Gym Common Sense

There are plenty of things you may be unfamiliar with if you have never made the journey into the gym and if you are new to working out or just unfamiliar with proper gym etiquette, this thread is for you. I will attempt to list behavior that are inappropriate/annoying to others who are trying to get a serious workout as well as general rules that all should abide by. If I miss anything (which I am sure I will) please feel free to add in your own.

1. Put the dumbbells back when you are done and put them back it the right slots on the DB rack. I don't feel like going on a goddamned "treasure hunt" to find a 45 # dumbbell that you were using for god-knows-what in some other part of the gym.
   
   
2. Bring a towel and wipe your nasty ass sweat off the benches and equipment after you are done. Seriously, this is just common courtesy people.
   
3. Rack your weights when you are done. I don't care if you're benching 95# or 405#, I shouldn't have to unrack your plates to load up what I want to lift
   
4. Socialization – save it for later. Don’t stand/sit around on the equipment having social hour with your friends. The equipment is for work, not for relaxing. If you want to sit down and chit-chat with your friends, go to Applebee’s – not the gym. Your main goal at the gym should be to get the best workout you can in the shortest amount of time. Can you spend 3 hours in the gym lifting? Yes. Is that better than getting your workout done in 45 minutes? I seriously doubt it.
   
5. Women at the gym – leave them alone and let them get their workout in. They do not want to be hit on while they are wearing no makeup and covered in sweat. Likewise, you should be concentrating on getting an efficient workout completed rather than hitting on women who are not interested in you. If you want to get rejected, I’m sure you can get plenty of that at your local bar on a Friday or Saturday night, community college, work, whatever.
   
   
6. If you see someone wearing headphones at the gym, do not strike up conversation with them. I, like many other people I know, wear headphones at the gym specifically to avoid wasting time with idle chatter.
   
   
7. It doesn’t matter how much weight you are lifting. Do not try to look cool by lifting more than you know you are capable of lifting. Benching 225 does you no good if your spotter is curling 100 of it. Everyone started somewhere and nobody is making fun of you for lifting a lighter weight than what they are lifting. If they are, they’re an immature asshole and not worthy of your concern.
   
   
8. There are many ways to display your own personal style while still wearing appropriate gym attire. There is no need to rock your pink polo shirt with your collar popped while intently curling 5lb. dumbbells. Any attention you receive from women based on this action will likely be in the vein of "Hey, look at that douchebag who thinks he's in a J. Crew catalog". It should not take you longer to coordinate your "outfit" for the gym than it does to do your entire workout.
   
   
9. dont pee in the shower. And there is no reason to stand around the locker room with your dong hanging out. Put some fucking pants on, wierdo.