5 Places Germs Hide In Your Gym

Gyms are a great place to get fit and healthy. Regular exercise can greatly benefit your body and not just physically but also your mind and soul. A simple workout routine can help improve your mood, manage your stress level, decrease the causes or effects of dangerous health conditions, and boost your energy. From cardio exercises, strength training, weight lifting, and others, the possibilities are simply endless.

According to different health studies, adults should get a minimum of at least 150 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity activity involving aerobics. It is a fact that going to the gym truly benefits our health.

Therefore, we need to be aware that though it may be a good place to get great health benefits, it isn’t a perfect place because we do not live in a perfect world. The gym can also be a hotspot for germs. This is a fact that we cannot hide. Germs are everywhere, and no place is sacred.

We want your gym experience to be worthwhile and stress-free. It is our great joy that you exit their doors with a healthier body than when you came in and not the opposite. To do that, we want to share with you the 5 places that germs can hide in your gym so that you will be aware next time and take extra precautions.

5 places that you did not expect germs to hide in the gym

1. Yoga Mats

Yoga mats are most times filled with germs because it is a piece of shared gym equipment. This means that a lot of people use it, and just simply put it back where they got it. 50% of the people who use the toilet do not wash their hands after. This means that if the person before you used the yoga mat and didn’t wash his/her hands, the germs are there. 

Sharing things always puts you at risk for germs. 

Aside from the fact that people don’t wash their hands, yoga mats are also dirty because they absorbed the sweat and germs of whoever last used it. Yoga positions sometimes require direct contact between the person and the mat. Just imagine all the fluid it absorbs.

It is highly advisable that if you are an avid fan of yoga and do it regularly that you bring your mat. If you use a shared mat whenever you visit your gym, bring a disinfecting spray that you can use before and after your yoga sessions. As an added precaution, you can also bring a clean towel and put it on top of your mat as an extra barrier against germs. 

2. Locker Room and Showers

Wet and humid areas are not clean places to find yourself in. This is where germs thrive the most. One famous bacteria that can cause skin infections are Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria.

Shower areas are also places where you can get ringworms, strep, an athlete’s foot, and even fungi. Now that is not a fun memory to be leaving the gym with. Upon using these shared places it is important to use equipment sanitizers and to properly wash your hands with soap and water.

Be mindful of the people around you and avoid sharing things like razors or water bottles. Try to use slippers when you go in so that you will avoid direct contact with the floor. Bring your antimicrobial soap, shampoo, and towel. 

3. Gym Towels

Like yoga mats, towels in the gym are a shared resource. Even if they have already been washed, since you do not know their hour by hour activity they could have easily picked up bacteria from where they were carelessly placed like in baskets, benches, locker rooms, and showers. They easily absorb sweat from others that easily dries out unnoticed.

You should always bring your towel whenever you hit the gym. Bring at least two. One is for when you are working out and the other is for when you shower. Please be reminded that you can never be too careful.  Taking extra safety precautions can help save you from sickness.

4. Cardio Machines

A lot of people upon entering the gym, without a second thought head straight for the cardio machines and just start right away to lose those extra fats from the ice cream or fries that they recently ate. It is like they are trying to run away from their guilty pleasures before it catches up to them. Though treadmills, ellipticals, and stationary bikes are an absolute delight to use to burn calories, they can also be the cause of coughs and colds if you are not careful. 

In just one day, dozens of people touch those machines and half of them don’t even wash their hands. You cannot imagine where those hands have been or what they’ve touched. Remember to bring sanitizing sprays whenever you touch the handles of your gym machines. You are in the gym to get better health and not the opposite. 

5. Weight Machines and Free Weights

As with the precaution that we have previously set with the cardio machines, the same goes for weight machines and free weights. 

Everything that you can share in the gym is wired with germs. There’s no hiding that fact. Proper sanitation and good hygiene will and always will be our best defense. Learn to swipe or spray the machines that you use and make sure that you wash your hands before and after your workouts. 

The best feeling in the world is that happy feeling that you get when you know that you are body and soul are healthy. Nothing can beat this feeling! Being happy produces confidence and a better outlook on life. So go to where you can achieve this feeling, and if it is in the gym then we encourage you to work out the best that you can and enjoy it more by making sure that you sanitize, wash your hands and be careful. We want you to be healthy and happy both inside and outside the gym. 

To learn how Progressive Cleaning can help maintain your gym or fitness center contact us today to discuss specifications suitable for your facility.

~ By Kristine Redillas, Team Progressive Cleaning