Sweatiquette - at the gym

At the gym
This is not typical for Swedish behavior,
it can be used everywhere. The
gym is a place where people are forced
to be more intimate with strangers than
they ever choose to bee.  Think aboute
the wardrobe, have you ever seen your
boss or customer in tight shorts?
This combined with sweating on the
same machines, mats and weights is
something to remember.

Sweatiquette
Maybe you don´t go to the kind of gym
that has towelservice, in Sweden this 
service is unuasal. But this is not an excuse to not wipe off the machine you just dripped sweat into for the last 15 minutes.

When it comes to working out, there are a few good rules regarding to sweat and sharing equipment.

Wipe off your sweat. Many gyms provide paper towels and cleaning spray. The next best option is to use a towel and water bottle.

If the machine is seated, you´re more likely to produce puddels. Don´t just quikly wipe these off, hold a towel in place for some seconds to soak up the fluid.

If your sweat is so much that it´s likely to fly off your brow and travel to splash a fellow cardio-machine. Then choose a machine that is not  in close to any others in use. 

Someone did not follow Sweatiquette
You are about to mount a machine when you spot little puddles of sweat on the handles, the backrest and the seat. Someone has violated the rules. What do you do?

To options is possible, either you will need to wipe it up or have the sweatspreader to do the job.

The proactive solution
Find a box of tissues or a roll of paper towels
and go at those rank puddles yourself. The
 person who used the machine before you
did not have the courtesy to do it, but you
cetainly do, and doing so you are showing all
 your fellow gym-goers that keeping the
equipement clean is everyone´s job.

Or apply a wad of tissues or paper towels to
each puddle of sweat and let it rest there
for a few seconds, so it soaks up the moisture.

And wipe the rest away. When you catch
the eyes of fellow gym-goers, let them know that you are cleaning up after a sweat spreader,  so they can be on their guard.

The confrontational solution
Chanses are you know exactly whose sweat it is thats befouling the machine. Since you been waiting your turn. Track the sweat spreader to the spots she´s now occupying. Take a look around and discover his location.

Once you have spotted her, lay your towel on the machine to make sure no one slips onto it while you are confronting the sweat spreader.

Point to the machine he just vacated and ask, “ Weren´t you just using that machine?”When he says yes, say “You probably did not notice that it´s really wet. Would you mind wiping it off before the next person uses it?” 

If she hesitates, remind her, “It´s a gym rule.” Then tilt your head toward one of the gym employees manning the floor as if to suggest that you will have to tell one of them if he doesn´t do as you just have requested.