Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Gym Locker Room: Social Contract

Its no surprise to me how packed the gym is this time of year. Today was my first day back in the New Year having to relocate my morning routine and vanity space to the gym locker room. This morning, the profuse amount of women muddling the locker room seem to have simply left their manners at home which got me thinking about locker room etiquette. The gym locker room is a busy space we are all forced to share in the morning  before each of us rush off to start our days and practicing courteous behavior while within the confines of these tight nit tiled walls is vital! Forgetting your manners at home is about as bad as forgetting your shower shoes! There is sort of an unspoken social contract that I believe each of us gym goers need to abide by and if you are unfamiliar with or maybe just unaware as to what this code entails, I highly suggest you read on. Keep in mind this “contract” is unspoken and you probably wont find my points listed below posted on any locker room wall (as my suggestions may border my pet peeves) Nonetheless, I stand by that these are imperative rules to follow:  And while the rampant chatter is inevitable  



Keep it Clean:

From a trail of wet foot prints through the locker room to hair you may have left in the sink… clean up after yourself! While the locker room may feel a bit like more of a communal public restroom with a few added amenities which has a specified clean up team, its important to do your part not create and leave more a mess than you found when you arrived. You don’t leave your hair in the shower and towels on the floor in you bathroom at home do you… Clean it up ladies!


Share the Space:
People have a tendency to be territorial in the locker room, but last time I checked there were not taking reservations for locker room bench space at the front desk. And about the bench... please don't sit there in your birthday suit, come on! So while your away taking your marathon shower, stow your belongings out of mine and everyone else’s way. thank you!


And about that Marathon shower…


 Get in and Get the Heck Out:
I get it, you’re sweaty and just worked your butt off, but the locker room showers are not a place to unwind and enjoy 20 mins of leisure. There is no reason I or anyone else for that matter should have to wait in line for 15 minutes for a shower at the gym, especially if there are 8 stalls!

 Shower Shoes:
Like I said ,forgetting your shower shoes is like forgetting you manners… maybe this is more of a pet peeve of mine as I know there are plenty of you who don’t wear them, but this is just more of a hygiene matter. But, ick factor aside, its just the polite thing to do, so please wear them. 








And speaking of hygiene…


 Use a Tissue:
There is no delicate way for me to put this… (brace yourself if you are easily disgusted) but shower curtain or no shower curtain I hear you in there and I’m pretty sure you heard me this morning tell you to get a darn tissue for goodness sake!  


Keep the Spray to a Minimum:
There’s nothing wrong with topping off your look with a sweet scent but in a place like a communal locker room, I beg to differ! There are people with allergies or may just plain dislike the stink you’re spraying.


I could honestly keep going but I will spare you for now- either way this enough for those of you who may have needed a locker room etiquette refresher to start with for the time being! Keep it clean and bring your manners!

No comments:

Post a Comment