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Covid-19 gym etiquette?
Kiefer_1
Posts: 21 Member
My gym has a policy (as it should) that you wipe down your equipment after use for the next person. But do you also wipe down all weights? Some people seem to be doing it, while others don’t wipe down smaller weights (5 and 10 lbs weights). What’s your take?
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Replies
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Weights are equipment, so yes, wipe down anything you touch.
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I would wipe down everything. The safer the better, and even if you personally are not concerned about COVID-19, it makes for a better atmosphere for everyone! To me, it should be seen as a common courtesy.3
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I wipe down everything before and after, even the pull up bar and stability ball. Wearing a mask throughout the entire workout is also good to do. It can be annoying to wear, but masks really don't affect performance.4
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Personally I wish people wiped down everything even in non covid times. Hands sweat too!7
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Do it and then get in and get out while the gettin' is good. Go home and blow the stink off. Take a shower. Swirl soap UP your nose and through your toes. Gargle. Brush your teeth. You're good to go.0
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Yes why not? You’d be more likely to contact germs from touching a weight bar or dumbbell than running on a treadmill. But if you have a question about the gym’s policy, ask the gym staff.1
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My gym is finally opening back up at limited capacity. It was clean before, but it's gonna be much cleaner now that members WHO DIDN'T normally wipe down weights, will now.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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I wipe down machines and barbells, but not weights.1
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I think you should wipe down EVERYTHING!! I even wipe the floor under me where I drop sweat.
It is my sincere hope that ifI somehow get this disease I will not make anyone else sick.3 -
This is why my home gym is perfect. I don’t have to worry about whether or not other people wiped anything down because it’s only my husband and I using it. 😊4
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I wipe down everything before and after. But there's still the same people who wipe down nothing. 🤯
Wearing a mask has not affected my performance, but there's a lot of people still not wearing them properly.2 -
Everything. Especially now.1
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I had one of these tricep/lat pulldown straps before Covid because someone had stolen the one my gym had that I used for face pulls.
Now I take it with me and use it for any sort of cable/pull down work. You just have to make sure the cable column and weigh pin and attachment point are clean. Your hands are gripping something you brought from home.
https://www.amazon.com/IPR-Fitness-Iso-Handle-PRO/dp/B01C3UHN3Q/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3LSB81YR64ZEZ&dchild=1&keywords=face+pull+strap&qid=1601585210&sprefix=face+pull+str,aps,186&sr=8-3&th=1&psc=10 -
Yeah, in my gym it was supposed to be a policy to wipe down all equipment, even weights, in non COVID times. Just seems like basic courtesy, if nothing else.1
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Theoldguy1 wrote: »I had one of these tricep/lat pulldown straps before Covid because someone had stolen the one my gym had that I used for face pulls.
Now I take it with me and use it for any sort of cable/pull down work. You just have to make sure the cable column and weigh pin and attachment point are clean. Your hands are gripping something you brought from home.
https://www.amazon.com/IPR-Fitness-Iso-Handle-PRO/dp/B01C3UHN3Q/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3LSB81YR64ZEZ&dchild=1&keywords=face+pull+strap&qid=1601585210&sprefix=face+pull+str,aps,186&sr=8-3&th=1&psc=1
I don’t see myself bringing my own equipment any time soon. But this raises another question: do you wipe down the pin as well as cables?
The consensus is clear, though: wipe down the weights 👍👍👍2 -
I don’t see myself bringing my own equipment any time soon. But this raises another question: do you wipe down the pin as well as cables?
The consensus is clear, though: wipe down the weights 👍👍👍
I wipe the weight stack pin and the adjustable slide (which also has a pin), don't touch the cables.
I have a small drawstring style bag I carry around with me at the gym that I put the strap in when not using it along with some rings/straps that I throw over a bar to do suspended pushups. The bag has a small side pocket that I put my car keys and phone in (after I get my music turned on) so I'm not touching those things in the gym.2 -
I don’t see myself bringing my own equipment any time soon. But this raises another question: do you wipe down the pin as well as cables?
The consensus is clear, though: wipe down the weights 👍👍👍
I would wipe down the pin if I touched it, which I usually do. I don't normally touch the actual cable (that seems potentially dangerous, even if the odds of the potential being realized are slim). I would wipe down the handle or strap or whatever sort of attachment I latched on, and the cable-side latch for the attachment, unless I didn't touch the latter because I used the same attachment as the person before me.1 -
Yes I'm a "weight wiper" (along with other touch points).
Struck me today that the touch points that don't get sprayed and wiped down are the spray bottles of sanitizer themselves.
Very happy with the preparation and routines at my gym, most gym sessions are limited to 50mins in the hour wth the other 10mins for the staff to clean up before the next session. The staff will intervene if people break the rules.
I did think that some customers were getting a bit careless as the infecton rate (in the UK) declined but the recent uptick has sharpened people's focus again.
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I wipe everything I touch. Even the weight collars and the J hooks on the squat rack. Most people at our gym do try to wipe everything. The staff go round cleaning things regularly and frequently mist all the equipment with disinfectant.
That said, the biggest favour you can do yourself is not to touch your face.2 -
Yes I'm a "weight wiper" (along with other touch points).
Struck me today that the touch points that don't get sprayed and wiped down are the spray bottles of sanitizer themselves.
Very happy with the preparation and routines at my gym, most gym sessions are limited to 50mins in the hour wth the other 10mins for the staff to clean up before the next session. The staff will intervene if people break the rules.
I did think that some customers were getting a bit careless as the infecton rate (in the UK) declined but the recent uptick has sharpened people's focus again.
Sounds like a great gym. Also forces you to focus on your workout with their 50 min limit!1 -
SnifterPug wrote: »I wipe everything I touch. Even the weight collars and the J hooks on the squat rack. Most people at our gym do try to wipe everything. The staff go round cleaning things regularly and frequently mist all the equipment with disinfectant.
That said, the biggest favour you can do yourself is not to touch your face.
Yes, I did hear that touching your face is a major risk factor.
Btw I love pugs 😄1 -
Everyone in my gym seems pretty good about wiping everything down after using it, everything but the door handle, which everyone touches.2
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The mask and that I do not have to use my own sanitizer are the two major differences for me. I wiped equipment down before and after, washed my hands often, and used hand sanitizer before starting, usually sometime in the middle, and once I got back to my car all pre-covid.
So now many people are as crazy as I once seemed. lol0 -
Yes I'm a "weight wiper" (along with other touch points).
Struck me today that the touch points that don't get sprayed and wiped down are the spray bottles of sanitizer themselves.
Our gym makes everyone take a spray bottle of disinfectant and a cleaning rag when you go in and you return it when you leave. I ASSUME the staff cleans the bottle as they refill and put it back on the "new bottle shelf". In any case there aren't as many different people touching a bottle in a close timeframe0 -
Yes I'm a "weight wiper" (along with other touch points).
Struck me today that the touch points that don't get sprayed and wiped down are the spray bottles of sanitizer themselves.
Our gym makes everyone take a spray bottle of disinfectant and a cleaning rag when you go in and you return it when you leave. I ASSUME the staff cleans the bottle as they refill and put it back on the "new bottle shelf". In any case there aren't as many different people touching a bottle in a close timeframe0 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »
Our gym makes everyone take a spray bottle of disinfectant and a cleaning rag when you go in and you return it when you leave. I ASSUME the staff cleans the bottle as they refill and put it back on the "new bottle shelf". In any case there aren't as many different people touching a bottle in a close timeframe
That approach seems a very sensible arrangement.
I'll feedback to my gym's management.
In my gym there's a spray bottle and paper towels for every marked out (and spaced out) exercise station for the customers to wipe down but the customers rotate around the different stations and other equipment. The staff go round in the ten minute break with cleaning fluid and wipes/cloths.
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This discussion has been closed.
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