    If I'm training sick, I think it's common courtesy to wipe the barbell after I use it. Otherwise, no.
  • Joehenny
    Joehenny Posts: 1,222 Member
    This is the funniest thing I've heard all day. Probably a bit dangerous though.
  • canadjineh
    canadjineh Posts: 5,396 Member
    One word - gloves. Then throw them in the wash often.
  • trojan_bb
    trojan_bb Posts: 699 Member
    I've never heard of anyone wiping down a barbell or dumbbell before.

    Frankly, I hate the idea. I hope this doesn't gain acceptance or become widespread. It's a gym. A place of iron and sweat. Not a sterilized hospital operating room.

    I'd also be pissed if I was about to use a barbell and it was even slightly damp from a wipe.
  • Arranna1212
    Arranna1212 Posts: 143 Member
    I only wipe down anything I get really sweaty.. like the tread mill or elliptical. Unless I'm the last person leaving the gym for the night, then I wipe down everything that I use before I leave. Seats, dumbbells, barbells...
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
    The only time I do is after I've been doing deads, and only to get the chalk residue off. All the trainers and the gym manager know I chalk up, but as long as I clean up after myself, they don't say a word to me about it.
  • Madner70
    Madner70 Posts: 3 Member
    No. There's no need to wipe down barbells unless you have sweaty hands. I have never picked up a sweaty barbell in nearly two decades of regularly lifting weights at public gyms and have not seen anyone wipe down barbells.
  • edwardkim85
    edwardkim85 Posts: 438 Member
    Wiping itself with the towel alone doesn't really kill any bacterias or germs.
  • Josalinn
    Josalinn Posts: 1,066 Member
    So the gist I am getting is buy some gloves, wash them and don't wipe down the barbells. Will add gloves to shopping list!



    (btw your piglet profile pic is adorable!)
  • lauramblair
    lauramblair Posts: 74 Member
    Wiping itself with the towel alone doesn't really kill any bacterias or germs.

    Exactly.. So is the goal just to remove sweat? Or those who wipe down cardio machines - are you saying you wipe before or after you use? Or both? Are you talking Clorox wipe to disinfect? Or just a towel to remove moisture?
  • archaichoney
    archaichoney Posts: 132 Member
    I've never seen anyone wipe down barbells or dumb bells in my gym. I don't do it either.
  • Roadie2000
    Roadie2000 Posts: 1,801 Member
    If I'm using the bench press I'll wipe down the bench and then maybe wipe the bar really quick. If I'm doing deadlifts or using dumbells I don't go out of my way to wipe them down every time.
  • sjbtiger
    sjbtiger Posts: 105 Member
    Wiping itself with the towel alone doesn't really kill any bacterias or germs.

    Exactly.. So is the goal just to remove sweat? Or those who wipe down cardio machines - are you saying you wipe before or after you use? Or both? Are you talking Clorox wipe to disinfect? Or just a towel to remove moisture?

    The YMCA where I workout has lots of paper towels and spray bottles with disinfectant spray around the gym. When I finish with a treadmill, I go and grab a paper towel and the spray bottle and wipe down everything I've touched. I don't bother cleaning it beforehand, just want to leave it clean for the next person.

    I do not wipe down dumbbells or barbells and have never seen anyone do so.

    I do wipe off the bench/seat/pads.
  • JTick
    JTick Posts: 2,131 Member
    I don't wipe down barbells or dumbbells. I'll wipe down benches since they get back/butt sweat on them, and always wipe down cardio machines. I do make sure not to touch my face with my hands when I'm at the gym, and use hand santizer or wash my hands as soon as I'm done lifting before I leave.
  • Galatea_Stone
    Galatea_Stone Posts: 2,037 Member
    I don't wipe down barbells for the same reason I don't wipe down all doorknobs or handles everywhere I go. We can't live in a germ-free world, so...

    I do wipe off machines whether it looks like I sweat on it or not. I don't really want anyone to have to sit on or lean into my sweat. There's spray all over our gym for that purpose.
  • SJ46
    SJ46 Posts: 407 Member
    So the gist I am getting is buy some gloves, wash them and don't wipe down the barbells. Will add gloves to shopping list!



    (btw your piglet profile pic is adorable!)

    If you are getting gloves to protect your hands from the un-wiped weights at the gym I'm not sure how that is going to help. I would think the fabric of the gloves would hold onto bacteria whereas you could easily wash your hands after lifting. Not to mention, they are fingerless.

    If you are worried about it be sure to wash your hands before you stick your fingers in your mouth, nose, or eyes and you should be fine!
  • MB2MN
    MB2MN Posts: 334 Member
    I've never heard of anyone wiping down a barbell or dumbbell before.

    Frankly, I hate the idea. I hope this doesn't gain acceptance or become widespread. It's a gym. A place of iron and sweat. Not a sterilized hospital operating room.

    I'd also be pissed if I was about to use a barbell and it was even slightly damp from a wipe.

    This. Some people are so scared of germs and cooties or whatever, but theres really no way around it so you may as well just accept it at the gym. You'll end up healthier than if you sat on your butt in your "germ-free" house.
  • Deathlylooks
    Deathlylooks Posts: 18
    I wipe down everything and make sure I scrub my hand when I leave - gyms are terrible for spreading germs
  • a_stronger_me13
    a_stronger_me13 Posts: 812 Member
    I only wipe down anything I use that has a seat or back rest. Pretty much the only time I would wipe down a barbell or a pull up bar is if I tore my hands open and was bleeding. Or if the knurling has become excessively chalky and ineffective, then the bar needs a good cleaning probably beyond what I can do with a paper towel and some watered down disinfectant.
  • BranMuffin86
    BranMuffin86 Posts: 314 Member
    I wipe them down when I use them for squats and I know I dripping sweat. Other than that I don't.

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