There are a lot of rules to follow when you have a gym membership. And they’re not always written down… or where everyone can see them. Often, they’re rules you have to learn by being part of the culture.
Today, I’d like to focus on just one of those “rules”… restacking your weights.
I was inspired to write about this after my workout yesterday. I went over to the Squat Rack, prepared to get in a few sets. And lo and behold… the guy who had just walked away left his 45s on both sides of the bar. (No I didn’t interrupt his sets. I watched him grab his towel and water bottle and walk off. I waited the customary minute or two to make sure he didn’t come back. He was done.)
So why were his weights still on the bar?! Come on, dude! That’s so rude! Look – 45s aren’t too heavy for me to lift. But that may not be the case for the next person. Maybe they’re injured (or they don’t want to be). If you’re strong enough to put 45s on the bar for your squats, you’re strong enough to take them off when you’re done.
Plus, when you don’t re-rack your weights, you’re interfering with another person’s workout momentum. Now they have to interrupt their heart rate to rack YOUR weights. Argh!
Can you tell this gets on my nerves??? I apologize for getting on a tangent. But this is just common gym courtesy. And it applies whether you put 5 pounds on the bar, or 500 pounds.
And I know sometimes people forget. But it’s a good reminder for ALL of us that when we work out with weights, part of our responsibility as good gym members includes putting away what we use.
I’m not your mom. I’m not at the gym to pick up after you.
(Whew! I feel better having gotten that off my chest! What else should we focus on for other blog posts about gym etiquette?? Wiping off the machines when you're done? Cell phone talkers?)
