Surprising Things Your Gym Doesn't Want You To Know
- Stefan Uifalean
- Sep 22, 2018
- 5 min read
When talking about how gyms run things, there are many things they do that we would see as unethical or wrong. So, I decided that it is time you find out the truth about some of the things your gym does!
But some of the things I found are more than unethical, they are disgusting. Beware, after this article you won't see your gym in the same way as before.
Too much pollution!
A study on the quality of the air was conducted in London in 11 Fitness Centers at peak hour. It measured more pollutants like PM10, PM2.5, CO2, CO and others. The pollutants CO2, VOC and CH2O presented high concentrations exceeding the national limit values. The biggest offenders where places where group classes were held. Yeah, so you should think again about joining that class they have at your gym.
Why is it so important? Because excess of CO2 or other pollutants can be incredibly damaging to an athlete. It is called Hypercapnia and it can cause problems like heart rate increases, blood pressure increases and restricted blood flow. What is a simple fix to all this? Improve the ventilation system. That one small upgrade could easily resolve this problem.
Germs on equipment.
If you have been to a gym, you will see that most of the equipment has sweat on it. It is a very common thing and, even though it is unsanitary, it is not such a big problem, right? Well, a study done on 27 pieces of equipment says otherwise. The study took samples from different cardio equipment and free weights. When the result came back, it showed that the free weights had 362 times more bacteria than a toilet seat. A toilet seat!
But that isn't even the equipment with the most bacteria. The Treadmill is! It has around 400 times more bacteria than a toilet seat. And that is not all the bad news. The study also found that 70% of the bacteria found are harmful and can cause skin infections. I know you are probably grossed out, but most gyms clean their equipment every day. If you want to be more safe, clean the parts of the equipment you touch by yourself.
The swimming pool is not as clean as you think.
If your gym has a pool, which most have, you probably go to swim there from time to time to burn some calories and relax. Most pools use disinfectants like chlorine to keep the water safe from any harmful bacteria. But how well does that really work? Well, chlorine works very well at first, but after they mix with swear, pee and other things people bring in the pool with them, they create byproducts.
A study that analyzed 28 samples of water from pools and hot tubs and discovered over 100 byproducts.
Not only that, but the study also mentioned that swimmers are more likely do develop respiratory problems and bladder cancer. If you want to make sure your pool is clean, check to see if you can see the bottom. If you can, it is good for swimming. An additional thing would be the smell of chlorine. In this case, you want your pool not to smell of chlorine. The smell isn't actually chlorine, but compounds that contain sweat, oils or even pee.
You can easily get sick in the gym.
The Gym is one of the most crowded place you spend time in. Even if that is not a problem for you, it can become one when people who are sick come to work out. Just think about it, how many times you went to the gym when you were sick or had a cold? Most of you did, myself included. It is because we don't want to skip a workout.
The biggest problem is that the gym can't do nothing to stop it. The only way this problem can be solved is if people stop going to the gym when they are sick and, let's be honest, that won't happen. So, if you want to go to the gym, this might be a consequence you must be ready for.
Fitness instructor don't always have all the knowledge.
Well, what could be wrong with the fitness instructors? They are highly-trained athletes who can help you find the perfect workout for your body and needs. Well, yes and no. Most fitness instructors have bachelor's degree in their field, but the requirements for becoming a fitness instructor are a high-school diploma and some knowledge of anatomy.
So the person that may give you advice on how to exercise and eat may not any degree in fitness nor nutrition. That is a scary thought! The best way to make sure your fitness instructor has more than a high-school diploma is to ask him or the gym.
The prices of the products are way higher.
Chances are that you gym sells products like whey protein, protein bars and energy drinks that will help you with your gains. Well, if you buy the products from them, you are paying way more money for the same product.
Gyms, as any other store, sell products more expensive than they buy them. That means you can get way better deals on Amazon or at your local store. That works for equipment as well. For example, at my gym they sell swimming caps for 30 bucks. I found the same caps at my local store for 12 bucks. That is more than twice as cheap.
The towels and mats are not very clean.
You know the towels that you get from you gym? Yeah, they are not as clean as you might think. They are rarely professionally cleaned. So, if you don't want to risk it, it is better to bring your own towel.
The mats are even worse. They are rarely cleaned if at all. So next time you see someone sweating like crazy on a mat, just know that the mat won't be cleaned for a long time after.
They don't want you to go to the gym regularly
They don't want to see you go to the gym. The reality is that they make their money from the people that buy gym memberships and don't go there.
The people gyms hate the most are the bodybuilders because they go there almost every day, they use heavy weights and create noise and most of the times they don't buy any products the gym sells.
Some machines are useless
Remember the first time you entered you gym. Probably, you were surprised by the variety of machines that you could find. Well, you probably learned by yourself that some of those things were completely useless. Most of the machines that target the abs are this way.
More than that, some of them can actually be harmful to your spine or other parts of the body, so before you use them next time, make sure they are safe to exercise with.
But this article is not a reason for you not to go to the gym!
In this article, I wanted to make you realize some of the problems in your gym, so you will be able to avoid them, not to use this as an excuse.
So go in the gym and kill it!
Until next time, live healthy, stay healthy!
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