20 Gym Rules Everyone Should Know

We would like to give you the 20 most important gym rules that will help you rise up the popularity scale among your fellow gym-goers. 

Rule 1 - Clear back your weights

If you are already training with free weights, this is already a good step in the right direction. But don't ruin the respect you've undoubtedly already earned by leaving your weights lying around after use where they will only disturb others. Simply return them and you'll save yourself the scowls from other gym members.

Rule 2 - Take the disks off the rack

Anyone attempting maximum strength training will inevitably have to load the barbell with a lot of weight. After you have accomplished your heroic deeds, however, you should spare a thought for the other gym members and unload the bar. 

Rule 3 - Stop hoarding equipment

Even if it seems tempting, you should simply refrain from buying all the equipment for all the exercises you might want to do later in your workout. Be fair and make it possible for other athletes to train sensibly by only acquiring the appropriate equipment when you actually need it.

Rule 4 - Be nice

If you are still missing a weight plate to perform an exercise, you can undoubtedly go looking for it. However, if the object of your desire is being used by another exerciser, it is at least worth asking nicely when you can expect to be allowed to use the weight. 

Rule 5 - Give everyone enough space

As soon as you train with someone in the gym or share a piece of equipment with another person, it is important that you give your partner enough space so that he or she can perform a proper workout. Remember, if you don't feel comfortable training due to a lack of space, you won't work efficiently and may even increase your risk of injury.

Rule 6 - Keep your distance from the power rack

The last thing anyone working out on the power rack needs is low-flying traffic around the machine. Imagine you have a few kilograms on your back and are trying to do some clean squats while someone is constantly walking just centimetres past you. As you obviously don't find this pleasant either, you should also get out of the habit of this behavior.

Rule 7 - Leave people with headphones alone

Can you imagine that it makes sense for some athletes to wear headphones while training? They want to concentrate fully on every single repetition and certainly don't want to be disturbed by you. Just wait until they take their headphones off.

Rule 8 - Don't leave your stuff lying around everywhere

This rule doesn't really need any further explanation. Just make sure that you behave in the gym as if you were in your own living room. Of course, water bottles and towels aren't lying around everywhere, are they?

Rule 9 - Eliminate your sweat

Sweating is an inseparable part of training. Nevertheless, you should make sure that you remove your sweat from both the equipment and the machines once you have finished. After all, you don't want to train on equipment that is dripping with sweat.

Rule 10 - At least use the phone quietly

If you can't stop making business calls on the treadmill or bike ergometer, then at least do it quietly. It's best to leave your smartphone in your locker anyway.

Rule 11 - Don't be a drama queen

We all know those people who snort like half a herd of breeding bulls in the gym or let the weight crash to the floor after a heavy set, grunting loudly and melodramatically. Nobody in the gym is interested in your drama queen attitude. So, leave it alone and concentrate on your training like everyone else there.

Rule 12 - Be patient

If you want tips from more experienced athletes, you should first exercise patience and at least wait until they have finished their sentence before approaching them. Patience is a virtue that will be highly valued and will open many doors for you, especially with experienced athletes.

Rule 13 - Never be selfish

You've no doubt been annoyed at one time or another by recreational heroes who seem to have nothing better to do during training than take selfies for Facebook and Instagram while blocking the very device you need for minutes on end. It should be clear that you too can confidently avoid such behavior. 

Rule 14 - Put your smartphone away

We've already touched on the issue of cell phones, but it can't hurt to mention again that your smartphone actually belongs in your locker and not next to the weight bench. Objectively speaking, the risk of distracting yourself and others from your workout is simply too great.

Rule 15 - Weights are not hot potatoes

It makes sense that most of the house rules of the large gyms stipulate that training weights must be set down in an appropriate manner. There is also no special rule for you to treat weights like hot potatoes and simply drop them out of your hand after a set.

Rule 16 - Pay attention to hygiene

Of course, it can happen that you forget to wash your sports clothes, so that they are still in your sports bag the next day and you have to wear them twice. Apart from these exceptional situations, however, you should take care not to wear your sweaty clothes again.

Rule 17 - Don't spend too much time in front of the mirror

There are few things more annoying in the gym than contemporaries who have nothing better to do than pose for hours in front of the mirror to admire their chest, butt or biceps. It's perfectly legitimate to pose a little. However, too extensive sessions interfere with other athletes' training.

Rule 18 - Keep your opinion to yourself

If you see someone neglecting their technique and apparently risking their health in the process, you should keep your opinion to yourself and not run off like a tarantula to point out their mistakes. Alternatively, you should let a trainer know so that they can take care of it. This approach also reduces the likelihood of being glared at by an angry bull-neck.

Rule 19 - Bring water from home

The tap in the changing room is of course a wonderful way to fill up your water supply. However, especially at peak times, there are often long queues of waiting toilet users at the waxing pool, who certainly have better things to do than wait until you have filled your water bottle. It is therefore always better to stock up at home.

Rule 20 - We are not on Tinder

The gym is a place where people go to work out and develop physically. It's obvious that there are a whole host of attractive people in such a place, but that doesn't mean you should go looking for a partner. Keep that in mind.