# Obnoxious people at the gym **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 21, 2013, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-people-at-the-gym/653548 "2013-03-21T16:58:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-people-at-the-gym/653548/61 "2013-03-26T10:32:28Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > How big are you guys on wiping down the machines, benches and mats? > … > I was waiting on a mat the other day and this dude got up and left the mat, and I waited for him to come back to wipe but he never did. He’d been doing pushups and left a big ol sweat drop in the middle of the mat. > > I clean a lot of stuff before and after because I don’t trust that people have wiped it down. Especially during this wicked cold and flu season we’re hopefully now done with. Yuck. Sorry **ZipperJJ** , but this is one of the attitudes in the gym that annoys **me**. It is a gym, people get sweaty, it is only water, you will be having a shower anyway. I use a towel on gym gear and mats, because I do get really sweaty when I am really working out. But it isn’t going to hurt anyone. The situation that really got to me was in one of the circuit classes - lots of mat-based stations. The two women following me would use 15 seconds of their 45 flipping the mats because a couple of sweaty blokes had been on it (and I **was** using a towel, always do). And they weren’t particularly fresh, themselves. Then a new sign popped up insisting that everyone in the classes (i.e. sweaty blokes) needed to have a towel. And I didn’t see the ladies in question using towels after the sign arrived - apparently they didn’t sweat, they just glowed. ---
**Author:** ![amaguri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@amaguri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amaguri)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2013, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-people-at-the-gym/653548/62 "2013-03-27T18:34:29Z")
> [@si\_blakely](#): > > Sorry **ZipperJJ** , but this is one of the attitudes in the gym that annoys **me**. It is a gym, people get sweaty, it is only water, you will be having a shower anyway. > > I use a towel on gym gear and mats, because I do get really sweaty when I am really working out. But it isn’t going to hurt anyone. Of course I towel off gym equipment after I use it, but in most cases I don’t bother with the spray cleaner. I figure if anyone is that sensitive about it, they’re going to use the cleaner themselves, in which case you’ve just wasted 2x the paper/cleaner. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-people-at-the-gym/653548/63 "2013-03-27T18:46:22Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Well, I guess karma struck back because today some douchesquirt hogged a machine I was waiting to use for over 20 minutes, a portion of which he spent sitting there yakking on his cell phone. Welcome to the thread, shitbag. 😛 Truth be told, I guess I wouldn’t care about a 30 second conversation. But I never see those. I always see the people who settle down to _talk_. (Or the nice people who never answer their cell phones at all.) I am happy that I mainly go to the Y for swimming. Let’s see you bring your cell into the pool, bitches! ETA: Don’t take me up on that offer, please. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2013, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-people-at-the-gym/653548/64 "2013-03-27T18:55:21Z")
> [@si\_blakely](#): > > Sorry **ZipperJJ** , but this is one of the attitudes in the gym that annoys **me**. It is a gym, people get sweaty, it is only water, you will be having a shower anyway. > > I use a towel on gym gear and mats, because I do get really sweaty when I am really working out. But it isn’t going to hurt anyone. It can hurt someone. Sweat is not distilled, purified water. It contains your bacteria. And even if it was purified water, the water would encourage bacteria growth. There are many nasty infections you can get at the gym. The longer the equipment remains moist, the more the bacteria can bloom. And even if it was purified water free from bacteria, it’s still gross to come in contact with someone else’s bodily fluid. By wiping down the equipment, you prevent bacterial growth and make the equipment more pleasant for the next person. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-people-at-the-gym/653548/65 "2013-03-27T19:00:40Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > 😛 > > Truth be told, I guess I wouldn’t care about a 30 second conversation. But I never see those. I always see the people who settle down to _talk_. (Or the nice people who never answer their cell phones at all.) > > I am happy that I mainly go to the Y for swimming. Let’s see you bring your cell into the pool, bitches! > ETA: Don’t take me up on that offer, please. [Waterproof MP3 players](http://www.leisurepro.com/1/4/mp3-swimming-goggles) Granted, cell phones would be more difficult to waterproof but I’ll bet they’re coming. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-people-at-the-gym/653548/66 "2013-03-27T19:08:37Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > [Waterproof MP3 players](http://www.leisurepro.com/1/4/mp3-swimming-goggles) Those. Are. Awesome! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-people-at-the-gym/653548.md?page=3)