GG’s Gym Etiquette 101

My Tried & True Dos & Don’ts For the Gym!!

The gym is a place to release tensions, detoxify, energize and renew.  When I walk through the doors of my gym, I immediately feel a sense of relief – it’s my place to unwind while maintaining fitness.  I’m very lucky to have met quite a few very dear friends at the gym as I spend a significant amount of time there.  In order to get the most out of the gym and earn those friendships, there are etiquette rules gym goers should follow.  Here are those that immediately come to mind ~

Do

• Do invest in gym attire that you feel good in.  True, you are going to be sweating up your duds in no time flat but, trust me, if you feel good you will perform your exercises with that much more vigor and get a better workout.  Here is one of my personal favorite sportswear lines – Body Language Sportswear.

• Do wear color from time to time.  Everyone wears black.  Try a brighter color to boost your mood.  In fact, invest in colors you can mix and match.  GG Tip:  Feeling a couple pounds heavier? – Wear the same color top and bottom; the monochromatic effect will slim you.

• Do wear white socks.  Period.  Any other color will make you look like the lights went out in the locker room when you were changing and you didn’t get a chance to check yourself in the mirror.

• Do wipe down the cardio machines after you use them.  You just spent 20, 30 or 45 long, hard minutes grinding away . . . the next person doesn’t want to share your excretions.

• Do let others work in during your rest periods between sets. This may not always be practical, but offer to share when you can.  It’s an easy way to make friends too or meet that cute guy or girl. 

• Do refrain from melodramatic squeals and moans while pushing your limits with the iron.  There is one particular character at my gym who obviously thinks he is much more macho than he is.  He apparently has no peripheral vision to see all the rolling eyes around him.

Don’t

• Don’t wear dirty gym clothes.  This would officially make you disgusting.  Yes, everyone around you could tell.  One way to avoid being a skank is to take your gym clothes with you into the shower and let them hang to dry for tomorrow.

• Don’t wear baggy pants or shirts.  Not only will you not feel good in them, you won’t be able to see the muscle work you are accomplishing.

• Don’t get overly skimpy.  You don’t want something flying out that shouldn’t during an overly enthusiastic aerobic jump or superhero set.

• Don’t hover around a person while waiting for the machine he/she is using.  Either ask politely to work in or find another exercise to do while you wait.  There’s always something else you can do to be more productive than make the other person feel hurried.

• Don’t stand directly in front of someone performing his/her set.  Chances are, the person is checking himself in the mirror and nothing breaks up the pumping pattern more than an oblivious hogger.

• Biker shorts, fanny packs, thong leotard over spandex.    Enough said.

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Diet, Exercise, or Act of God?

I hear many line openers at the gym but this one (the title to this post!) particularly sticks out in my mind. It certainly is more creative than “Can I work in with you?” Or these . . .

Line Openers at the Gym

· I like your shoes/ Did you get new shoes?/Those are interesting shoes. – (For some reason, this one’s a biggie. Do my feet stick out or something?)

· ____ is your color. (Boring.)

· How long have you been working out here? (Also boring.)

· Wow, if I do those (exercises), will I get those (abs)? (hmmmm)

· You look like my future girlfriend. (Now that’s cute!)

To answer the first question . . . while I’ve been blessed with a fairly fast metabolism (thanks, Mom!), maintaining a low fat diet and working out regularly certainly plays a factor in maintaining my physique. To brighten this rainy Monday morning, Grading Girl would like to share a little secret. Here’s a set of exercises I’ve been doing – without fail – since a week after my daughter was born. I gained 33 pounds when I was pregnant with her and lost it all within 3 weeks.

15 minutes, five mornings a week – if I miss a morning, I do them at night; it doesn’t matter which days of the week, as long as it’s five times within the week. I can honestly say that I’m in the best shape of my life and this little routine definitely plays a factor toward that. So, sshh, don’t tell . . . here it is ~

GG’s No Fail Daily Exercises

On the floor:

• 100 crunches . . . lie flat on your back, bend knees, feet planted, hands behind neck
• 50 alternate side crunches . . . same as above except crunching (25 each side, alternating with each crunch)
• 50 alternate side crunches w. knee lift . . . elbow reaching to opposite knee as knee lifts to meet elbow (25 each side, alternating with each crunch)
• 100 “bicycle” crunches. . . legs raised an inch, parallel to ground, elbow reaching to opposite knee as knee lifts to meet elbow (50 each side, alternating with each crunch & keeping legs raised)

That’s it! Now let’s get those 6 packs popping!

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