Germs in Gyms - How You Can Stay Safe
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Being a member of a gym has great benefits. You have access to a variety of cardio and strength training machines. It is a nice place to get away and have your “me” time while working out, or it can serve as a place to socialize with other health conscious individuals. However, gyms can also have a dark side. Lingering amongst all of the fitness equipment are nasty things that you can’t see. Those nasty things are germs. After reading about an outbreak of pinkeye in one of the fitness forums I visit, I had to write about ways to keep yourself relatively safe from gym germs.
Wash Your Hands Before and After Working Out
Washing your hands is one of the easiest ways of lowering your risk of spreading and contracting bacteria. As soon as I walk into my gym, I have to punch in my phone number and scan my finger on a machine to let me in. The scanning machine is a germ fest already before I even touch any equipment. Wash your hands before exercising and after to lower the bacteria count on your hands.
Avoid Touching Your Face
When you are working out, try not to touch your face - particularly your eyes, nose, and mouth. These are the main entry points for viruses.
Bring Two Towels
Use one towel just for wiping your sweat and the other for wiping off sweat from any equipment that you use.
Use Disinfectant Spray
If you are a real germ-a-phobe, you can ask a gym employee for disinfectant spray to wipe down any equipment that you use before and after.
Wear Shower Shoes
I am surprised at the number of people I see walking barefoot around the gym. Especially in the women’s bathroom, I see women walking to and from showers and the toilet in bare feet! Not wearing shower shoes is a good way to catch athletes foot. It is a good idea to wear them in the sauna as well.
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[...] new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! I have written about gym germs in the past and now that flu season is here, I think it’s important for those of us who are [...]