Has hygiene ever put you off from going to the cheaper chain gyms e.g. Pure Gym or The Gym Group?
Posted by razza357@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 141 comments
I used to go to one of The Gym Group gyms frequently but stopped working out for a while. I've recently become a member of one of The Gym Group gyms near me and they don't provide disinfectant spray and towels any more.
How are people meant to wipe the equipment down before and/or after use???
I had a chat with the gym manager and he said that I should bring my own wipes if I want to wipe equipment down.
Isn't that just disgusting?
I think it might be time to look into more expensive gyms with better hygiene.
TeaSlurpingBrit@reddit
Literally dgaf. Why's everyone so afraid of germs??
earthworm_express@reddit
I used to work for a high end, premium gym chain.
People would shit in the hot tubs. People would shit in the steam room. People would throw piss on the coals in the saunas. People would daily shit in the showers, sometimes people would prise open the soap dispensers and put a log in there.
The women were often worse than the men.
If you don’t like the idea of sweat, gyms are a bad idea, but that should be the least of your worries!
Inevitable-Butt-Bug@reddit
The fuck did I just read
skkrrtskkrt@reddit
I do that all the time it turns me on
GreatBigBagOfNope@reddit
Everything is about sex
Except sex
Sex is about power
Quinlov@reddit
You know power
It's just sex
You screw me and I'll screw you too
rmulberryb@reddit
There is only one thing standing between sex and fear. Fünf
9thGearEX@reddit
Everything is about shitting in the soap dispenser.
Except shitting in the soap dispenser.
Shitting in the soap dispenser is about power.
skkrrtskkrt@reddit
No way people actually thought I was being serious with this comment? 😭
Inevitable-Butt-Bug@reddit
I think they’re just too horrified! Like “Nah mate, that’s a step too far…”
butchbadger@reddit
sometimes people would prise open the soap dispensers and put a log in there
9thGearEX@reddit
I didn't want to read it twice.
Poo_Poo_La_Foo@reddit
Big-Finding2976@reddit
Damn! I thought it was bad in McDonalds when I worked there, but it was never that bad.
razza357@reddit (OP)
Those people should be in prison! Thanks
Larvesta_Harvesta@reddit
They might already be, if they existed
CptFlwrs@reddit
In my personal experience the more expensive the gym the worse the behaviour has been.
Someone spitting a glob of phlegm onto the floor in the steam room has been a David Lloyd highlight.
earthworm_express@reddit
I thought they were joking when they told me, but then every site manager had a surprise shit story!
hyperrayong@reddit
That's crazy. I worked in two local and very cheap gyms and never saw anything of the sort. People were generally very well behaved and it was a pretty easy but boring job.
pm_me_your_amphibian@reddit
Wow. I don’t know what else to say.
rmulberryb@reddit
So they probably stopped supplying disinfectants because people weren't using it. Just bring your own. Yes, it sucks. Is principle more important than hygiene to you? Does the price of wipes add up to what a more expensive gym would cost? Is there any guarantee that a pricey gym that seems clean is actually clean? Gyms are gross. Supermarkets are gross. Public toilets are gross. Don't get me started on hospitals, I just spent 7 months in hospital/rehab, and lemme tell you people shit sideways on purpose and cleaners don't clean it. The world is drenched in fecal matter. Bring wipes.
No_Sign6616@reddit
Spray and towells in gyms only really became a thing during covid. Before then it was not unusual to need to take your own towell to wipe off sweat.
Even_Menu_3367@reddit
Sorry, no. I’ve been using gyms since the late 80’s and there were always towels and wipes.
sc00022@reddit
I was going to The Gym in 2013 and they were big on wiping equipment down and provided paper towels all over the gym. Rejoined this year and surprised there’s nothing available to wipe machines down or even disinfect my hands. Probably a cost-saving thing.
razza357@reddit (OP)
Isn't it disgusting! They were so much cleaner back during the 2010s.
Remote-Pool7787@reddit
No, they just had a notion of cleanliness. Paper towels, which are highly porous, do not make anything clean. They are also likely kept unwrapped in some dusty, unventilated cleaning cupboard before being put in dispensers Avoid touching your face whilst you’re in the gym and wash your hands properly when you finish working out
IAM_THE_LIZARD_QUEEN@reddit
Also I don't recall seeing cleaning spray in any gyms pre-COVID anyway, in any gyms tbh. Sometimes there'd be paper towels but the general expectation in my experience was to bring your own towel and just wipe up after yourself.
_Acg45@reddit
It's strange, I've had the complete opposite experience
IAM_THE_LIZARD_QUEEN@reddit
Wait you're saying people removed cleaning products during COVID?
_Acg45@reddit
Not exactly. I think I had been to 6 gyms pre covid that all had cleaning materials, but the 2 I used since covid both haven't.
AnonymousBanana7@reddit
If you're worried about hygiene you should be far more concerned about touching with your hands, not what you're sitting on.
On that note, if you're wiping down with a towel, it's not actually cleaning anything. Your manky towel is accumulating microbes from not only your arse, but also the arse of everyone else that's used that equipment since it was last properly disinfected.
You're then handling equipment with the same hands that have handled your manky arse towel.
holdonpenfold@reddit
Absolutely not true, been going to gyms for years- 2006 onwards and there was always cleaning stations with spray bottles and blue roll, this was in a few different gyms and none of them expensive ones. However, I did leave pure gym a few years ago when they got rid of their cleaning areas because they told me 'covid isn't a thing anything'. I didn't wipe stuff down because of COVID.
Quinlov@reddit
Lol when I tear a callous usually there's another one underneath ready to go
leobrodie@reddit
I go to the local council gym have done since on and off for 15 years now and they've always had anti bac wipes in dispensers for wiping down equipment so not a covid thing where I'm from.
dank4000@reddit
Same at my local pure gym. Not a germ phone but it’s rank - basic part of the service imho.
porspeling@reddit
I run outside. I go hiking. I sweat myself. I shower after any exercise. Im not scared of a bit of other peoples sweat in the gym to be honest.
Breadmash@reddit
I'm in the same boat - honestly a bit of exposure to some sweat on machine handles/surfaces is probably what I'd consider to be "building my natural immunity" So long as the establishment has a wipe down regiment of once a day or so.
My gym clothes get washed, shorts last two sessions, tops last one session, so I'm not exactly stewing in strangers sweat.
Just_Eat_User@reddit
Shorts last two sessions?
Breadmash@reddit
Yeah - they'll get a sniff test between sessions, but typically I am wearing underwear or undershorts that will get replaced per session - my shorts rarely have any signs of sweat or odour after session 2, I just swap them out regardless.
heartpassenger@reddit
Tbh it’s not sweat I find gross, it’s MRSA, fungal skin infections like ringworm, impetigo, warts, herpes etc… all can exist on the hands and come into contact with the surfaces.
I don’t fret too hard though, I bring a towel with me and wipe down surfaces before and after, although I don’t sanitise them.
I don’t touch my phone or my face before I’ve washed my hands. Once I’ve done that I’m all good. 👍
TeflonBoy@reddit
You and catch MRSA and herpes from gym equipment?
avalanchefan95@reddit
I don't think you get herpes from gym equipment but MRSA? Yes.
I_ALWAYS_UPVOTE_CATS@reddit
You can if you're a teenager and need to tell your parents about it.
Personal_Stranger_52@reddit
Of course you can’t
NoLove_NoHope@reddit
I’m sure I’ve caught norovirus from the gym a couple of times. I’m super paranoid about it, especially in the winter.
WVA1999@reddit
Ooh you're hard
WVA1999@reddit
Edit: jesus christ it's a David Brent quote
Weak-Employer2805@reddit
gimp
LaSalsiccione@reddit
Likewise. I’m a bit of a germaphobic excessive hand washer but I don’t care if people wipe down equipment, I just sanitise my hands and shower throughly at the end.
Flashy-Ambition4840@reddit
Oh buddy, i have a puregym membership and let me tell you that there are pleeeeenty of people who stink up 2-3m amin a radius around them way before they start sweating.
concretepigeon@reddit
I’ve never noticed anything visibly sweaty. I don’t lick the equipment. I clean myself after I’ve been in the gym. I have a reasonable amount of faith in my body’s natural defences to disease.
Akash_nu@reddit
I’ve been going gym consistently since last 15-20 years without break and I have been regular to both the chains you’ve mentioned here.
Although majority of the people attending this type of gym are not worried about germs etc I find the most of them to be clean enough except for the toilet and shower rooms and that’s why I try to avoid using them.
Rude-Possibility4682@reddit
One of my old gyms..it was pretty high end,but closed just after covid. I went to use the shower,and there were the remains of a half cooked chicken in the cubicle. Showed the manager,and all he said..'those bloody weightlifters again'..so must have been a regular occurrance!
BadMachine@reddit
bloody weightlifters, always eating half-cooked chicken in the showers!
DisneyBounder@reddit
I don't really fret whether other members of the public have wiped down lift buttons, trolleys, traffic light buttons, cash, clothes in shops, handrails, train buttons, vending machines.....
If the machines and weights are VISIBLY dripping with someone else's sweat, then yes it's pretty gross and you should be wiping down the equipment after use. But my local Gym Group gym had cleaning staff constantly going around wiping things down, sweeping floors and generally keeping it clean. You're going to encounter much dirtier things outside of the gym, so I wouldn't fret too much.
Ok-Kitchen2768@reddit
I wash my gym clothes and wash my hands after the gym. Nothing else I can do. It's not like I'm naked and I have never used the gym equipment assuming it was clean before... I always wiped it down after using it but never before because I just didn't think it would make a difference.
It was weird when I went looking for the cleanser in the gym group because I wipe it down out of etiquette... Guess not anymore. It's shit but never been an issue for me because I know it's dirty regardless.
Dunny2k@reddit
Just shower when you get home?
GenericBrowse@reddit
Do you want to sit/lie in another person's sweat pool that's been left on the seat/bench?
PuzzleheadedLow4687@reddit
Do you ever sit on bus seats, park benches, cafe seats, taxi seats, cinema or theatre seats etc? How is the gym different to any of these?
Soblemish@reddit
Given that I'll be wearing old clothes that will be wet/damp with my own sweat, it's not something that bothers me.
On any given day I'll be inhaling and touching God knows what bacteria, viruses, chemicals, pollution, exhaust fumes, etc. anyway.
AnonymousBanana7@reddit
Who gives a fuck really? It's a gym, people sweat, it's not going to kill you.
Dunny2k@reddit
Doesn’t really bother me as I’ll be showering when home anyway. You’re still getting germs on you no matter what unless you plan on bleaching everything you touch at the gym 🤷♂️
MrPogoUK@reddit
I’ve never seen any equipment left visibly sweaty, so as far as I’m concerned any lack of cleanliness is no worse than any other public place.
_ShredBundy@reddit
Same.
Hardly ever see anyone properly sweating in the gym. The ones that do, have a towel with them anyway.
st433@reddit
After being a member of virgin active I cam assure you that hygiene isn't dependant on the price of a membership. The changing rooms were terribly kept. Puregym or 'the Gym' I've found to be far cleaner, at least in my experience!
stealth941@reddit
Went to the gym group and it's wild the disparity between that, private and higher chain gyms.
Not a cleaner in site, facilities weren't clean, nothing to wipe equipment.
Only thing going for them is the man trap system
LastofAcademe@reddit
The issue I had going to The Gym Group wasn't the hygiene, so much as they just never seemed to repair any of the equipment.
orsonhodged@reddit
I’m a member of PureGym and a high end local gym - at both, I see people wiping down the equipment on their own accord. PureGym does have spray and paper towels.
I genuinely don’t think higher end gyms would necessarily wipe down the equipment more frequently either - I attend classes at the luxury gym and they ask attendees to wipe down the set before they leave. However staff don’t check, nor do they have cleaners on hand to do it. There’s certainly a possibility you’re using unwiped equipment there. Again they have spray and paper towels on hand.
I also wash my hands before and after using certain machines as the changing rooms are nearby. Personally I never get ill and therefore never had anything that could be attributed to the gym.
YSOSEXI@reddit
No, but it put me off from going to the gym with a friend... I caught him retching on the running machine, I thought he was having a heart attack. "you ok"? "yeah, it's my armpits"...... ...He was retching because of his own armpits.....
ToriaLyons@reddit
There was a chain of council-owned gyms in North London that I used to go to. Can't remember the name. The cleanliness in the swimming areas was dire. As a former pool attendant, I knew they weren't cleaning enough I was even on the customer panel for over a year, to no avail. Gave up and went elsewhere.
MagnificentBollocks@reddit
I went swimming once in Brent and I was wretching at the sight of what was in that water. Like strings of snot. I got out.
Fun-Anteater-2771@reddit
Was probably spunk, even worse
LagerBitterCider197@reddit
Probably Better Gym
DukeofMemeborough@reddit
Been going to The Gym for the last 4 years now. When I joined at the tail end of Covid there were loads of paper towel dispensers and spray bottles. Then around 1.5-2 years ago they reduced the paper towels and eventually got rid entirely. There is SOMETIMES a bottle of disinfectant spray kicking around but that’s about it. It was a bit annoying at first, especially as I tend to sweat quite a bit and like to clean up after myself, but I’m kind of used to it now. I try as best as I can to wipe with my towel (and use the spray if I can). Tbf it’s never done me any harm - I always use hand sanitiser afterwards in the car and shower as soon as I get home.
itsableeder@reddit
I've been a member of The Gym Group and now JD and honestly it's infuriating. They all put cleaning stations out after everything opened up again post-lockdown and then one day decided that they'd just get rid of them.
I bring a small spray bottle and spare towel in my gym bag and wipe everything down before and after I use it.
Split-Lost@reddit
At £24 a month in z2 London I can put up with no sanitiser
No-Communication2985@reddit
As long as I'm not touching others wet sweat literally, I'm good with it. I swear a lot but my gym provides antibac wipes or spray and blue roll.
I sweat a lot, and I mean a lot when I work out at the gym. I always try and wipe down best I can but most people just jump straight on that machine anyway so don't think they're bothered.
Ok_Builder_3416@reddit
I’ve used the gym group and I like it. Just wash your hands after. Bring your own towel.
wearezombie@reddit
Puregym was pretty good in 2021 and 2022 thanks to that weird period where there were no lockdowns and likely never again but hygiene was still the done thing. Cleaning stations with spray and paper towels, hand sanitiser, soap in the dispensers, distance between equipment. Then 2023ish they decided hygiene wasn’t cool anymore and binned the cleaning stations and hand sanitiser, forgot to refill the soap and brought out some treadmills that I assume had been in storage to fill the gaps from the previous social distancing. They were stored terribly and hadn’t been cleaned during or since being stored, because they all had mould on the screens and tracks. That was the day I cancelled my membership for good!
zippyzebra1@reddit
🤣🤣
Useless_or_inept@reddit
A hundred other reasons for avoiding puregym, but not hygiene.
Although the only time I ever saw a cleaner in puregym, it was 10 minutes into a treadmill session and somebody turned off the machine saying "You're sweating. I don't want to clean that up".
To be honest I really want to go to the gym to have an actual workout, do some weights, do some cardio, get sweaty, then go home. No concerns about other people who do the same thing. But puregym seems to be full of people who have different priorities. Hygiene isn't an issue for the puregym guys who spend an hour sitting on a bench surrounded by dumbbells, scrolling through their phone, and staring at any women who walk by.
dolphininfj@reddit
PureGym provides a cleaning station with spray and paper towels. They also have a cleaner circulating - at least during the daytime. But overall, if you want fancy, then you have to pay fancy prices. It also depends on what you want from your experience. If a swimming pool, sauna and steam room are important then you obviously have to go to an expensive gym. If you're just into weights, cardio and classes, then PureGym is as good as any.
Financial-Couple-836@reddit
I wish my local PureGym had a full time cleaner it definitely needs one. The members could also treat it a lot better than they do eg put rubbish in the bin instead of just dropping it on the floor.
MagicNumber47@reddit
My PureGym doesn't have a cleaning station :(.
SigourneyReap3r@reddit
Yes my pure gym has a circulating cleaner that goes as far as to put up warnings to turn off machines in rotationfor a clean every day.
Trainers are also seen wiping down equipment.
Cleaner and tidier than the David Lloyd I used to frequent.
NecroVelcro@reddit
I told a friend to wipe down the cross trainer he'd been on before we left the gym today. He did do it but not before saying "It's not the law anymore!" He's a nice bloke in the main but he's not the brightest.
CaveJohnson82@reddit
They don't offer that in David Lloyd, or not my one, and they don't even ask that equipment is wiped off. So not sure it's just the cheap ones!
CptFlwrs@reddit
They have the spray at ours. It is also a proper state though so not that it matters.
Low-Understanding119@reddit
Nah, we never had disinfectant spray or wipes before covid. Old school used to be bring your own towel to lie on equipment for this exact reason! I don’t go to a cheap gym anymore because the lighting sucks, the people are too young and the vibe is off lol.
newtonbase@reddit
I keep my hands away from my face and my clothes go in the wash when I get home. Phone gets a wipe down and I clean my bottle inside and out. Haven't got cooties yet.
Flat_Development6659@reddit
I've spent a good chunk of my free time in gyms over the past decade+ and it's just never really crossed my mind. I very rarely get ill and if I was going to get ill it'd be more likely from grappling or something where I'm up close and personal with someone rather than getting a bit of their sweat on my body after they've got up from a bench.
Just get a shower afterwards and you'll be sound.
Blue-Oyster-Cunt@reddit
Definitely worth washing your hands as soon as you finish working out/before you go to the toilet. I got molluscum contagion on my dick from the gym.
NecktieNomad@reddit
Username… linked?
Mavericks7@reddit
I agree with you, what are people thinking will happen.
You go in your gym gear, which you're going to throw in the laundry afterwards, you're going to have a shower afterwards.
Just don't lick the dumbbells and you'll be ok.
V65Pilot@reddit
But what if the dumbbells like it?
Mavericks7@reddit
In that case 2 licks, otherwise you'll have to buy it dinner
Cultural-Eggplant592@reddit
I don't even think about it. It's a gym, it's dirty. I'm not going to lick anything.
boompoppp@reddit
To everyone saying: don’t touch your face and shower when you get home, make sure you’re washing your hands before you use the toilet whilst you’re there.. I work in healthcare and will always do that now. This feels like a similar gross bodily fluid type situation.
peekachou@reddit
I go to snap fitness and they still have the wipes and sprays
PopeBald@reddit
I used to wipe down equipment after I’d finished. After being horrified by the amount of people leaving toilet cubicles in the changing rooms without washing their hands, I now wipe down equipment before use.
littlenymphy@reddit
Pre-Covid I don’t think any gyms provided disinfectant spray for customers - you were told to bring a towel to wipe up after.
Although now I don’t see anyone using towels to wipe anything whenever I’m at the gym.
I take my own little towel and will wipe up any sweat I leave behind and I have some disinfectant hand spray I use once I’ve finished my workout.
Gab288@reddit
I’m not that fussed tbh, I shower after anyway.
Datnick@reddit
After 10 years of trying out various gyms, I've never seen anything "unhygienic" to the point of being put off by it. Pure gyms are really bad at re racking weights which bothers me a lot more.
627UK@reddit
Mine or theirs?
randumspike@reddit
Yeah hygiene is a major concern for me. At my pure gym they still have sanitiser and paper towels but I don't see anyone using them, only me.
MattyLePew@reddit
I’ve been going to gyms consistently for around 4 years now. It definitely bothered me to start with, but I couldn’t care less anymore unless a bit of kit is visibly covered in somebody else’s arse sweat.
Gyms aren’t known for being hygienic, hence the showers. If hygiene is a concern, take a change of clothes and use the showers. 🤷♂️
eraserway@reddit
I attend the Gym Group and they used to have spray and paper towels but removed them.
It was nice to be able to wipe down equipment myself, but there is always a cleaner on shift who periodically wipes all the equipment as well as mopping the floor etc. The gym always seems clean to me - can’t say I’ve ever hopped on a machine that’s soaked in sweat. And I just wash my hands thoroughly after my workout and shower when I’m home.
OkRoll23@reddit
I made the mistake of accidentally touching my eye during a session at The Gym, and I had my own hand sanitizer with me. I just hadn't used it in the prior 10 mins or so, and I got pink eye.
Joined a higher end gym with cleaning supplies and better manners from the members.
Mavericks7@reddit
You get what you pay for.
Bring a towel, put it down on any head rest, job done
noebbnorflow@reddit
My local thegymgroup seems fine. Even then I wear gloves for some lifts and wash them with my other sports gear, and also wash my hands before leaving and use my own sanitiser. I live a 5 min walk away and shower at home so I haven't really looked at the changing or showering bit.
The local council gym and pool are way worse
Broccoli--Enthusiast@reddit
The wipes and towels was a COVID thing, nowhere had them before, they also ruined lots of the equipment, especially rubber grips etc
Most people just wiped stuff down with their towel or not at all
Its never crossed my mind unless the equipment was visibly wet and gross, even then, I promise you it won't harm you at all
Every single touch point outside of a gym will have more germs on it , because most it then are literally never.
CV2nm@reddit
I have to go to gyms to work out ATM due to an injury, but avoided them like the plague before and would try to do as many sports outside as possible. The nicer gyms are always stupidly pricey too. I used my ex's the gym friend pass a few times and hated the smell. No aircon, wall to wall windows so the place is a sweat pit. I'm not a diva when it comes to workouts, id happily run through puddles of mud and go home covered in it, but the contained in a walled glass room without airflow was enough to put me off. I guess you'd get used to it eventually though.
losingconsciousness@reddit
That's disgusting. Even Everyone Active provides spray and blue roll...
ilikebiiiigdicks@reddit
Unless something is literally covered in visible sweat then I don’t really care. My gym offers tissue and disinfectant spray and barely anybody uses it. I’ll only wipe stuff down if I’ve left a visible sweat patch, otherwise who cares.
Night-Fingerer@reddit
I go to the Gym Group and just wash my hands when I get home.
Mog_X34@reddit
My local Everyone Active gym has a couple of cleaning wipe dispensers. I use those to clean down the machines after I've finished, keeping my own towel to dry myself off.
Thalamic_Cub@reddit
Ive used two different banantyne gyms, puregym, a local private gym, virgin and frequent a council run gym at my local sport centre. (Moved around a lot lol)
The banantynes both rank as the worst hygiene, always gritty floors in the pool, closed facilities and gross smells.
Amusingly the cheapest gym, puregym, is the cleanest usually.
Its down to the local management team usually.
fixxxer17d@reddit
I currently have a bannatynes membership that I cannot wait to cancel for this exact reason.
Signed up thinking it would be a nicer experience than PureGym, and there’d be a better availability of machines.
Mate, it is grim beyond all comprehension, one of the most run down gyms I’ve ever been to, broken equipment constant, lacklustre cleaning - Regularly blood and piss on the floors. The fella who cleans the showers will just spray some d10 in there and call it done.
Do not be fooled by “premium” gyms, always book a tour, and never in January (They keep the gyms absolutely pristine for peak month).
SigourneyReap3r@reddit
My pure gym is so clean, as long as trainers are in the building they actually spend time cleaning the machines
swoopstheowl@reddit
Yes my PureGym is cleaner than the Fitness First I used to go to
Relevant_Cancel_144@reddit
Stopped going to gyms because too many people are vile and don't clean their equipment. Staff don't give a shit either, so I built my own at home. Now I know it's clean and don't have other people's sweat to contend with
CongealedBeanKingdom@reddit
Nah the rich and middle classes stink just as much as the rest of us.
kwakimaki@reddit
I go to a 'budget' gym now and they've got a much better cleaning regime than my last premium gym had. There's generally only one staff member in and they're frequently seen cleaning the equipment.
The only thing I don't like is that there's only three bogs and they're unisex. Sorry chaps, but some of you are really fucking minging. I know women aren't perfect but we generally don't piss on the floor.
makomirocket@reddit
I used to be a The Gym member back when it was called as such. Now PureGym. I visit both a smaller one in a nicer area that's pricier, and a better bigger one in a less nice North London neighbourhood. Both are perfectly nice and clean.
Puregym still offers paper towels and the sprays if you need them. Though a big benefit is that the clientele for these "less serious" gyms is that less people are actually breaking a sweat, rather than hitting a low pb on a bench press or the cable machines, then sitting on a bench with some dumbbells
AonghusMacKilkenny@reddit
I take my own towel to the gym but they also provide spray and paper towels, so I use mine on my face and the paper towels on the equipment. I probably would not go to a gym that didn't provide disinfectant
WVA1999@reddit
Considering most people are disgusting, I just give a spray & wipe down before using.
razza357@reddit (OP)
But do you take your own spray and wipes?
WVA1999@reddit
Nah, our place has disinfectant spray and blue roll to use.
No-Photograph3463@reddit
Never tbh, more likely to catch anything from public transport than a gym.
I always bring a towel (as i sweat alot) and just make sure to put it down if my back is on equipment after cardio, and after everything just give it a quick wipe.
Tbh though I'm at The Gym and most people treat it decently, unlike Pure which is full of meat head 16 year olds who think they are The Rock.
Parshath_@reddit
I'm very grossed out of how people treat their gyms. Especially locker rooms are full of litter (bottles, crisp packets, papers, etc). But also sucks to want to work out and see machines full of ass sweat - including from those "hard" kids with trousers pulled down and that are essentially rubbing their sweaty underwear in the machines. 🤢 The public just sucks - gym is just another one of those cases.
That said, I just want to go in, lock on, work out, shower, get out. And where I live options are mostly those two or Nuffield at £90, soooo. I just try to stay on my mind.
Hygiene wise, I use a mini towel for myself/the sweatiest areas. That was a mandatory requirement in my home country, and I got used to it - gym staff would just send you back if you did not bring your own workout towel, including in cheaper gyms. Not perfect, but I just keep on doing it.
Difficult_Falcon1022@reddit
I went to an independent gym for a while, was a nice spot with those things provided but a lot of people stopped using them. I found that really gross. Nowadays I have a set of kettlebells and just work out at home.
Jonny7421@reddit
I think it depends on the management more than anything.
I wash my hands before and after working out. That's enough for me. That being said, I would bring a towel if I intend to get sweaty.
-qqqwwweeerrrtttyyy-@reddit
Idk. I've used a Fitness First gym shower in central London only to discover someone had taken a razor to their public hair. Guess gross people enjoy being gross away from home.
Antix1331@reddit
The Pure Gym I go to in London has disinfectant spray and towels to wipe equipment down.
Mammoth-Difference48@reddit
I actually think The Gym is cleaner than an expensive place I used to be a member of.
I just wash my hands after my work out and shower as soon as I get home.
animalwitch@reddit
I don't remember there being cleaning products in gyms to do it yourself before COVID. The staff are meant to be regularly cleaning anyway.
If you leave a machine particularly sweaty then yes, absolutely wipe it down afterwards - if nothing is provided then I guess bring your own if it bothers you so much
dbxp@reddit
I think the cheaper ones might actually be better as people don't expect the staff to clean up for them
tradegreek@reddit
Bring your own towel these gyms are cheap for a reason they try to offer the bare minimum to keep costs low
sampapsi@reddit
I think this is perhaps one of those ‘you get what you pay for’ type scenarios.
TheGym serves a purpose, PureGym also serves that purpose perhaps just a bit better the last I went to one, not all to an amazingly clean standard than something you’d get for paying double or triple the price.
PKblaze@reddit
Just bring your own antibacterial bottle for your hands and use it when you enter and leave. Problem solved.
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