Nudity in Locker Rooms

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’ve recently started a daily swimming routine for exercise and general fitness. (If anyone wants to chime in with breaststroke or butterfly advice, feel free. I can’t do either worth a damn.) This means I’m regularly changing and showering in the locker room at my school’s rec center.

As a kid, I was never much of an athlete, so I never really learned the proper etiquette for being in locker rooms. I personally have no problem with nudity in the proper settings, but I’m not sure exactly what the unspoken ‘rules’ are for a men’s locker room. I see some folks walking around outside of showers without a thread or a care; others generally wear a towel. About the only times I actively prefer to skip the towel are when I’m weighing myself (to get an accurate measure) and when I’m using the swimsuit dryer.

So what’s the right way to go? Again, I don’t mind it either way, but I’m polite enough to not want to make others uncomfortable.

2

Don’t use the community hair dryers on your balls.

3

Don’t stare, especially if someone has a deformity or extremely large (or small) genitalia. Generally, go about your business as if no one else was in the locker room.

My curiosity: What’s the difference in ettiquette in womens’ locker rooms vs. mens’?

4

The rules are: don’t stare, don’t do things that would make people want to stare.

Me, I got with the towel when I’m not actively getting wet (i.e., walking into the showers, where there’s water spray). But I also don’t do that silly dance of trying to shimmy into underwear while wearing the towel, either.

Breaststroke is kind of hard to diagnose without some explanation of where your trouble is.

Butterfly, however, almost assuredly you are not getting your shoulders out of the water, and your stroke-kick timing is off.

If your shoulders are not out of the water when your arms are recovering (i.e., moving out of the water, back up front) then your arms will be underwater as they move forward, so basically you splash a bunch of water ahead and effectively push yourself back. Most kids get taught that is the way to do it, because their teachers are focusing too much on the concept of moving the arms, and not showing them how to do it. Practice by alternating laps, swimming butterfly one-armed – keep one arm straight forward, stroke with the other arm, and breathe to that side.

Timing the kick to the stroke is also important. Since you’re just doing this for exercise, you can get away with a one-beat kick – time your kick for when your arm stroke recovery begins. You should have just completed your underwater arm pull, your arms are about to come out of the water to recover, and you are about to take your breath. Your kick pushes your upper body up, allowing you to get your head up to breathe, and getting those shoulders out of the water.

Make sure you kick from the hips, not just from your knees, too. (that goes for any stroke, though)

5

There really is no wrong ettiquette as far as how much you have to wear. Some people are uptight about nudity, some aren’t. It seems to me like the older people are, the less they care. Basically don’t stare, and if you sit down, sit on a towel.

You do occasionally see guys who appear to be intentionally exhibitionist (usually the same ones that are blow drying their sacks), but they can be ignored.

6

I have been swimming off and on for fitness for about a year and a half now, and had the same thought when I first started. I quickly realized that as long as you generally kept to yourself, no one really cared about your choice in toweling application. In your setting it may be a little different, depending on the age mix, as generally those using the YMCA facility I freqent are either 30-40 y.o. professionals that use their lunch break to swim, or 65+ retirees trying to stay fit. I would seriously just do what feels comfortable for you, and be low key about it.

As far as techniques goes, I have heard the butterfly is really tough to learn as an adult, since the dolphin kick is fairly un-natural. The breststroke is not too bad though, especially once you learn the proper kick technique. There are actually some fairly informative vids on youtube for this. Either way, it is great, great exercise with little joint impact.

7

I think it’s probably about the same. To each her own, whether changing clothes in a locked bathroom stall or drying her hair stark naked. I’ve noticed that, at least among friends, it sometimes takes one person to set the bar. So if one girl doesn’t mind changing in front of the others, neither do the rest, but if someone makes a big deal about turning her back or going behind a curtain, the rest will follow suit. Just an observation.

8

Well, as you know, some people lay it all out for everyone to see, some (like me) hide in the corner.

You’ll want to do what is right for YOU. If that means changing under a towel, go for it, no one’s going to care.

Basically, don’t stare. And try to be courteous of the people close to you - don’t crowd their space, and if the person who has the locker next to you comes in, for heavens sake, move over a bit to help let them in.

9

I stay as covered as possible in locker rooms. Mostly because I hate how heavy I’ve become and hate having people see it. Especially people who are in really good shape.

10

Agree with Lightray’s butterfly advice. I think getting the timing and technique on the kick is crutial. Both fly and brest - heck, every stroke - can be greatly improved with a just little expert advice by someone who can see you do it. Not really necessary for general fitness though.

Locker room nudity - Full on, hairy and fat, male nudity is the norm in a pool locker room. While I tend to avoid walking around without at least a towel, some guys seem to treat the place like a huge, well, locker room. They shave nude, stroll over to the bathroom area, then to the sauna. So your level of nudity should be up to you.

Etiquette rules I wish everyone followed:

Dry off before you visit the locker area and before you sit down on the benches. It’s annoying to stand in puddles when dressing and worse to sit in puddles. So don’t put your wet bathing suit or wet body where others will be sitting.

Please don’t stand so that your equipment hangs right in front of my face while I’m sitting on a bench. 'nuf said.

Do you want to sit on a bench where my bare ass has been? Do you like seeing the wet outline of a guys ass, complete with stray hairs, on a seat just before you sit down? Yeah, I don’t either.

What? You’ve never seen 3 inches before? Don’t stare. But you knew that already.

Lastly, that thing I’ve seen a couple guys do, where they take a rag or washcloth, squat down and saw the cloth back and forth over their crotch like they are trying to saw themselves in half. Yeah, that - please don’t do that. It’s OK to keep one or two cleaning techniques just for your shower at home.

11

-Don’t crack jokes unless its your friend.
-Staring is rude.
-No grabbassing at all.
-Don’t spend an inordinate amount of time lathering the cocknballs. Unless you are alone in the shower, of course.
-Talking to another naked guy is more acceptable the better you know him.
-Walking from the shower to the locker naked is weird. Put a towel on.
-Conversely, keeping the towel on at all times in order to prevent anyone from having the slightest glimpse of your manhood is just as weird, I.e. the put the towel on then snake the underwear off underneath it gambit. We’re all guys. We know what a cock looks like. Its no big deal.
But, public showers don’t bother me at all. being lined up with 80 other naked guys to walk through the showers in boot camp gets you over that sort of thing real quick.

12

I think it’s the same, although you will find women who turn toward the wall while changing so their breasts aren’t on view.

I think there’s an understood reciprocal modesty…I won’t look while you’re changing into your sports bra, and you don’t look while I’m slipping into my bathing suit.

13

Don’t the women ever help dry each other off, or help each other undress?

14

Yeah, for the most part. But then when we’re doing that it sometimes tickles and we get into a tickle fight and the whole place just erupts into giggle fits and jiggling boobies.

15

Former butterflyer checking in here…I suggest doing arm circles (arms straight and moving them in windmill like circles) to loosen up your shoulder area before even entering the pool. You need shoulder flexibility and strength to do butterfly; it is perhaps the most technical stroke of them all, but it certainly looks the coolest. I suggest private lessons with perhaps a high school or local college swimmer (lifeguards and the like often aren’t competitive, so they won’t have as sound of coaching advice). If you’re not quite ready to make the plunge, perhaps peruse youtube for some videos initially. But I must emphasize that it’s much better to learn the proper technique with a few lessons and then refine them on your own, than to pick up bad habits and attempt to correct them later with lessons.

Perhaps post a sheet asking for help with an email address (like when people sell items and have small tear-away contact info at the bottom of the page.

16

Right. That’s how I pictured it. Thanks for the confirmation and please nobody ruin it.

17

The rule of thumb in locker rooms is to pretend that nothing out of the ordinary is happening and that being there is the most natural thing in the world.
Breaststroke timing is important, there are three seperate phases, kick, glide, and pull. A common mistake is to try to pull too soon after the kick, this makes the stroke choppy. Also try to use a kickboard and practicing just your kick. Almost all of the power in the stroke is the kick, if you have a weak kick you will have a tough time with the stroke.

18

Eh, no need to post bulletin-board pleas for help – just sidle up to a good swimmer while they’re gasping for breath in the shallow end, and ask for some advice. Even a surly swimmer (like, me) is usually happy to talk technique and share pointers.

So… sort of like when we guys help oil each other’s taut, sweaty bodies up for lockerrom Turkish wrestling? Except with less grunting and ass-grabbing, presumably…

19

WRT locker rooms, and the gym in general, I wish a certain subset of the male population would get it through their heads that they are in a paid-membership gym, not high school football. Conversations bellowed across the gym disturb the other members. Conversations bellowed in the echoey locker room make the other members want to strangle you with a length of razor wire.

20

I don’t bother covering up on my way to the shower; that would involve drying off with the same towel I had wrapped around my sweaty ass. I tend not to use a sink/urinal/or toilet nude unless several other guys are already doing. Group shower etiquette is the same as urinal etiquette; don’t look down and try to keep one or two showerheads between you and the next guy unless it’s really crowded. Never let your bare feet touch the floor (or bare ass touch a bench).